Thursday, November 24, 2016

What happens when you can't trust the news anymore?

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/11/23/503129818/study-finds-students-have-dismaying-inability-to-tell-fake-news-from-real

"Middle school, high school and college students in 12 states were asked to evaluate the information presented in tweets, comments and articles. More than 7,800 student responses were collected.
In exercise after exercise, the researchers were 'shocked' — their word, not ours — by how many students failed to effectively evaluate the credibility of that information.
The students displayed a 'stunning and dismaying consistency' in their responses, the researchers wrote, getting duped again and again. They weren't looking for high-level analysis of data but just a 'reasonable bar' of, for instance, telling fake accounts from real ones, activist groups from neutral sources and ads from articles."

So what happens when the news is no longer dependent on fact?  What happens to our society when we believe things that aren't real?  How can we maintain a news feed that at least sticks to reality?

I blame Fox News.

1 comment:

Dave Black said...

Pointing a finger only at Fox shows you how easily the mainstream media can dupe even those who consider themselves "vigilant"