Watch the videos linked below (yes! all of them!)
Option 1: Focus on the Crash Course Videos and a brief reflection post that answers the following questions:
What is the difference between misinformation and disinformation?
Which are we more likely to encounter?
What makes fact-checkers effective at their jobs?
What was something new that you learned?
What is one way that you might change your behaviors online based on the videos?
CrashCourse. (2019, January 8). Introduction to Crash Course Navigating Digital Information #1 [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/pLlv2o6UfTU
CrashCourse. (2019, January 15). The Facts about Fact Checking: Crash Course Navigating Digital Information #2 [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/EZsaA0w_0z0
CrashCourse. (2019, February 12). Evaluating Evidence: Crash Course Navigating Digital Information #6 [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/hxhbOvR2TGk
CrashCourse. (2019, March 5). Click Restraint: Crash Course Navigating Digital Information #9 [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/5tw44SkkXQg
Then respond to the two comment in a few sentences.
Respond in a few sentences to these two comments below:
Comment #1
Misinformation represents misleading content or material that is obviously deceptive or false but was not created or generated to cause harm. These may be photos, misleading statistics, dates, and translations that could be mistaken as reliable sources, credible evidence, or trusted content. Whereas disinformation is any content or material falsely created or altered such as conspiracy theories and rumors with the sole purpose of harming an individual, an organization, or a country. Thus, misinformation may be inadvertent or unintentional while disinformation is intentionally designed to deceive or cause harm.
Both misinformation and disinformation seem to parade all over the world and almost all social media platforms. We are more likely going to encounter more misinformation given that it could easily be passed on inadvertently or deliberately. A recent report by Hameleers and colleagues (Hameleers, 2022), which surveyed 6643 individuals across multiple European countries indicated an average perception of misinformation to be slightly higher than the average perception of disinformation.
What makes fact-checkers more effective at their jobs is the level of detailed steps taken, and time spent while thoroughly sifting through each step. As mentioned in the video materials, their focus is not the design or functionality, or fancy navigation links but they carefully check the “who” and “why” behind the content. They also do a thorough review of sources, claims, and more importantly the validity and relevance of each claim.
The techniques demonstrated with the click restraint were new to me. Having the patience to glance through the first page and critically examine each URL, author, and source before even clicking on the link is notable. One thing I will change based on the videos is the practice of deciphering good evidence from bad one. Having the “supposed” evidence doesn’t necessarily make it the right or the relevant evidence and I will be paying extra attention going forward in my source interrogations.
Hameleers, M., Brosius, A., & de Vreese, C. H. (2022). Whom to trust? Media exposure patterns of citizens with perceptions of misinformation and disinformation related to the news media. European Journal of Communication, 02673231211072667.
Comment #2
The difference between misinformation and disinformation is that misinformation is “accidentally” wrong or misleading information and disinformation is “intentionally” wrong information. I think we are likely to encounter both, however I think we’re more likely to run into misinformation. Fact checkers are effective at their jobs because they ask themselves three questions: 1. Who is behind this information? 2. What is the evidence for their claims? and 3. What do other sources say about the organization and its claims? They are also good at their jobs because they go on to evaluate the credibility of the source and check multiple, trustworthy sources.
These videos were fun and something I was happy to learn about was spurious correlations. I didn’t know that there was a name for “those things have nothing to do with one another,” and now I do! One way I might change my behaviors is to look more closely at sources. The videos make a good point that not all evidence is equal. I think this is important to recognize since some sources may be highly recognized but extremely biased.
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