Media Literacy

Media literacy is becoming a vital skill within information literacy in order to interpret news we receive in various formats. Leading up to the 2016 election, researchers found that "for the first time in history, two-thirds of Americans relied on social media for their news" (Shearer and Gottfried, 2017). Personal responsibility still remains an important role in evaluation; however, our former criteria checklist needs to be updated to consider new ways misinformation can be easily fabricated or manipulated. Consider where the story originated, who was the source, has it already been debunked somewhere else, what do the images tell you, and what is the objective of the story? Use the tools provided below to assist with your assessment and analyzation.

"Falsehood flies, and the truth comes limping after it."

-Jonathan Swift, 1710

MEDIA BIAS

While bias and influence have always impacted news outlets, it is becoming increasingly more prominent in the news culture. Evidence of this can be seen in how the same news story will be presented in different ways to promote the views and agenda of its provider. Educate yourself on which media outlets veer to the "left", "right", and those that report from a "neutral" position.

ad fontes media: Interactive Media Bias Chart

Allsides: Media Bias Chart

AllSides: Balanced News Coverage and Media Bias Ratings

ONLINE MISINFORMATION

TROLLS AND SOCK PUPPETS

Trolls--people who post online to provoke others, sometimes for their own amusement and sometimes as part of a coordinated campaign
Sock puppets-owners that use imposter accounts to attack their

critics or praise themselves

DEEPFAKES, SHALLOWFAKES, CHEAPFAKES, AND DUMBFAKES

Deepfakes--videos that have been digitally created with artificial intelligence or machine learning to make it appear something happened that did not
Shallowfakes, Cheapfakes, and Dumbfakes--videos that have been doctored using basic techniques, such as slowing down, speeding up,

or cutting footage

BOTS AND CYBORGS

Bots--autonomous programs that run accounts without human involvement
Cyborgs--a hybrid account that uses a bot with occasional human involvement to respond to others and to post original content

(Definitions and terms taken from "Cyborgs, trolls and bots: A guide to online misinformation")

FACT CHECKING RESOURCES

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TOOLS FOR SPOTTING FAKES

Social Media-Twitter

Image and Video