Feature Post #43 Fake news: thoughts and review of some recent sources
Our monthly feature post is brought to you by our very own team member, Siobhan McGuinness.
This month for #uklibchat Twitter chat we bring you the topic of Fake News, I hope you can all join us on the 6th of June from 6:30-8:30 BST.
The Fake news June #uklibchat agenda is here so feel free to post any questions you have.
—
Recently I attended a seminar and a webinar devoted this topic of Fake News by Alan Carbery, who calls it an oxymoron and asks how can news be fake? If it is fake surely it is not news. I wrote a guest post for libfocus on the Fake news seminar and webinar and hope to explore these issues further in a healthy discussion with fellow librarians in this month’s chat.
For instance; What information is the next generation absorbing? How can teachers and librarians make sure kids are getting the right information and are getting a balanced view on these issues? Is the technology we are all using doing more harm than good?
In a most recent webcast held by the School Library Journal, Frank W. Baker who is the creator of the media literacy clearing house states:
“Young people cannot distinguish news from advertising, they have problems identify credible sources of information, they have not had much experience with close reading of media text”
He urges everyone to become healthier skeptics, and be better critical thinkers of messages you encounter online.
Baker shows how we can use key questions when analysing media messages, look at what techniques are used, why were they used and how do they communicate this message?
He also illustrates how huge companies like Google are really trying to teach their users how to search and find credible sources. Google recently launched a video called Think before you share which you can view here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcdZm3WAF4A
I was struck recently when the horrific event in Manchester showed on my Twitter feed, I instantly began sharing and retweeting and not thinking for a second that anything could or would be coming from a fake source until I saw this picture and it woke me up.
In light of these events, we need now more than ever to be vigilant in what we share and how we share it.
I hope that librarians all over the world can spread this lesson to all their users, use the resources available about media literacy and always be alert.
The following link offers links to a range of useful content, useful in finding strategies to prevent the sharing of inaccurate information.
Digital Literacy and “Fake News”: Resources to Help You Help Your Students
About siobhanmac
