Tips and tricks on spotting misinformation
Brigitte Ortiz | THE RIDER
A biased article is something written by someone with a particular interest in something or someone. Two UTRGV professors say students should read multiple articles and ask questions to verify the information.
Priscilla Flores, a lecturer in the Department of Communication, said bias in the media is a global phenomena that is not exclusive to any particular economy or political system.
“So knowing the nature of bias is going to help the readers counteract prodigiousness,” Flores said. “And what I want them to know is that it is not always categorical, but it can become embedded in the context determined by the news outlet.”
She encourages students to follow 10 critical thinking questions when consuming news.
Who created or paid for the message? What is the purpose of the story? Who is their target audience? What techniques are being used to attract their attention and increase believability? What might have been omitted and why? Where does the story originate? Who is the source of the story? What does the news story make them want to think or do? Who stands to benefit from the message? Where might I go for more information?
Flores said we have the power to control the information.
“When it comes to our news, I believe that we all need to slow down and pause and really digest what it is that we’re taking in and that we do our due diligence with checking out the source and the credibility and reliability before sharing, before spreading misinformation, intentionally or not, you know,” she said. “But the big takeaway is slow things down. We live in a world where everything is faster, quicker, better. … But there’s nothing like our brain power, and we need to use more of that rather than going on … autopilot mode.”
William Sokoloff, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science, said students should also look at the websites.
“Is the website a government website or a website of an education institution?” Sokoloff said. “Is the article or information from an academic database and, you know, this sort of thing does require some effort and energy. You can’t walk around reading anything that appears in front of you. We’re bombarded with an excess of information. The trick is having the skills and the critical discernment to access the validity and credibility and reliability of the source.”
Because early voting for the Nov. 3 presidential election is taking place he said if students want to know information about the state of the economy and unemployment, then they should visit the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website.
“If you want to know about crime, you can go to the Bureau of Justice Statistics,” he said. “Crime is actually going down but if you listen to politicians and people blogging, they would say it’s going up. It’s not true. Of course, it depends on where the crime is taking place, what types of crimes and so forth. There are an enormous amount of very good sources. Social media is not a good source.”
