Fact-Checking Tips

Below is from my email feed:  

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In Critikid's latest media literacy interview, I asked Peter Adams from the News Literacy Project:

How can we judge the reliability of a website or news outlet?

He answered:

Well, first I think everyone needs to really reflect on the concept of “credibility” and think through what really makes a piece of information or a source of information credible. Is it perfection? Sources that have never made an error of fact? No, of course not – that’s such a high standard that you’d wind up being unable to trust every single information source on the planet. Is it sources that only publish things that feel good and confirm your biases? Sources that cater to and confirm your existing ideas and beliefs about the world? No, of course not.

Okay so what does credibility look like, then? What are its characteristics? Well, two of those characteristics are certainly accuracy and fairness.

Credible sources don’t:

• make things up.
• take people’s words out of context.
• misrepresent photos.
• use loaded language.
• exclude important voices and perspectives.

Credible sources are:

• transparent. Sources you trust should explain exactly how they verified what they’re reporting.
• committed to independence, honesty and the public’s interest. Credible sources strive to ensure that the information they provide is not influenced by the interests of third parties like advertisers or political parties.
• accountable. Accountability demonstrates their commitment to the truth. They acknowledge lapses in standards and ethics, and seek to address them: they correct errors when they happen; they update headlines that miss the mark; they take steps to explain their decisions to the public.

The more of these kinds of things you see from a source, the more credible you should consider it.

In the interview, Peter also walked through how to verify a claim, shared fact-checking websites, and discussed the role of AI in countering misinformation. You can read the full interview here.

The Manosphere: A Major Problem For The USA

"The 'manosphere' is made up of macho podcasters and influencers, a space where UFC fighters are among those who reign supreme, like Jake Shields. CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan sits down with Shields and also speaks with independent journalist Vera Papisova as part of "MisinfoNation: Extreme America," airing Sunday, April 13 at 8pm ET/PT on 'The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper.'"

Click here for a 7-minute video exposing a dangerous segment of US society that is at the center of the White Supremacy movement, and thus, the Republican Party.

Groveling To Trump Only Encourages More Subservience

Friends,

Here’s a slightly stylized version of the conversation now occurring between Trump and:

(1) the presidents and prime ministers of countries on which Trump has slapped tariffs,

(2) CEOs of corporations wanting exemptions from the tariffs,

(3) university presidents wanting to avoid losing federal funding,

(4) senior partners at law firms seeking to avoid a punitive Trump executive order,

(5) CEOs of media corporations seeking to avoid or settle a Trump lawsuit against them and curry favor, and

(6) chairs of the nation’s largest museums, hospitals, libraries, and other nonprofits afraid of losing their tax-exempt status.

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The Oval Office

They (anxiously): Mr. President, sir, thank you for a few moments of your time.

He (impatiently): Cut to the chase: What will you give me?

They: We’re eager to make amends, sir, and give you whatever you want, sir.

He: Start with a public apology.

They: Yes, of course. We should never have done what we were doing. We’ll say so, publicly.

He: And thank me, publicly.

They: Yes, of course. You’re a great president who deserves all of our thanks.

He: The greatest president.

They: The greatest president!

He: What else?

They (groveling): We’ll contribute to a fund of your choosing. $40 million.

He: $100 million.

They: Of course, Mr. President, sir.

He: That’s it?

They (bowing): We also promise never, ever to criticize you, Mr. President, sir. We’ll stop everyone else from criticizing you, too.

He: Good. What else?

They (after kissing his hand): Your family can build a hotel on our property! Several hotels! You’ll get 50 percent of whatever it earns.

He: Fifty?

They (after kissing his shoes): No! Eighty! Ninety! We’ll give you television rights! Book deals! Book deals for your wife! We’ll invest in your Bitcoin!

He: Maybe …

They: Our people will be your serfs!

He (perking up): Serfs?

They: Slaves! And their children will be slaves to your children!

Assistant: Mr. President, sir, you’ve got another meeting.

He (to the grovelers): Let me think about it.

They (as they’re being led out): We’ll throw in a diamond brooch! A Rolex watch! A Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail!

He (to the grovelers): Come back with a better offer.

They (backing out and bowing): Thank you, Mr. President, sir! Thank you! Thank you!

(Assistant closes the door behind them.)

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This dialogue is only a bit exaggerated. There are few things Trump enjoys more than his own dominance over — and the abject subservience of — others.

But with every such deal, Trump’s perceived power grows. With every groveler, he demands more groveling. Every supplicant ensures more supplicants — among presidents and prime ministers, CEOs, university presidents, senior partners at law firms, and CEOs of media corporations.

Those who grovel are harming the world. They are traitors to America.

We fought a Revolutionary War almost 250 years ago to avoid just this.

