Should the schools teach about deceptive news?

I'm just about ready to bring my series of posts regarding deceptive news to an end. One thing that I wanted to make sure I discussed was a proposed solution to the problem. A lot of people want the schools to teach what they call digital literacy.

Deceptive media tries to pass off ads as news

Have you ever noticed that if Disney adds an attraction to a theme park, the media runs stories trying to get people to go? This is not news. This is advertising portrayed as news.

Some deception in headlines can be detected simply by reading the article

Barack Obama was the 12th best president in American history. At least, that's what some headlines told us. Some sources were a bit better than that and clarified that this was according to a C-SPAN poll.

Knowing sources has limited value in identifying deceptive news

It absolutely can be helpful to know the source of information. Unfortunately, there are serious limitations to the value. Why? Because there are no trustworthy sources out there.

Finding bias in deceptive news

Bias is human nature. For the news, this can reflect such things as what stories are being reported and how they are being reported. Bias is one of the arguments that people are making to encourage individuals to vet news sources. In reality, most signs of bias can be found without having to leave an article.

Studies can be deceptive and should be met with skepticism

This study says this. That study says that. These two studies seem to contradict each other. Actually, most sources don't discuss contradictory studies.

The media will go off topic as a means to deceive

I have seen it numerous times. An article is posted online about an instance that is suspected to be racial. No evidence is presented that race was indeed a factor. Then they bring up a completely unrelated instance in which a white police officer shot an unarmed black man.

Another way the media deceives: Inconsistencies in coverage

A lot of coverage from the media is technically true, but presented in a manner that is intended to push beliefs and opinions. This can be seen in how they are more willing to share stories that back their narrative than contrary stories.

One way the media deceives is by taking things out of context

Stats and quotes can help individuals develop opinions. Unfortunately, these things can be manipulated to prove just about anything. In many cases, we need more context than the media is willing to provide.

Some deceptive news can be found between facts and opinions

Is it a fact or opinion? Is a statement true, false, or an individual's personal interpretation? We have all been introduced to the difference between fact and opinion. Like most either-or concepts, this idea is overly simplistic. I would even say that most statements involve both objective and subjective elements.

Opinions stated as facts can be deceptive

There are many ways that the media deceives us. Not all of them involve lying. One approach is to state opinions as facts.

Mainstream media can get duped by fake news

Years ago, I saw a report about the intelligence levels of Internet users based off of the browser being used. It turned out that this report was a hoax.

Fake news about fake news

The mainstream media has spent a lot of time discussing fake news. Their primary arguments have been about how conservatives are too easily falling for fake news on social media. While that is technically a valid concern, there are serious problems with their arguments.

Outright lies in deceptive news

When people talk about fake news, they frequently like to talk about outright lies. In other words, people are looking out for reports and articles that knowingly provide false information purely for the sake of manipulating viewers and readers. There are some obscure websites and social networking pages created entirely for the purpose of spreading these lies. Mainstream media sources are generally a little different. Most of their lies have some truth behind them, and they mix lies with facts and opinions.

Conservative roots of "fake news"

I am going to switch from discussing deceptive news to discussing fake news. The reason for this shift is because I want to write about how the term is actually being used.

Sharing deceptive news

I forget what the percentage was, but I read online about how many people shared stories that they found out was fake. The argument being made was that the number was too high. I won't hesitate to say that the number was actually too low.

Deceptive News

We have been hearing a lot about fake news. Conservatives have been highly vocal about dishonesty from sources that have a broad reach. Some liberals have also gotten involved, fixating on a few obscure lies told by conservatives.