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Don’t just read this headline!

From the previous post on Digital Differences, we have seen how internet access could help narrow the social gap by increasing people’s access to information. At the same time, the adaptation of Internet and the growth of social media see an alarming spread of false or misled information. Hence, it is important to obtain the skill to identify reliable sources of information. Think twice Whenever you come across an article, think of this checklist. Continue reading →

HALF TRUTHS, WHOLE LIES?

Something seems odd. It feels disparate. Let me walk you through it. My Observation and Evaluation I analysed these numbers and wondered how there is a significant 8% rise over just a year as compared to 3% over three years in usage of social media sites as news sources when 88% (64%+24%) of the population feel fake or fabricated news cause confusion. This was perplexing to me. (Shearer, E. and Gottfried, J. (2018). And Barthel, M., Mitchell, A. and Holcomb, J. (2018). Continue reading →

HALF TRUTHS, WHOLE LIES?

Something seems odd. It feels disparate. Let me walk you through it. My Observation and Evaluation I analysed these numbers and wondered how there is a significant 8% rise over just a year as compared to 3% over three years in usage of social media sites as news sources when 88% (64%+24%) of the population feel fake or fabricated news cause confusion. This was perplexing to me. (Shearer, E. and Gottfried, J. (2018). And Barthel, M., Mitchell, A. and Holcomb, J. (2018). Continue reading →

How is your media literacy?

Media Literacy In a world where we are heavily surrounded by digital technologies, it is important to be cautious of online information. As noted in last week’s topic of digital differences, we touched on the notion that our learning and views can be limited if we do not widen our learning network. One way to achieve this is through improving our media literacy. Continue reading →

How is your media literacy?

Media Literacy In a world where we are heavily surrounded by digital technologies, it is important to be cautious of online information. As noted in last week’s topic of digital differences, we touched on the notion that our learning and views can be limited if we do not widen our learning network. One way to achieve this is through improving our media literacy. Continue reading →

How is your media literacy?

Media Literacy In a world where we are heavily surrounded by digital technologies, it is important to be cautious of online information. As noted in last week’s topic of digital differences, we touched on the notion that our learning and views can be limited if we do not widen our learning network. One way to achieve this is through improving our media literacy. Continue reading →

How is your media literacy?

Media Literacy In a world where we are heavily surrounded by digital technologies, it is important to be cautious of online information. As noted in last week’s topic of digital differences, we touched on the notion that our learning and views can be limited if we do not widen our learning network. One way to achieve this is through improving our media literacy. Continue reading →

Are YOU contributing to fake news?

  Bertrand Russell once said “Do not feel absolutely certain of anything.”. However, this is easier said than done. It seems that on a deep psychological level, we are attracted to clickbait and sensationalist headlines, which leaves us vulnerable to believing false information. Especially when we consider that lies travel faster than truth (Vosoughi et al, 2018). Pictured: Fake news travels faster. Continue reading →

“Fake News” vs “Real News”

https://www.factcheck.org/2016/11/how-to-spot-fake-news/  Social media is a huge part of our everyday lives it is easy for news to get misinterpreted. News stories can be published within minutes of an event and will be shared over Twitter and Facebook as soon as the story has been leaked. But just because a story has been shared multiple times it doesn’t mean that the information is 100% accurate or reliable. Continue reading →

“Fake News” vs “Real News”

https://www.factcheck.org/2016/11/how-to-spot-fake-news/  Social media is a huge part of our everyday lives it is easy for news to get misinterpreted. News stories can be published within minutes of an event and will be shared over Twitter and Facebook as soon as the story has been leaked. But just because a story has been shared multiple times it doesn’t mean that the information is 100% accurate or reliable. Continue reading →

Who can you trust?

The Web is an endless pool of information and, while it may sound obvious, it’s very easy to get mislead. This comes down to the need to grow our personal learning networks but not knowing where to look, or being satisfied with content that align with our beliefs (Flaxman, Goel and Rao, 2016). The latter is called an echo chamber. We tend to interact with people similar to us and not often see the views of those from different online communities (Future Learn, 2018). Continue reading →

Learning on the Web – who can you trust?

The Web is an endless pool of information and, while it may sound obvious, it’s very easy to get mislead. This comes down to the need to grow our personal learning networks but not knowing where to look, or being satisfied with content that align with our beliefs (Flaxman, Goel and Rao, 2016). The latter is called an echo chamber. We tend to interact with people similar to us and not often see the views of those from different online communities (Future Learn, 2018). Continue reading →

Fake News: Assess your source

The Problem: The great thing about social media is the freedom of anybody to create an account which they can post from. Which is also the huge problem with social media. Despite Fake News not being a new phenomenon, it’s ability to dominate discussion has risen by a vast amount since the introduction of social media (Walton, 2018) . Continue reading →

Fake News: Assess your source

The Problem: The great thing about social media is the freedom of anybody to create an account which they can post from. Which is also the huge problem with social media. Despite Fake News not being a new phenomenon, it’s ability to dominate discussion has risen by a vast amount since the introduction of social media (Walton, 2018) . Continue reading →