Recognizing fake news now a required subject in California schools
Recognizing fake news now a required subject in California schools
In addition to identifying fake news, students will learn other media literacy skills, such as thinking critically about internet content.
Are Republicans already unironically upset that the majority of examples of misinformation are from conservative sources?
I honestly hope that isn't true, even if left wing sources are harder to find. This is a case where I believe showing 'both sides' is necessary. It's less likely that they will be duped by people on the left, but it is still possible and they need to be aware of that.
I don't like the idea of having to provide an equal amount of examples from 'both sides' when that isn't matching reality, on an issue specifically affecting one political party more than the other (or maybe we should bring back the fairness doctrine, I don't know). There are misinformation examples from probably every part of the political spectrum, but they should be exemplified proportionally. Showing the reality, which is that a majority of fake news is generated by conservative sources, is important.
It doesn't answer your question completely, but apparently conservatives are more likley to belive fake news.
Here is a quote from a study with a lot of links to related works.
In particular, Grinberg, Joseph, Friedland, Swire-Thompson, and Lazer [[42], p. 374] found that “individuals most likely to engage with fake news sources were conservative leaning.” Indeed, political bias can be a more important predictor of fake news believability than conspiracy mentality [43] despite conspirational predispositions playing a key role in motivated reasoning [44]. Perhaps because of this, an important body of research has examined whether conservatism influences fake news believability [45,46]. Tellingly, Robertson, Mourão, and Thorson [47] found that in the US liberal news consumers were more aware and amenable to fact-checking sites, whereas conservatives saw them as less positive as well as less useful to them, which might be why conservative SM users are more likely to confuse bots with humans, while liberal SM users tend to confuse humans with bots [48]. In particular, those who may arguably belong to the loud, populist and extremist minority wherein “1% of individuals accounted for 80% of fake news source exposures, and 0.1% accounted for nearly 80% of fake news sources shared” ([42], p. 374).
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378720622001537#bib0045
Credibility works in mysterious ways
News is supposed to tell you what happened not how to feel about it. When you notice an article is using a lot of emotionally charged language, that’s a good sign to check the facts (if there are any)
Realistically, any piece of information is reported from a point of view. It is published following an editorial line, tinted by an opinon or an alter motive. This is why you should always consider the source of the information and if you really need to know, crosscheck with multiple independant sources.
It kind of sounds like you’re mistrusting of journalist in general. I don’t think journalists are the problem though, columnists maybe, and publishers definitely. There is the big difference between calling a LGBT bookreading a hellscape and calling a war zone a hellscape. Some news tells you what is; others chew it, digest it, and put sprinkles on the soft serve for you.
Internet shizzos will believe this is indoctrination and brainwashing
They already think that about science class
I still remember a 2 day assignment we had of finding scientific articles, and classifying them as trustworthy or not. Ie, was it in a peer reviewed journal vs a study at a "clinic" that has bias in the outcome. I remember that to this day and feel like it was a major shift toward my ability to think critically
I can already hear Republicans writing up a ban on this type of class in Florida.
Shortcut is to just include it under their definition of CRT
...a bit like how California classified bees as fish, except that was for conservation and this would just be evil lol
you sure they wouldn't like to tell young people what to believe and what not?
Critical thinking skills != Telling people what to think
But then again, republicans won't see a difference, or they'll pretend not to see a difference
Yeah, they would, but I guarantee the course wouldn't be about spotting fake news like this article is suggesting is what is going to happen.
Not a Republican but see one risk and one flaw in teaching kids to rely 100% on science: there are strategic reasons to make some decisions which you miss if you rely solely on "science" sources. The biggest risk here is if kids are taught to trust anything called "science" but not how to differentiate between good studies and bad studies - there are journals that will publish anything, and it's easy to manipulate people if they cannot effectively differentiate between good and bad studies, which requires a deeper understanding of statistics and ability to think critically about the variables tested, controlled, and overlooked or ignored.
I think you misunderstood. The article doesn't suggest that children are taught to rely on science, but instead suggests they use critical-thinking skills.
The class is dedicated to developing critical thinking skills.
Nearly every act of racism, bigotry, xenophobia, misogyny, homophobia and transphobia ever committed has been committed by conservatives.
We should be teaching our children why it is immoral to do business or keep relationships with conservatives.
...Progressive here. Blatantly untrue. First of all, all those words are a form of bigotry, for clarification. Second of all, everyone is capable of— and has participated in— bigotry at some point. It's just baked into culture and you pick it up through osmosis— whether you wanted to or not. Some of it you may never participate in, but others? It takes effort to fight the stuff that slips through the cracks.
fully expect the entire right wing media aparatus to be demonizing this as something ridiculous as brainwashing kids against facts and truth, and "LIBERALS REQUIRE FORCED INDOCTRINATION TO MAKE KIDS ACCEPT THEIR LIES".
Or worse, they have the same sort of class, but opposite- one that teaches kids how to recognize "liberal" prose and teaches them to reject it.
And you know it will devolve into little more than literal nazi indoctrination, with hatred for trans, gays, jews, immigrants,etc.
Thinking critically about internet content
Random confession bear meme on the board
"Ok class. What are some things wrong with this meme? Samantha?"
"It's not actually confessing anything?"
"Correct!"
Really bad news for the MAGAs.
it'll be illegal in 3...2...
Something we need, not just in schools but outside as well.
This, frankly, is an incredible move. Hopefully us Europeans take notice and consider implementing something similar.
hope we do not.
Imagine the most fringe right Party in your country. Now imagine they come to power. Now imagine what they would do with such a class.
For what its worth, my country has had a far right party in power for the last 13 years, and I still want this.
...Ban it? Or at least keep the name and ban the actual content. I mean, they clearly can't teach people to think critically. They'd be asking people to scrutinize what they're doing.
We did this when I went to school 30 years ago
So what is this: Research, learning logical fallacies and critical thinking OR Trust the government, authority and sanctioned 'experts'? 🤔
I'm guessing door number 3: ineffective curriculum, teachers who just try to get through it instead of make it interesting, and students end up not caring at all. It'll just be some box that needs to get ticked so some politician gets a pat on the back. I'm guessing they do it in the last quarter of the school year during senior year when nobody is paying attention anyway.
I'm not expecting much here. California, please impress me, I'm setting the bar incredibly low here.
If they believe 500 were killed in an Israeli strike on a hospital in Gaza they must fail the class immediately xD
That depends on which of the several bombed hospitals you're talking about.
Who the fuck ends a comment like that with "xD"
It's actually insane how you are getting downvoted when the Hamas' claim is already debunked as being in fact fake news.
Isreal is doing a lot of bad shit, and has been for a long time. But this particular bombing never happened as described by Hamas.
You are refering to western media inventing that claim from a post actually talking about probably up to 500 casualties (dead or injured), aren't you?
If not... here's your chance to not fail the class: show any actual source for that claim that isn't media themselves refering to "we haerd someone said".
Yes, the same for claims that Israel didn't murder more than ten thousand civilians on a disproportionate response (like a certain world leader did before having to stick his feet into his mouth). Focusing on one instance of disinformation to create a smokescreen for war crimes is disingenuous at best.
Nice! I had that when I grew up actually!
I'm 38.
It has been the one most useful thing I learned in any school honestly
This is what peak Communism looks like
wtf i love communism now
Why are we allowing it to be called "fake news" rather than what we should be calling it, which is, just totally made up?
How is it not lying to the public, how is that not illegal?
It's not even at the level of positive/negative interpretation of news events so that it benefits a political viewpoint. It is simply straight up made up lies.