Huge MIT Study of ‘Fake News’: Falsehoods Win on Twitter
Ultimately, they found about 126,000 tweets, which, together, had been retweeted more than 4.5 million times. Some linked to “fake” stories hosted on other websites. Some started rumors themselves, either in the text of a tweet or in an attached image. (The team used a special program that could search for words contained within static tweet images.) And some contained true information or linked to it elsewhere. Then they ran a series of analyses, comparing the popularity of the fake rumors with the popularity of the real news.
Fake News Antidote: Teaching Kids To Discern Fact From Fiction : NPR Ed
By now, you've probably heard about one very real consequence of fake news — the infamous "pizzagate" conspiracy theory that ended with Edgar Welch, 28, firing a real gun inside a real Washington, D.C., pizzeria filled with real people. When The New York Times later asked Welch what he thought when he realized there were no child slaves inside the restaurant, as one fake news story had led him to believe, he responded: "The intel on this wasn't 100 percent." Welch isn't the only one struggling to tell fact from fiction in this digital age. A recent Stanford study found that America's middle, high school and college students are shockingly bad at it, too.
Identify Bias - How to Evaluate Information Sources - ResearchGuides at New Jersey Institute of Technology
Why should we check the bias of information on a web page? Would you trust information unsupported by facts or logical reasoning? A biased author may not pay attention to all the facts or develop a logical argument to support his or her opinions. Bias is when a statement reflects a partiality, preference, or prejudice for or against a person, object, or idea. Much of what you read and hear expresses a bias.
The Psychology Behind Fake News
It’s hard to venture online these days—or switch on any cable network—without coming across a heated discussion over “fake news.” Basic facts and figures, ranging from crowd sizes to poll numbers to whether or not it rained, now appear to be under negotiation. For many media consumers, it can feel as if we are living through an entirely new dystopian era, with each news cycle or press conference sending us further down the rabbit hole. But although the term “fake news” reflects our troubled political moment, the phenomenon is nothing new, and neither is the psychology that explains its persistence. “There’s a tendency for people to say, ‘Well, given the social media channels we have now, these things can spread more quickly and have a greater effect than ever before,” says Adam Waytz, an associate professor of management and organizations at the Kellogg School.
Welcome to the Virtual Crash Course in Design Thinking
Welcome to the d.school’s Virtual Crash Course resource page! We know not everyone can make a trip to the d.school to experience how we teach design thinking. So, we created this online version of one of our most frequently sought after learning tools. Using the video, handouts, and facilitation tips below, we will take you step by step through the process of hosting or participating in a 90 minute design challenge.
Can Your Students Recognize Bias? 7 Tips for Teaching Media Literacy
In today’s environment, media literacy is more important than ever. But the sparse research on the topic shows us that kids really struggle with identifying legitimate sources. This Stanford study found that 82 percent of middle school students couldn’t distinguish between a news story and one labeled as sponsored content.
'Fiction is outperforming reality': how YouTube's algorithm distorts truth
It was one of January’s most viral videos. Logan Paul, a YouTube celebrity, stumbles across a dead man hanging from a tree. The 22-year-old, who is in a Japanese forest famous as a suicide spot, is visibly shocked, then amused. “Dude, his hands are purple,” he says, before turning to his friends and giggling.
Solving Real-World Issues Through Problem-Based Learning
Julia: So how can we improve it so that it's clear that there's more than one thing? Quimiah: You could just go to the tab that says that category. Student: The cats, some cats are what makes the ecosystem healthy. Julia: Awesome ideas. We're going to share with-- Jessica: Because our students solve real-world problems, they see themselves as important, thoughtful people who are able to grapple with really tough problems and to make decisions that have meaning.
Misleading Graphs: Real Life Examples - Statistics How To
Descriptive Statistics > Misleading Graphs Real Life Examples Misleading Graphs in Real Life: Overview Misleading graphs are sometimes deliberately misleading and sometimes it’s just a case of people not understanding the data behind the graph they create. The “classic” types of misleading graphs include cases where: The Vertical scale is too big or too small, or skips numbers, or doesn’t start at zero.The graph isn’t labeled properly.Data is left out. But some real life misleading graphs go above and beyond the classic types.
English Language Arts and Literacy, Science, Health and Physical Education, Engineering & Technology
Ever have an argument with someone, and no matter how many facts you provide, you just can’t get that person to see it your way? One big reason for this is cognitive bias, which is a limitation in our thinking that can cause flaws in our judgement. Confirmation bias is a specific type of cognitive bias that motivates us to seek out information we already believe and ignore or minimize facts that threaten what we believe. Studies show that when people are presented with facts that contradict what they believe, the parts of the brain that control reason and rationality go inactive. But, the parts of the brain that process emotion light up like the Fourth of July.