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Robert Reich 

He can't see the full picture regarding his actions.
He doesn't understand that most political goals require tweezers and not a hammer.

Truth Is On Its Death Bed In The USA

It was bad enough for USAID to be attacked (link). VOA being shut down is a sign that the USA has bowed out of its leadership role in the world of truth, empathy and cooperation:

Voice of America journalists speak after Trump administration shuts down network

How To Know Your Media Is Trustworthy

"How can we determine which news sources are trustworthy?

"There's a general rubric I like to follow. Basically, it's a five-step system that the folks at the News Literacy Project came up with.

"First, you have to figure out what other (credible) sources say about the outlet or news source — you need to get off-platform to do this and check out sources like fact-checking websites.

"If the source seems to check out, second, you find out what their editorial standards are. Any credible media organization will have these and they should be easily discoverable somewhere on their website. If they don't have them, that's a red flag.

"Third, find out who funds and creates the content — again, at any legit outlet, this should be transparently stated somewhere on the website. There also shouldn't just be transparency around who funds the whole organization, but around which articles are sponsored and which aren't. If this isn't obvious, that's a problem.

"Fourth, look at how they handle errors. Seeing a "correction" appended to an article, for example, isn't a bad thing — everyone makes mistakes, and it's way more of a red flag when these aren't transparently corrected.

"Fifth, ask yourself about the quality of the coverage in general. For example, is the language inflammatory? Are headlines click-baity? Is the journalism original, or just parroting content from other sources? Is it clear when something is opinion, vs fact-based? And how does the coverage of a particular topic compare to that on other, legitimate sites?

"None of this is a guarantee of trustworthiness, but if a source fails to meet these standards, it's for sure a sign you SHOULDN'T trust that source."

Click on the link below for the rest of the interview:

Examining the Media: an interview with Amanda Ruggeri

Attacking Misinformation With Exposure To It

"Misinformation and logical fallacies lurk in almost every corner of social media, so it can be tempting to shield kids entirely. But new research from UC Berkeley suggests that exposure to misinformation in a supervised environment can help kids become more diligent fact-checkers. Banning social media and other digital platforms might not be the best way to equip children with long-term media literacy.

"I will begin an overview of this study and then offer some suggestions of how educators can use controlled online exposure to strengthen students’ critical thinking and digital literacy skills while minimizing the risk of harm."

Click on the link below for the details of this study:

Turning Misinformation Into Education

The Worst Of The Internet Has Arrived Within Its Mainstream

"Trolls have basically taken possession of the U.S. government. How have trolls been able to go from being mostly cordoned off in dark parts of the internet to gaining so much influence in American culture and politics? Our guest this week has spent years researching and reporting on-the-ground to learn more about how the battle online between the right and the left has moved into the real world. Elle Reeve is a correspondent at CNN and the author of “Black Pill: How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics.” She joins WITHpod to discuss the politics of “black pilled” and “red pilled” young men, the ways in which online extremism so often translates into political violence and more."

Click on the link below for a podcast delving into the above:

The Darkest Corners of the Internet

False Equivalency Exposed

"First, the media criticized Harris for not submitting to more interviews. Now that she’s submitted to interview after interview over the last several weeks, the media is criticizing her for not answering questions clearly enough.

“'She keeps answering the question she wants, not the one that was asked,' writes Michael Bender for The New York Times — as if Bender has found in Harris a notably new trait among politicians, as if candidates for office usually answer questions they are asked rather than questions they want to answer.

"She’s 'lawyerly, argumentative and fundamentally defensive,' Bender continues. Hello? What about Donald Trump?

“'She often deflects or sidesteps.' Ditto.

"She 'often responds to unpleasant questions without answering them, questions the very premise of questions she finds unfair and can take it upon herself to reword a query she considers unhelpful.'

"Oh, please. That’s what a smart candidate does."

Click on the link below for the rest of the story:

Double Standard?

Documentaries: Some Are Fiction

"People understandably expect to be presented with facts when they watch a documentary. There are, however, some notable or high-profile things that documentaries got wrong. Although truth and authenticity are elements every nonfiction film should strive for, movies are made by people, and sometimes people make mistakes, or have a bias or agenda related to a controversial subject that leads to inaccuracies, omissions, or misleading conclusions. Historical documentaries are particularly susceptible to these flaws."

Click on the link below for insight into a product of media that can violate your sense of trust by lying to you:

Famous Documentaries That Bent The Truth

Be Aware Of This Media Conglomerate

Besides Fox News and Talk Radio, there is - - -

Sinclair Broadcast Group

"A 2019 study in the American Political Science Review found that 'stations bought by Sinclair reduce coverage of local politics, increase national coverage and move the ideological tone of coverage in a direction relative to other stations operating in the same market'.[4][5] The company has been criticized by journalists and media analysts for requiring its stations to broadcast packaged video segments and its news anchors to read prepared scripts that contain pro-Trump editorial content, including warnings about purported 'fake news' in mainstream media, while Trump has tweeted support for watching Sinclair over CNN and NBC.[6][7][8][9][10] (Wikipedia)

The Dark Web

"The criminal side of the internet, the Dark Web, is unknown to most of us. This week’s guest, criminologist David Maimon, takes us behind the curtain into a world where criminals talk to one another anonymously and the personal identifying information of thousands of unsuspecting victims is up for sale. Learn how Maimon’s research warns of emerging trends and how consumers can protect themselves."

Click on the link below for a podcast presenting the details:

Inside the Dark Web

It's Not "MIS"information, it's "DIS"information From Conservatives

"Misinformation is spreading on social media as some fight to stop what they call censorship. The Supreme Court is now grappling with how the First Amendment applies to the online world."

Misinformation: wrong information by mistake.

Disinformation: wrong information by design.

Click on the link below for a 15-minute "60-Minutes" segment parsing out the difference and exposing the dishonesty of Republicans/conservatives/MAGAs:

The Right to be Wrong 

Puberty Blockers: Beware Of The Media

Right-wing media is awash with bogus "evidence" of the harm from puberty blockers. This link is a prime offender in promoting the bullsh!t, but don't let its name let you think it is valid. Here is the truth about this website (link)(link). 

Below you will find several links to VALID SUPPORT for puberty blockers:

What to know about puberty blockers

Puberty blockers for transgender and gender-diverse youth

Are Puberty Blockers Reversible?

Suicide And The Media: A Lesson In Failure

"After a long hiatus, Dr. Alan Smerbeck AKA Stormy Decisis is back to cover a topic we've been talking about discussing for a while. What does the research tell us is the responsible way to cover death by suicide? What kind of impact can the media have on the greater population if they get it wrong? And how many different ways did 13 Reasons Why completely screw up?"

Click on the link below for how not to present suicide to the public:

How "13 Reasons Why" Killed Kids

Deep Fakes & AI: Destroying Truth And The USA

"AI-generated deepfakes, entirely fabricated audio and video of recognizable people, are here. They have been on the horizon for years but they have finally arrived during the biggest global election year in history which may prove to be a make-or-break year for democracy itself as we struggle to separate fact from fiction and autocracy is on the rise around the world."

Click on the link below for a problem that society MUST address YESTERDAY!!

Deep-Fakery and Deep Consequences for Democracy

Disinformation: Destroying Truth And The USA

"Barb McQuade is the former US Attorney from Michigan, and current University of Michigan Law School professor, NBC legal analyst, and CAFE contributor. She joins Preet to discuss her new book, Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America, and how false information has become a serious threat to national security."

Click on the link below for a problem that society MUST address YESTERDAY!!

Trump & the Age of Disinformation

A Major Reason Why Conservatives Are So Powerful

Ever wonder why Talk Radio is essentially void of progressive push-back against the lies of conservatives? Or, why Faux News is so powerful? Click on the link below for why the truth of the progressive point of view is largely absent to the typical middle/lower-class voter who generally lacks critical thinking skills:

America’s Political System is Being Manipulated - but by who?

Why Taking Sides In The Israel-Palestine Conflict Is Not Wise

"Violence and oppression are destructive and corrosive to both the victim and perpetrator and this goes a long way toward explaining many of the dynamics at play in the holy land between Israelis and Palestinians."

I have posted several times on the Israel-Palestine Conflict (link). Click on the links below for examples summarizing the point made in the title of this blog post:

Israel and Palestine are less complicated than you think: Standing for international law while condemning crimes against humanity, war crimes, antisemitism, and apartheid.

John Oliver's summation is similar

A human rights lawyer, a Jewish resident of Israel, gets it

Broken News: Understanding traditional media and social media reporting on the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza

The Media And Gaza

"Media literacy is a basic requirement for understanding the war in Gaza, as propaganda, misinformation, and disinformation are being distributed for both ideological and financial reasons."

Click on the links below for a prime example of why one needs to tune up one's science-based thinking when analyzing media reports on serious events:

Broken News: Understanding traditional media and social media reporting on the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza

(https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/10/25/western-media-failures-say-more-about-the-west-than-gaza)

Sports Betting: We Didn't Learn From Its History

"Sports gambling through smartphones has become widely available and wildly addictive but the effects are being felt beyond the individual gambler's bank account and anxiety levels. Partnerships between gambling companies and colleges, influencers, and even journalistic institutions like ESPN are changing the fundamentals of the sports themselves and how they're understood by fans - all for the worse."

Click on the link below for a blight on society from which the USA did not learn from history 100 years ago.

Bet Your Life: Sports betting is opening new and expensive ways to waste your time and destroy your mental health.