Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
College Writing II Spring 2017 Paper Three “We weren’t interested in doing a story about the ‘fake news’ that is invoked by politicians against the media for stories that they don’t like or for comments that they don’t like… We’re using the term “fake news” to describe stories that are provably false, have enormous traction in the culture, and are consumed by millions of people.” --Michael Radutzky, 60 Minutes Overtime, CBS News Perhaps the most difficult aspect of doing research in 2017 is figuring out how to evaluate sources. Chris Hayes, in Twilight of the Elites, refers to what he calls “the most destructive effect of the fail decade”: The cascade of elite failure has discredited not only elites and our central institutions, but the very mental habits we use to form our beliefs about the world. At the same time, the Internet has produced an unprecedented amount of information to sort through and radically expanded the arduous task of figuring out just whom to trust. (106) Here, Hayes makes the point that it is not just that news media outlets and elites that have been “discredited”; it’s that the “mental habits” or shortcuts we thought we could rely on to form our ideas about the world have been discredited too. By our “mental habits,” Hayes means the “mental habit” of trusting what he calls “old sources of authority” that have been discredited or compromised. By 2016, the problem of what information to trust had become far more serious. Paper Three asks you to examine one aspect of the “arduous task” of figuring out what information and which sources and authorities we can trust. Write a paper in which you examine one of the following problems researchers encounter in evaluating sources. See the list on page 2 for more specific project ideas for these problems. 1. Recognizing Propaganda and determining its source and purpose. (e.g., Nazi propaganda in WWII) 2. Recognizing fake news. (e.g., “pizzagate”) 3. Dealing with writers or speakers who use “alternative facts” (that is, information that has been distorted, faked or twisted. (e.g., the “Sandy Hook is a hoax” truthers; 9/11 truthers; global climate change deniers) 4. Recognizing the bias or agenda (political, ideological or economic) of information sources (newspapers, cable TV networks, websites, broadcast TV news, local TV news, political parties, advocacy groups, lobbyists, PR departments of corporations, etc.) As you examine one of these issues, you will also need to show how ordinary readers and listeners can learn to identify sources that are not credible, that rely on lies and distortions, and that are intended to mislead the public. Finally, why does it matter if we can’t trust “the news”? General Points: It will be important to define your terms carefully. What is “fake news,” for example? Note the epigraph above distinguishes “fake news” from “news that people don’t like” or “news that challenges peoples’ prejudices.” You will to define terms like “fake news,” “alternative facts,” “propaganda” and “bias.” Choose a focus that is narrow enough for a 6 to 8-page paper. You will need original sources. That is, we will need to see examples of “fake news” or “propaganda.” You will need a project statement that lays out what your paper will do. You will also need analysis: what experts have written about these problems? What are the points that people debate? You will need a number of sources. You will need an extended “case study” or 2-3 developed examples to illustrate your project. So search for good examples. Of course, you will prepare an Annotated Bibliography before you draft your paper and a Works Cited for the final draft. Follow MLA format for in-text citation and Works Cited. Propaganda: “Propaganda” is an old term and a common one. It points to organized attempts to shape public opinion of large groups and to encourage certain beliefs and actions. You can look for cases and examples in history, often when countries want to go to war and try to get public opinion behind them (See, for example, the “Gulf of Tonkin” resolution that was a “cause” for the U.S. to go to war in Vietnam; Nazi efforts to dehumanize Jews; pro- and anti-Communist propaganda in the 1950s; propaganda used by ISIS and other extremist groups.) Fake News: These stories are “provably false” and usually disseminated via extremist websites into social media. (See, for example, “pizzagate” and a number of other stories planted by people outside the U.S. who were paid by Russia to disrupt the 2016 election.) Here, you will want to examine original documents of “fake news” and identify sources that traffic in them. “Fake news,” like propaganda, often has the purpose of misleading the public to serve someone’s agenda. Fake news may be one weapon in a propaganda campaign. “Alternative Facts”: Bless PR advisor Kellyanne Conway for giving us the term “alternative facts.” Another word for “alternative facts” is “lies.” But conspiracy theories that twist the truth, create elaborate conspiracy theories out of nothing, present information out of context, and search for sinister explanations for obvious “true” facts also involve “alternative facts.” Here are some conspiracy theories that thrive on “alternative facts”: 9/11 truther movement; Sandy Hook truther movement; the “birther” lies about Barack Obama; the “moon landing truther movement,” which is common in Europe; Oklahoma City bombing conspiracy theories. “Bias or Agenda”: This term covers the fact that writers and news outlets often have a distinct perspective or point of view. One project might be to follow one news outlet to see if you can identify an ideological or political agenda or a bias toward a particular world view. Another project might be to examine 3 “op-ed” writers (from Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and your local paper) to see if you can determine what perspective this person writes from.