A year after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the role of misinformation in fueling the historic attack continues to come into clearer focus, as does the extent to which falsehoods still shape Americans’ divided views of the deadly riot. Misinformation swept across podcasts, Facebook — as documented in this new investigation by ProPublica and The Washington Post — and other social media platforms ahead of the attack, allowing false narratives to take root and spread. Some news organizations recently published fact-checking roundups that debunk persistent falsehoods and underscore the ongoing threat misinformation poses to democracy.
Idea: Ask students to make a list of facts — or things they think are facts — about the Jan. 6 insurrection. Then, challenge students to fact-check each item on their list using credible sources. Discuss their findings. Did they learn anything surprising? How can they know whether a source is credible? As a class, compile a shared list of fact-checked statements about the events of Jan. 6.
TikTok’s suggestion algorithm doesn’t just learn what intrigues us, it can also “teach” us a flattened and distorted version of ourselves, argues science journalist Eleanor Cummins in a Jan. 3 opinion piece published by Wired. Though the platform sometimes surfaces revealing aspects of our interests — even those of which we’re not entirely aware — it also has the tendency to “sort us into ever more rigid identities,” reducing our conception of ourselves to just those aspects that help the algorithm target us with ads.
Discuss: Has a suggestion algorithm ever revealed something to you about yourself that surprised you? What aspects of you as a person can content algorithms never learn? Do you agree that frequent social media users might embrace a version of themselves that content algorithms reflect? Why or why not? Why is it important to remember that “TikTok’s real motivation isn’t psychoanalysis, it’s profit”? Does this motivation change your view of the videos it recommends? Will it change the way you interact with the platform?
Dig deeper: Use this think sheet to help students think critically about how TikTok’s recommendation algorithm can affect its users.
This short video from the Pew Research Center examines declining trust in news and shows how changes across the news industry in recent decades have impacted this dynamic.
Discuss: What sources of information do you trust? Why? How can you know whether a source is credible? What characteristics should you look for? Why is trust in major institutions, including the news media, declining? What are some possible consequences of struggling to identify — and trust — reliable sources of information?
Idea: According to the video, “personal connection with a journalist or a news organization” matters when it comes to people’s views of the news media. But research shows most Americans have never spoken with or been interviewed by a local journalist. As a class, create a short list of questions about basic newsroom practices and standards. Then discuss students’ questions with a local journalist using NLP’s Newsroom to Classroom directory of journalist volunteers.
NO: Betty White did not say that she got her COVID-19 vaccine booster on Dec. 28, 2021. YES: This is a fabricated quote. NO: The quote never appeared in the report from Crow River Media that is included in this viral screenshot. YES: White’s agent also told the Associated Press that she did not receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster on Dec. 28 and that the quote was fake.
NewsLit takeaway: Propagators of anti-vaccine disinformation previously have seized on celebrity deaths — including baseball great Hank Aaron; boxer Marvin Hagler; Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh; and rapper DMX — to falsely impugn the safety of COVID-19 vaccines. Remember: Vaccinated people also die of other causes and a significant portion of the population, including celebrities, are vaccinated. Posts that falsely connect high-profile deaths to vaccines are often attempting to exploit the public’s emotions to generate fear and distrust. This particular rumor has another red flag: The fake quote has been added to a screenshot of a social media preview for an actual article in which the quote never appeared. This lends the fabricated quote an air of authenticity without providing a clickable link, making it less likely that people will check the alleged source to confirm that the quote is authentic.
NO: Putting tap water on an at-home COVID-19 antigen test does not test the water for COVID-19. YES: Misusing home antigen tests by putting water or any other liquid on them instead of the “extraction reagent” provided by the manufacturer can lead to inaccurate or misleading results. NO: According to the World Health Organization, the “SARS-CoV-2 virus has not been detected in drinking water supplies” because “water treatment methods neutralize infectious pathogens present in the water.” YES: Many municipalities across the United States monitor wastewater (sewage) for the presence of coronavirus as a way to detect outbreaks of COVID-19.
NewsLit takeaway: This video, and similarrumors about at-home tests and water, gained enormous exposure online in a short amount of time — in part because they bring together three drivers of misinformation: fear-inducing claims, subject matter that requires specialized knowledge and compelling visuals. Strong emotional reactions, such as fear, can cause people to jump to conclusions without stopping to carefully evaluate the accuracy or authenticity of claims, or the strength of evidence presented. It’s also easy to mistake faulty “evidence” for actual evidence online, particularly when it involves science-based claims that many people lack the expertise to evaluate. Finally, the use of video in this particular example of this rumor — in which people can watch the test turn “positive” — makes it seem even more compelling.
NO: The actor Ben Affleck did not wear a shirt that compared MAGA supporters to Confederates and Nazis, calling them all “losers.” YES: The authentic photo of Affleck — which was taken in 2015 — shows that he was actually wearing a plain t-shirt.
NewsLit takeaway: Digitally altering celebrities’ shirts in photos by adding political messages is a common disinformation tactic designed to spread by appealing to those who support the message. In many cases, the provocative t-shirts can be easily found for sale online, which is one possible motivation for their creation and circulation.
You can find this week's rumor examples to use with students in these slides.
News engagement saw a steep decline last year compared to 2020, including drops in cable news primetime viewership, news app downloads, news website visits and social media interactions with news articles.
A new study by the Knight Foundation and Ipsos examines post-2020 views on free speech and finds that while “Americans of all walks of life appreciate freedom of speech and recognize its benefits,” not all groups feel equally protected by the First Amendment or agree on “what constitutes a legitimate expression of First Amendment rights.”
Twitter banned the personal account of Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia for repeatedly violating its COVID-19 misinformation policy. Greene was temporarily suspended from Facebook a day later.
News of NPR host Audie Cornish’s departure sparked renewed discussion about why some Black and Latino journalists are leaving the news organization. Cornish, who is joining CNN, previously co-hosted All Things Considered — NPR’s signature daily news program — and is one of several recent high-profile departures.
A man hospitalized with COVID-19 and interviewed by BBC journalists last summer was targeted with accusations and threats by vaccine deniers … twice: once after the initial report aired in July, and then again when a clip of the interview re-aired in a year-end review of pandemic coverage.
The misinformation aftermath of the Sandy Hook school shooting in 2012 was a watershed moment in which conspiracy theories became “more personal, more cruel, and more mainstream,” says journalism professor Amanda J. Crawford.
Misinformation expert Mike Caulfield is anticipating an “acceleration and expansion” of conspiracy theories and other forms of disinformation designed “to convince large swaths of the public that the 2022 elections are illegitimate” — in part to pave the way for legislative changes in preparation for the 2024 presidential election.
You’ll find teachable moments from our previous issues in the archives. Send your suggestions and success stories to [email protected].
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Check out NLP's Checkology virtual classroom, where students learn how to navigate today’s information landscape by developing news literacy skills.
