Fake news SLIDES READING RECALL

The publisher of a fake news story is “indifferent to the truth.”

Bad journalism? A story is fake news only if its publisher chooses to publish it despite his doubts about
its truth because this is, all things considered, preferable for him to do. This is truth-indifference1. It is
irrelevant whether the publisher regards truth as a pro tanto reason for his decision (truth-
indifference2), and it is equally irrelevant whether he thinks that a story’s truth matters intrinsically
(truth-indifference3).

Form groups to discuss the following questions

• What are some of the negative impacts caused by fake news?

Bad for intelligence. Emotional outrage and not reason through what one thinks in those current
moments. Not intend to pursue knowledge. Harmful to people’s reputation, well-being and
being constantly put on the spot

• What are some specific examples of fake news causing such harms?

Pizzagate in 2016

• How does fake news spread so quickly?

Emotional responses: anger elicites from fake stories, astonishing, strange, and surprising.

• Why do people or groups claim that something is fake news when it isn’t?

• When should you believe a news story?

When one has already checked the reliability of the source.

• What is “reasonable skepticism” and how does it apply to fake news?

We don’t believe a claim unless there are legitimate reasons for doing so. It applies to fake news for we
don’t have to accept passively the news that comes across when navigating through the Internet.

- Different from global skepticism from second chapter

- Examples of illegitimate reasons for doing so:
o It must be fake news if it disagrees with my background knowledge. q

Example of fake news:

Cameron Harris in his home office in Annapolis, Md., on Monday. He created a fake story about an
electrical worker who stumbled upon stacked boxes of ballots pre-marked for Hillary Clinton

Slide fake news

 - Fake news is deliberately false or misleading news
stories that masquerade as truthful reporting. Fake
news is harmful, destructive, and dangerous. For
example, it has sewn distrust among people,
pushed political conflict to the boiling point,
exaggerated disagreements and social conflicts,
and incited confrontation and violence. Worse still,
fake news spreads much faster and farther
through social media than true stories can.
Fortunately, critical thinking offers a necessary
corrective.

SLIDES ON TAXONOMY OF MISINFORMATION: This is a

TYPOLOGY OF FALSE OR MISLEADING INFORMATION
Taxonomy of Misinformation

- Because it is a deliberate attempt to deceive , fake news is a form

of lie. False statements arising from mistakes, errors, or
misunderstandings, however, do not constitute fake news. Insofar
as
they do not contain deliberate deception, opinion
writing and biased reporting do not constitute fake
news either. Satirical writing is distinct from fake
news as well, since satirical stories, while fake, are
not intended to deceive. Political propaganda and fake news are
also distinct, but the latter can be used in the former. Hoaxes
 propagated though the media are rightly considered fake
news, but others are better known as financial or health
scams, computer virus hoaxes, urban legends, email hoaxes, and
art-world hoaxes.

(1) Lies

• Fakes news is a lie because it is a deliberate attempt to deceive.

• False statements that arise because of mistakes, errors, or misunderstandings

are not lies and do not constitute fake news.

(2) Propaganda

• Deliberately biased or misleading information

designed to promote a political cause or point of
view.
• Propaganda and fake news are distinct, but the
latter can be used in the former.
• the concerted effort of a social group “to get an
audience to support the aims, interests, and
policies of a particular group, by securing the
compliance of the audience with the actions
being contemplated, undertaken, or advocated
by the group”
(3) Opinion Writing

• Writing expressing opinions or advocating change (advocacy journalism) is not

fake news unless there is a deliberate attempt to deceive.

(4) Biased Reporting

• Cherry-picking facts to support one’s arguments, ignoring contrary evidence,

and mischaracterizing opponents’ views.
 • Bad journalism and dishonest, but not fake news unless there is intentional
deception.

(5) Hoaxes

• A lie fabricated to gain an advantage (financial or otherwise) or to provoke a

reaction.

• Hoaxes spread through the media are fake news, but others are better known as
financial or health scams, computer virus hoaxes, urban legends, email hoaxes,
and art-world hoaxes.

(6) Satire (The Onion)

• Satirical news is intended to be funny or outrageous and is definitely fake, but it

is not fake news.

• The distinction between satire and intentional misinformation is often lost on

readers.

TELLING FAKE FROM REAL I> REASONABLE SKEPTICISM SLIDE

- Combating fake news requires that we adopt an attitude of reasonable
skepticism. We must give up the habit of automatically accepting claims
found in the media or online, and instead refuse to believe a claim unless

there are legitimate reasons for doing so.

