Fake News – Reflection

Due to a large number of comments on my blog this week I will not be able to show all discussions I had, instead I will choose a few comments and display what I learnt from them.

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While I had heard about fake news , I did not realise the prevalence of it online until researching for this topic. By reading other’s blogs and reflecting upon my own, I have further learnt about its severity, and how to combat it.

I discussed with Yusra what positives of filter bubbles exist, where she stated that they can shield children from inappropriate content online. I explored this Idea further with Carl, discovering that 35% of Amazon’s sales come from recommendations from an algorithm (Marshall, 2006) and that the filter bubble allows users to shop for related items easier.

I discussed with Xavier the variety of media sources that harbour fake news stories, discovering that social media websites are the primary host of fake news stories. We discovered that this was mainly down to the naivety of social media users, and their tendency to share articles to a widespread audience without assessing the validity of them first.

I discussed with Dom the severity of fake news and he provided an article about why individuals choose to ignore the fact some news is fake and read regardlessly. He notified me of a plan by the BBC to educate students about spotting fake news. We discussed how this is a great idea and I expressed my opinion that this should be a part of the syllabus for every school in the UK.

Chloe asked me a more personal question about how echo chambers affect me individuals. I reflected on my online behaviours with regards to echo chambers, creating a short infographic to display this.

By reflecting on these behaviours I came to the conclusion that while I am in an echo chamber, only certain aspects of this definition apply to me. I would argue that I have tried to not isolate myself from other’s points of view, as I believe freedom of speech and expression is what makes the internet so unique and useful.

 

Word Count: 319

My comment on Yusra’s blog

My comment on Xavier’s blog

 

References

Engadget. (2017). The BBC will teach school kids how to spot fake news. Available at: https://www.engadget.com/2017/12/06/bbc-fake-news/ [Accessed 19 Mar. 2018].

Marshall, M. (2006). Aggregate Knowledge raises $5M from Kleiner, on a roll. VentureBeat. Available at: https://venturebeat.com/2006/12/10/aggregate-knowledge-raises-5m-from-kleiner-on-a-roll/ [Accessed 19 Mar. 2018].

news, 4. (2017). 4 reasons why people ignore facts and believe fake news. Business Insider. Available at: http://uk.businessinsider.com/why-do-people-believe-fake-news-2017-3 [Accessed 19 Mar. 2018].

Ponsot, E. (2017). A complete guide to seeing the news beyond your cozy filter bubble. Quartz. Available at: https://qz.com/896000/a-complete-guide-to-seeing-beyond-your-cozy-filter-bubble/ [Accessed 19 Mar. 2018].

 

BBC News. (2017). Fake news: Universities offer tips. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-41902914 [Accessed 12 Mar. 2018].

FutureLearn. (2018). Media Literacy – Learning in the Network Age – University of Southampton.  Available at: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/learning-network-age/4/steps/303353[Accessed 12 Mar. 2018].

Ifla.org. (2018). IFLA — How To Spot Fake News.  Available at: https://www.ifla.org/publications/node/11174 [Accessed 12 Mar. 2018].

Pariser, E. (2011). Beware online “filter bubbles”.  Ted.com. Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles[Accessed 12 Mar. 2018].

Pennycook, G. and Rand, D. (2017). Who Falls for Fake News? The Roles of Analytic Thinking, Motivated Reasoning, Political Ideology, and Bullshit Receptivity. SSRN Electronic Journal.

To the best of your knowledge, h. (2016). Fake news social media exposure in the U.S.  Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/649234/fake-news-exposure-usa/ [Accessed 12 Mar. 2018].