One
of the best books out there on fake news – what it is, how to sniff, it out,
and how to avoid falling under its spell – is Donald A. Barclay’s Fake News, Propaganda, and Plan Old Lies: How to Find Trustworthy Information in the
Digital Age (Rowman & Littlefield).
The
author, an academic librarian for 28 years and a former teacher of
research-based college writing, has been involved in promoting information
literacy for a long time.
The
book provides information, and examples of propaganda and fake news and considers
what aspects of the fake news phenomenon are actually new versus those which
have been around since long before the Digital Age. It describes how technology can be used to
create deceptive information. It
describes some of the most common tricks used to pass off deceptive information
as credible. It also details the misuse
of logical fallacies and looks at how statistics are used to illuminate as well
as to obfuscate and offers practical suggestions for understanding credible
statistics and spotting the misuse of statistical information. The book also shows the strengths and
weaknesses of scholarly information and describes online tools to help
information-seekers evaluate the credibility of the information they encounter.
Barclay’s
book identifies the many deceptive techniques that fakers use – and how to spot
them, including:
·
Lying
·
Covering bullshit with cleverness
·
Confounding correlation with causation
·
Denouncing the hypocrisy of those they
disagree with
·
Using deceptive images
·
Faking expertise
·
Misusing history
·
Falsifying attribution
·
Mixing fact and fiction
·
Omitting selected facts
“Creators
of information have many deceptive tricks they can employ in the hope that you
drop your information guard and fall for information that is not credible,” writes
Barclay.
“Being
aware of and alert for, these tricks will help you avoid falling for them. That said, anyone can fall for
misinformation, especially when encountering information that confirms existing
biases or plays on emotions. Powerful
emotions like anger, fear, and joy can be manipulated in ways that cause you to
drop your information guard, so it’s important to remain aware of your own
limitations as an evaluator of information – and working to overcome those
limitations – is key to avoid being tricked into accepting misleading
information.”
The
best part of the book is chapter five – which explains the nine essential
questions one must ask to evaluate an information source. The questions are:
·
Who created the information?
·
Who published the information?
·
What comes after the headline?
·
What sources are cited?
·
How old is the information?
·
What do others think of the information?
·
Is the information a primary or a
secondary source?
·
Is the information a joke?
·
Is the information different from anything
you have ever seen?
Another
strong portion of the book is his chapter that helps others find resources for
evaluating information. He identifies
these sources as being reliable:
However,
according to Poynter Institute for Media Studies in June 2016, there were “more
than 100 fact-checking projects active in approximately 40 countries.” Even
though it’s great that watchdogs exist, a watchdog may need to exist to
evaluate the watchdogs.
“Not
only do you need to keep aware of what information watchdogs are out there,”
writes Barclay, “you need to know which of those are truly trustworthy. The fact that there are so many
self-proclaimed information watch dogs means that the field is open to watch
dog sites that claim to be impartial but that are, in fact, highly
partisan. After all, what better way to spread
lies and propaganda that by claiming to be a resolute defender of the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
If
you feel overwhelmed by the contradictions, misinformation and unreliable
claims that are thrown around as if they were gospel, you should read Fake News, Propaganda, and Plain Old Lies.
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Brian
Feinblum’s insightful views, provocative opinions, and interesting ideas
expressed in this terrific blog are his alone and not that of his employer or
anyone else. You can – and should -- follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and
email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels much more important when
discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©
2018. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester. His
writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s Independent.
This was named one of the best book marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2018 as one of the
top book marketing blogs. Also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best
resource.” He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America
and participated in a PR panel at the Sarah Lawrence College Writers Institute
Conference.
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