This is the a new Age of Enlightenment
- Jan 18, 2018
- 6 min read
In today's society, it is not new to seek new information, whether it be peer - generated or from social media. It is in our very nature to want to acquire additional knowledge, that is why inventions of modern technology continue to rise, and innovations of former theories were formulated in order to make it easier to live, and to understand the all concept of living.
How we consumer information links all kinds of decisions, from the way we want to communicate with others to the way we receive news. The way we consumer information differs base on our preference, custom, and habit. For example, Millennials (1977 - 1995) would prefer to get their information from mobile phone, will Generation X (1965 - 1976) is more likely to acquire news on laptops. This may be because Millennials grew up on the innovation and integration of mobile phones, while the Generation X has more experience on old computers.
This generation gap can also be the reason why others believe fake news because of their baffling, and often eye - catchy titles. Those from older generations are not as keen to depicting which is fake and which is true because they are not as skillful in modern technologies as digital natives. Another reason for the acceptance of fake news might be our over - consumption of information. We might not know that there is a limit to what we should believe, and which sources we should trust in terms of should trust in terms of acquiring information.
We all have been victimized by fake news. Personally, I was almost convinced about the death of a certain celebrity, however, if he/she is dead then why would that small media outlet be first to released it? Another is the spreading of the "NO CLASSES" advisory, a screenshot from a news network that raised the student's hopes. However, if you check the date, you can see that it was actually the same month last year.
Some sites also write fake news intentionally. It may either be for the fun of having people false believe in them, or for the sake of earning money as it has now became a job, most unfortunate, for people to share these kinds of information in order to gain more followers or supporters. In times when we don't have the leisure to believe false information, we need to be critical on which source we should label as credible, and which one we should not.
1. Verify the source
Typically, legitimate sites end with [.edu], [.gov], or [.org]. This does not generally mean that those websites whose domain name ends with [.com] is ultimately not credible. In terms of the 'rights' to write that certain topic, you should look for sites that have connection to it. When searching about news, it is best to go to the official online sites of media outlets. Don't be fooled by the additional .com.co since this is just a fake website designed based on the first one.
The author is also something you should consider. Does the author have the qualifications to write about that topic? To validate the content of an article, the author must be knowledgeable about the topics that he or she is writing. Be suspicious if the author of a news article is a celebrity who have absolutely no link to the topic.
According to Harvard Summer School, in verifying the source, you must ask yourself the following questions:
a. Would the publishing site meet academic citation standards?
b. What is the domain name?
c. What's the publication's point of view?
d. Who is the author?
2. Check the timeline and pay attention to quality
Remember that reliable sources have editors to proofread and edit recurring punctuation, ALL CAPS, and error grammatical, as well as the speilling. Trustworthy articles also cite proper sources to build their credibility, and also conduct interview on personnel affected by the issue they are writing about. They don't just insert quotes on whoever is famous just for the sense of professionalism.
If the author is writing about the revocation of the certificate of publication of Rappler by SEC, then he or she should site both the owners or board members of Rappler, and what the SEC stated about them. He or she would not enter any Nelson Mandela quotes (no offense) because it is not related to the topic being discussed.
The date it was published can also affect the credibility of the article. For example, the related literature that was accepted in research can only be a ten year gap from the current year. If it was beyond that time frame, it is no longer considered as a significant article or study meaning that it won't do so much to support the hypothesis of the research. Make sure that the contents are not being recycled, and only revised year after year without improvement.
3. Make sure the supporting sources and citations are reputable
The citations within the article should support what was stated in the article. If you can click on these links or find these citations and read through them, make sure that they do support the article you were reading. If not, then there is a high chance that it was randomly put in there to make it look reliable. Moreover, in journalism especially in news, the quotes from famous politicians are mostly being used if they are writing about issues relating the government. The people cited within the article should be a famous person that was affected by the issue or related well with the topic.
For example, when writing about climate change, it is very advisable to add the views from famous climate change advocates, and credible science sites supporting the fight to reduce the impacts of climate change.
Make sure also that the information you are going to use to support your article is available on other sites. This means that people consider the information or news valid, and write about the issue on their own site in order for it to reach more people faster. They could also pose their views about the topic, influencing the readers about its positive and negative effect.
An example of this is the recurring articles about the charter change (cha - cha). Many news site such as news.abs - cbn.com, or inquirer.net release their corresponding news about cha - cha accumulated from the happenings in the congress. In newspapers, there is also the editorial section where the journalists write their views about the topic, citing previous effects and other views of influential personalities.
Avoid clicking on promoted news or clickbait. The chances are these sites are not reliable and may lead the user to other sites that is either inappropriate or entirely different. Don't focus on the story that was stated in the article. It is easier to go beyond what was written in there, and read between the lines. As critical readers, it is better to see the whole story before jumping to conclusions.
4. Consult the experts
There are many fact - checking sites you can consult when you can't still verify the credibility of the article. According to International Society for Technology in Education, a group of educators who came together to shed light on the importance of edtech, there are ten (10) top sites to help students check their facts. These sites are AllSide, FactCheck, Media Matters, Open Secrets, PolitiFacts, ProPublica, Snopes, The Sunlight Foundation, and Washington Post Fact Checker.
Doing the detective work is one of the responsibilities of a critical reader because it is our goal to find a reliable information, and to not be convinced about false advertisement. Ask those who have the experience on the topic if what was stated in the article can be considered true. Consult the experts on the field that encompasses the issue in order to form critical judgement before formulating the conclusion.
Remember that the most important skill in media and information literacy is critical thinking. With this, we can evaluate the information given to us so as not to be fooled by trolls in the internet. Our advocacy, our generation desires to seek pure and honest information, because with these information, we are able to formulate our strategies and our actions to solve that problem. Not everything in the internet is false, but is is also not true until proven otherwise.
For better understanding of this topic, here is a video from Quartz, a digitally native news outlet in Youtube for the new global economy.
SOURCES:
1. https://www.summer.harvard.edu/inside-summer/4-tips-spotting-fake-news-story
2. https://www.iste.org/explore/articleDetail?articleid=916
3. https://www.ifla.org/publications/node/11174
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