10 Ways to Spot a Fake News Article - EasyBib Blog For many of us, 2016 is going down as a year to forget. Election upsets, Zika, the Syrian crisis, and unfortunately tons of fake news about all of the above and everything in between. Denzel Washington was recently quoted as saying, “If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed. 1. Links and citations allow us to easily access, read, and explore more about the information found in the article. Many big name news sites, such as CNN, do not include links or citations, but other sites do. 2. An article without an author’s name is another red flag. 3. Do a Google search on the author’s name to find their occupation and locate other articles that the author has composed. 4. On the top or bottom of most websites, you should see a section titled “About Us.” 5. Authors tend to read and re-read their articles numerous times prior to posting. 6. Copy and paste a quote from the article into Google’s search bar. 7. Do a simple keyword search on Google for a similar article. 8. 9. 10.
How Wikipedia Tackles Fringe Nonsense Wikipedia is an interesting experiment in amateur crowdsourcing of information. I think it is a massively successful experiment, but it faces specific challenges. This page on Wikipedia discusses their approach to what information they allow to remain in their pages. In my opinion they have settled upon a reasonable approach that might even be used as a model in other contexts. So the wiki model is ideal for quantity, but what about quality. There haven’t been many studies since then, but a 2012 small follow up study found no significant difference between Wikipedia and other sources. What are Wikipedia’s quality control policies? These filters are absolutely essential for any open source project like this. Wikipedia admits, however, that its filters are not currently adequate: What I find particularly interesting is that the Wikipedia experience is a microcosm of a free society in general, and not just with social media. Shouldn’t the free marketplace of ideas sort it all out, though?
No Shhing Here Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie Welcome to the AFDB Website This site is dedicated to spreading the word about the Aluminum* Foil Deflector Beanie and how it can help the average human. Here you will find a description of AFDBs, how to make and use them, and general information about related subjects. I hope that you find the AFDB Homepage to be an important source of AFDB know-how and advocacy. What Is An AFDB? An Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie (AFDB) is a type of headwear that can shield your brain from most electromagnetic psychotronic mind control carriers. What are you waiting for? REBUTTAL TO THE MIT ANTI-AFDB STUDY: Rahimi et al.' BEWARE OF COMMERCIAL AFDBS: Since you should trust no one, always construct your AFDB yourself to avoid the risk of subversion and mental enslavement. AMIGA AND LINUX USERS: It is advised that you get a copy of MindGuard for your personal anti-psychotronic needs.
How Photos Fuel the Spread of Fake News Even rudimentary skills aren't required to create, say, a meme of Seddique Mateen, whose son Omar Mateen fatally shot 48 people at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that allegedly shows him visiting Hillary Clinton’s office at the State Department this year. Never mind that Clinton resigned from the job three years before. Photos play a key role in making fake news stories go viral by bolstering the emotional tenor of the lie. Such images can reinforce existing prejudices. These dirty tricks work because most people believe a photograph represents reality. Makela's photo of Clinton shows how insidious, and easy, it has become to use photos to sell a lie. This works to the advantage of those who sell lies as truth, knowing that people believe what they see—and see what they believe.
Turning Your Students Into Web Detectives Our students use the web every day—shouldn’t we expect them to do better at interpreting what they read there? Perhaps, but not necessarily. Often, stereotypes about kids and technology can get in the way of what’s at stake in today’s complex media landscape. Sure, our students probably joined Snapchat faster than we could say “Face Swap,” but that doesn’t mean they’re any better at interpreting what they see in the news and online. As teachers, we’ve probably seen students use questionable sources in our classrooms, and a recent study from the Stanford History Education Group confirms that students today are generally pretty bad at evaluating the news and other information they see online. Now more than ever, our students need our help. In a lot of ways, the web is a fountain of misinformation. Here’s a list of fact-checking resources you and your students can use in becoming better web detectives. FactCheck.org Download a student-friendly version here. PolitiFact Snopes OpenSecrets.org
Reshelving Project: Almost There and Already Awesome! | The Uncommon Blog Team Ditch Dewey! Hooray! I’m catching my breathe and finally getting the chance to write the follow up to my previous post entitled Welcome Back and What is Going on in the Library?! If I knew how much work all this would be, I’m not sure I would have ever taken it on. Nevertheless every student walked out with at least one nonfiction and one fiction book without a hitch, and most importantly, they’re excited about reading the books they chose! Now for the how. “Will this shelving decision help our students easily find the books they’re looking for? As described in the previous post, to start this project we massively weeded our collection. Next, we decided on a shelving scenario that would make the most sense for our students and our current and planned collection. We decided on these nonfiction shelving topics and subtopics after much trial and error. We kept our primary category signs clean and simple for now, by mounting card stock on pre-cut 11″ by 14″ foam core bought at Staples.
Drop Bear - Australian Museum The Drop Bear, Thylarctos plummetus, is a large, arboreal, predatory marsupial related to the Koala. Drop Bear distribution map Photographer: © Australian Museum Standard Common Name Drop Bear Identification Around the size of a leopard or very large dog with coarse orange fur with some darker mottled patterning (as seen in most Koalas). Size range 120kg, 130cm long, 90 cm at the shoulder. Distribution Drop Bears can be found in the densely forested regions of the Great Dividing Range in South-eastern Australia. Habitat Closed canopy forest as well as open woodland on the margins of dense forest. Habitat type Vegetation Habitat: closed forest, tall closed forest, tall open forest, tall open shrubland What does this mean? Seasonality Appears yearly, 1st April. Feeding and Diet Examination of kill sites and scats suggest mainly medium to large species of mammal make a substantial proportion of the animal's diet. Feeding Habit carnivorous Mating and reproduction Era / Period Quaternary Period Classification
SearchReSearch: Search Challenge (11/11/15): Fake or real? How do you know? Unfortunately... ... people have been faking stories, photos, and claims for as long as humans have been around. Of course now we're aided by technology, which sometimes makes these deceptions a bit more difficult to ferret out. Here's an early famously faked photograph: This is one of the images of the Cottingley Fairies. In 1920, a series of photos, supposedly taken by two young girls while playing in the garden, claimed to show that fairies really did exist. Even Arthur Conan Doyle, he of Sherlock Holmes fame, was taken in by the images. 2. Review 1: Stayed here for two nights with my wife and golden retriever in a pet friendly room. Review 2: We only stayed for one night but I would have happily stayed here longer. 3. Quote 1: “Do you want to know who you are? Quote 2: “That the obliquity of the ecliptic, when these elephants lived, was so great as to include with the tropics all those reasons in which the bones are found." As always, let us know how you figured these Challenges out!