IS THE SOURCE CREDIBLE

TELLING FAKE FROM REAL II LEGITIMATE REASONS

Legitimate reasons are those that increase the
likelihood of a claim being true. Such reasons come
from reliable evidence, trustworthy sources, and critical
reasoning.
Motives Behind Fake New Production slide

My group (political faction, fans of politician X or pundit Y,

online community, etc.) trusts this source. (So I will too.)
This source contradicts my beliefs. (If I disagree with it, it
must be fake news.)
An opposing group rejects this source. (So I will accept it
because I hate the opposing group.)
This source reinforces what I’d like to believe. (So I will
believe it without question.)
I reject any claim that comes from sources I don’t like.
(Because nothing they say can be right.)
I feel strongly that the claims made by this source are true;
therefore, they are true. (Because my feelings alone can
certify claims.)
I have faith in my leader, and he or she hates this source.
(So I will hate it too, because I believe whatever he or she
says.)
Believing this claim or source makes me feel good. (And
feeling good is what matters.)
I let my intuition or gut tell me whether to trust a source. (It
saves time and energy.
4 \\STRATEGIES Telling Fake from Real
- There are several strategies we can employ to discern what’s real, what’s
fake, and what’s worth our time. One strategy is to read laterally. When
professional fact-checkers try to determine whether a website is a reliable
source of information, they see what other sources have to say about the
person or organization behind the site. Consulting a variety of sources helps
 put information in proper perspective, uncover errors and bias, pinpoint
consensus and disagreement among experts, and find out where the
preponderance of evidence points.
- A second strategy is to read critically. Reading critically requires that we
scrutinize the truth of the claims put forward by websites, social media, and
other sources of information. To do this, we must ask ourselves if the claims
are plausible and well-supported. We may also check to see if the claims
have been examined by reliable fact-checking organizations.
- A third strategy is using Google and Wikipedia carefully. When searching with
Google, for example, use Google Scholar and focus on domains ending
in .edu, .gov, and .org to yield more reliable, trustworthy results. And while
Wikipedia entries are not consistently reliable, they can be useful places to
start. The lists of resources at the end of articles can point you to
authoritative books, essays, reference materials, experts, and websites.
Starting with these lists, you can follow where your research leads, checking
out the reliability and suitability of the resources as you go.
- A final strategy is to remember to check your own biases. Confirmation bias is
a common human weakness that can lead us to accept claims that aren’t
true, see relationships that aren’t there, and find confirmation that isn’t
genuine. The best cure is to seek disconfirming evidence by looking beyond
the people and policies we agree with, the books that support our views, and
the magazines and newspapers that echo our political outlook.

THE ETHICS OF FAKE NEWS

SOME QUESTIONS TO ASK

Does this source have a good “past track record”

Does anything suggest that this information source would not provide accurate
information in this particular case?”

Is there any mention of (or can one locate) other sources (preferably experts
working independently from one another), who can corroborate a particular claim?

Fake Images

- Today’s technology can create sophisticated fake images and videos that
seem indistinguishable from the real thing. There are, however, some ways
 to detect fakes. The first step is, once again, adopting an attitude of
reasonable skepticism—unlearning the habit of automatically accepting a

photo or video at face value. From

there, we can try to
determine the source of the image, which can
provide important clues about its credibility.
Checking for previous uses with a reverse image
search can also help to reveal a fake. Finally, we
should remain wary of incredible images and always
look for incongruities—such as missing shadows,
broken or distorted lines, and repeated or cloned
regions—in the images we see.

FAKE IMAGES GENETIC MANIPULATION

I am sure you spotted that the photograph above is a photoshopped fake, but according to a
recent study at Warwick University, about a third of manipulated images go undetected by
viewers.

FAKE IMAGES TRUMP

This cover — dated March 1, 2009 — looks like an impressive memento

from Trump’s pre-presidential career. To club members eating lunch, or
golfers waiting for a pro-shop purchase, it seemed to be a signal that
Trump had always been a man who mattered. Even when he was just a
reality TV star, Trump was the kind of star who got a cover story in Time.
But that wasn’t true.
The Time cover is a fake.
There was no March 1, 2009, issue of Time magazine. And there was no
issue at all in 2009 that had Trump on the cover.
With the creation of fake images and videos proliferating in
journalism, politics and social media, it’s increasingly important
to be vigilant. While experts are developing tools to help fight
against the more serious attempts at disinformation, we have
some simple tricks you can use to help improve your fake image
savvy too: