Embed critical thinking to protect against fake news
Following the publication of a report into how we access information, Jane Harley writes that it is crucial to embed critical thinking to ensure we can differentiate between real and fake news.
With a growing number of sources to consult, from traditional books and academic journals to search engines, newspaper websites, and of course social media, it's fair to say differentiating between fact and fiction is harder than ever. Added to that, the unprecedented events of the last two years have immeasurably changed the way we consume news and media, bringing the debate around misinformation into sharp focus.
Okay, let's embed critical thinking, although adults should have done that already and older adults should have done it a long time ago. Critical of what though?
What's reassuring is that, despite most of us logging on to seek out new knowledge, after two years' exposure to scientists and academics talking about COVID-19, we still rely on experts when it comes to deciding what is credible or otherwise. Of those surveyed, almost eight in 10 (79 per cent) said they saw universities and academic institutions having an important role in helping them to differentiate between fact and fiction, while almost half (48 per cent) said they were confident something was truthful when it was backed up by relevant experts.
Avoids the familiar and fundamental problem - how to choose those relevant experts. 48 per cent is an interestingly low figure though. A reader's comment is worth adding here.
Soundwave
Of those surveyed, almost eight in 10 (79 per cent) said they saw universities and academic institutions having an important role in helping them to differentiate between fact and fiction
Really? Universities? The home of cancel culture, restricting free speech, social ‘sciences’ trying to take over from actual science, obsessions with identity politics - I wouldn’t trust them as far as I could throw them.
A good rule of thumb for trusting the UK media: trust anything right-wing that the Guardian says, trust anything left-wing that the Daily Mail says, and trust nothing the BBC says.
3 comments:
The worst financial advice I've ever seen was from the Guardian in, I suppose, right wing mode.
It recommended that if you had unit-linked investments at Equitable Life you should swap them for With Profits so that you'd bag £2k -£4k on demutualisation.
If expertise was recognisable as well as true, then all the dud advice would be removed pretty quickly. People would only fail to thrive if they really wanted to.
dearieme - I hope you didn't take them up on it. Worth mentioning in online comments whenever the Guardian pushes an economic idea.
Sam - yes, suggesting that expertise is recognisable without more work is part of the problem. Often considerably more work is required but too many people just don't do it.
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