It is easy to believe that ‘fake news’ is a modern phenomenon, brought about by social media and promulgated by politicians. Yet as the British Library’s event, ‘Breaking the News’ exhibition demonstrated, fake news – or that unforgettable phrase ‘alternative facts’ – have been features of news reporting for at least 500 years.
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Terry Freedman and bookcase, by Terry Freedman
Fake news?
I’ve compiled a number of reviews of non-fiction books that either deal with helping people detect untruths (such as in so-called scientific research) or presenting something as true when, in fact, it isn’t.
Read MoreFake news and media literacy
I like to try and give people the benefit of the doubt, but is that always the right approach? Ambrose Bierce defined a cynic as someone who sees things as they are, and not as they ought to be.
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fake news by Terry Freedman
16 articles and resources about fake news
The following links were included in a recent issue of my newsletter, Digital Education.
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Archive, by Terry Freedman
On this day #5: Review of Trust Me, I'm Lying
On 14 October 2019 I reviewed Trust Me, I’m Lying. It’s a book about how bloggers and mainstream media can be manipulated. It’s pretty sobering stuff.
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Click the cover to see the book on Amazon (Amazon Associate link)
Book Review: Critical Media Literacy and Fake News in Post-Truth America
Don’t let the country-specific title put you off. This is a very useful (and readable) book.
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Fake news, by Terry Freedman.jpg
6 articles and 13 resources about fake news
Here are some interesting articles, plus guides on how to check news on the internet, including photos and videos. Plus classroom activities.
Read MoreReview: Trust me, I'm lying
In TMIL, Holiday demonstrates how easy it is to manipulate the news. A must-read for teachers of media or digital literacy.
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newsguard toolbar shield, screenshot by Terry Freedman
Review of Newsguard
Newsguard is a service that rates websites for honesty, transparency and trustworthiness. It evaluates websites against several criteria, such as whether information is gathered and presented responsibly. A browser extension will enable you to see at a glance whether or a not a site they have evaluated is trustworthy.
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Proof of time travel? Photo by Terry Freedman
More fake news
Since mentioning that I am working on a special fake news edition of Digital Education, I have come across a few more brilliant resources.
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Digital News Report 2019 from Reuters
Notes from the desktop: digital news report
The Reuters Institute’s report on Digital News 2019 has just been published. Here are a couple of extracts.
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Trust Me, I’m Lying
Quick look: Trust Me, I'm Lying
This book lifts the lid on the practices that various media use to promulgate fake news even while appearing to be squeaky clean.
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Fake news, by Terry Freedman
Fake news: a role for the Department for Education?
Here is a very brief report of a conference about fake news, and an article about what the Department for Education could do to help tackle it.
Read MoreFake news and FLoSR
Why is it that whenever a problem arises in society, some people's first recourse is to say that schools need to deal with it? And in the context of fake news, what can media organisations do to address the issue?
Read MoreFake news: Resources and suggestions
Fake news? Alternative facts? Post-truth? Read on for information about very useful and interesting resources to use in the classroom.
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Photo taken in a local bakery
A worrying aspect of the fake news problem
What some statistics tell us about where (young) people get their news from, and what they do to check whether it's true or not.
Read MoreA generic classroom activity for dealing with fake news
Fake news is in the news -- unless, of course, that is not itself fake news! Here's an infographic summarising a generic classroom activity, plus details of how to get a lot more information.
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