Are you suffering from information overload illness? Does reading the news give you insomnia, heightened anxiety, indigestion, panic attacks, depression, migraines, or uncontrollable rage? If you suffer from any of these reactions, then here’s a four-step prescription that can help. Continue reading
Filed under media, news, organizing
On Monday morning, I engaged in one of those meaningless Facebook conversations with someone who had no interest in what I had to offer. She began by asserting as “fact” something that was total fantasy and ended by telling me “I don’t use ‘news’ sources any longer.” Unfortunately, she’s not alone – many people say they don’t trust or don’t follow the news. If you’re tempted to throw up your hands and give up on “the media,” let me begin by telling you that there is no such thing as “the media.” All kinds and stripes and shades of media compete to define and deliver “the news.” As news consumers, we must use tools of media literacy to figure out who and when and how much to believe, rather than just giving up. Continue reading
Filed under media, news, Uncategorized
Parallel universe by Scary Side of Earth, published under Creative Commons license
Trump senior advisor Kellyanne Conway gave us a new category on Meet the Press this morning: “alternative facts.” Alternative facts look like sci-fi’s alternate realities or parallel universes, described in Wikipedia as “a hypothetical self-contained reality co-existing with one’s own…. A universe where the very laws of nature are different …” That seems like a useful description of Trumplandia. Continue reading
Filed under media, news, Tracking Trump
Want to know how to tell if a report is true or false? Some things are complicated, but others are really easy to check. Here are three simple tips for do-it-yourself fact checking, and three good fact checking sites for back-up. Continue reading
Image by kkirugi, posted under Creative Commons license
The flood of news and propaganda continues, and so I’m occasionally drawn into fact checking. Here are some of my fact checks for the past 24 hours. Continue reading
Filed under analysis, media, news, Tracking Trump
Boris Badenov, Natasha Fatale, and Fearless Leader were cartoon representations of Russian spies in the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon (1959-1964). Any resemblance between comic cartoons and current political rhetoric is purely intentional.
On December 29, the New York Times headlined, Obama Strikes Back at Russia for Election Hacking. As news consumers, what questions do we need to ask about that story?
Question #1: What is this “election hacking?” Continue reading
The Guardian article about Julian Assange, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and Vladimir Putin was one I wanted to believe.
I read The Guardian, and rely on this British publication for accurate, wide-ranging reporting on world news, including U.S. news, since we are part of the world. I also read and rely on The Intercept, a publication edited by Glenn Greenwald, Betsy Reed, and Jeremy Scahill, and funded by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar. So when The Intercept said an article in The Guardian was “completely false,” they got my attention. Continue reading
Fotolia File: #127542982 | Author: hafakot
“Carrier, Trump Reach Deal to Keep Manufacturing Jobs in U.S.” trumpeted the post-Thanksgiving headlines. Then, as any media-savvy observer should expect by now, the story began to unravel. Continue reading
Filed under media, Tracking Trump
Communications prof Melissa Zindars posted an exposé of fake news, complete with a list of “False, Misleading, Clickbait-y, and Satirical ‘News’ Sources.” Then, reports the Los Angeles Times, she took down the list, as “a safety measure in response to threats and harassment she and her students and colleagues had received.” That’s the power, and the peril, of good reporting in a time when fake news wins elections and earns big bucks. Continue reading
PolitiFact is a fact-checking website run by the Tampa Bay Times that focuses on political actors and statements. Politifact classifies statements as True, Mostly True, Half True, Mostly False, False, and Pants on Fire.
The Star Tribune published a commentary piece October 28 featuring “The Top 10 whoppers of both leading presidential candidates” as identified by Politifact.com. What’s wrong with that? Plenty.
The clear implication is that both candidates are equally liars. That’s wrong. Even worse, the “everybody is a liar” meme increases cynicism not only about the candidates but about the political system, voting, and the possibility of meaningful choice. Continue reading
Mary Turck
News Day 