Notes: Chapter 7 – Fake News

→ Fake news is deliberately false or misleading news stories that masquerade as truthful repor ng.
→ … Fake news, whether real or imagined, whether soothing or vexing, is bad for intelligent discourse, bad
for the pursuit of knowledge, bad for sane poli cs, and bad for democracy. Cri cal thinking, whether
pleasing or upse ng, o ers a necessary correc ve.
→ Conspiracy theorists and their accomplices have, in the a ermath of mass shoo ngs and other tragedies,
posted fake news designed to incite fear, suspicion, and hate.
→ The most unse ling recent example of the damage that fake news can do to a democracy is the 2016
fake news a ack orchestrated by the Russian government.
The classic example of fake news leading to harassment and violence is the “Pizzagate” incident. In your own
words explain what happened in this case. There was a tweet circula ng that alleged that a Washington D.C

I. Taxonomy of Misinforma on
In your own words explain the following kinds of messages.
Propaganda: Deliberate false informa on that is spread in order to promote a poli cal view or agenda
Lies: Informa on that is completely fabricated
Bias: Cherry picking of facts to share that only support ones own views and beliefs
Opinions: Ones own stance on a par cular topic
Sa re: Made for comical purposes but is false
Hoaxes: A false claim that is presented in a way that makes it seem truthful for one’s own personal gain

II. Telling Fake from Real

If you’ve already concluded that fake news is so widespread and treacherous that there’s nothing much you can
do to protect yourself from it, your conclusion is prema ve.

In your own words explain (1) what it is to have an a tude of reasonable skep cism and (2) how such an
a tude can help you not fall vic m to fake news. An a tude of reasonable skep cism is not being easily
persuaded into believing in a certain thing, but always second guessing what is being presented to you. Having
this a tude will prevent you from falling vic m to fake news because it ensures that you always look for
complete facts that are beyond reasonable doubt

The text highlights several illegi mate reasons for accep ng or rejec ng claims from media sources. In your
own words, explain at least four of them.

1. Because the person you “Look up to” disproves it, following blindly behind a gure

2. Having a bias on the source that it comes from

3. People apart of the group opposing yours don’t believe it, so you feel that it must be true

4. The source doesn’t reinforce what you already believe in

Explain in your own words what it means to read laterally and how it helps reveal fake news and the like.
Checking for further sources and informa on as you’re reading the source

Explain in your own words what it means to read cri cally and how it helps reveal fake news and the like.
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Ensuring that what you’re reading from the source consistently makes logical sense

Explain in your own words what it means to check your own biases and how you do so.
Checking your own biases consists of recognizing the preexis ng ideas you have on a certain topic and
understanding how it may a ect the way you interpret the informa on

III. Fake Images

What two obstacles to cri cal thinking are at work regarding our ability to iden fy fake images?
1. Photos and videos are easily believed

2. Altered images are harder to recognize to non experts

Explain in your own words the four ways suggested in the text for a emp ng to iden fy fake images & videos?
1. Determine the Source: Finding out where the photo comes from
2. Check for Previous Uses: Conduc ng reverse searches

3. Be Wary of the Incredible: If something is too good to be true, chances are it probably is

4. Look for Incongrui es: Looking out for imperfec ons

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