Information Literacy Commons^™

Recreational Nastiness Or Playful Mischief? Contrasting Perspectives On Internet Trolling Between News Media And Avid Internet Users, Yimin Chen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The term “internet trolling” has come to encompass a wide range of disparate behaviours: ranging from abusive speech and computer hacking to sarcastic humour and friendly teasing. While some of these behaviours are clearly antisocial and, in extreme cases, criminal, others are harmless and can even be prosocial. Previous studies have shown that self-identified internet trollers tend to credit internet trolling’s poor reputation to misunderstanding and overreaction from people unfamiliar with internet culture and humour, whereas critics of trolling have argued that the term has been used to downplay and gloss over problematic transgressive behaviour. As the internet has come …

Measuring Fake News Acumen Using A News Media Literacy Instrument, Tyler W. S. Nagel

Journal of Media Literacy Education

News media literacy education is gaining increased attention in the age of fake news and post-truth America. However, as with any pedagogical goal, it is important to be able to evaluate the success of the delivery. In a survey built on existing news literacy frameworks, 1476 students at a large Canadian polytechnic answered questions about their own news literacy, fake news acumen, and news consumption habits. Analysis of the data suggests that conscientious fake-news attitudes and behaviors are correlated with an existing news media literacy scale, providing a method of evaluating the success of fake news education efforts.

Diy Disinformation: Using Fake Crafting Videos To Combat Fake News, Elizabeth M. Downey

University Libraries Publications and Scholarship

When Ann Reardon started her YouTube channel How to Cook That, she likely didn’t expect to spend a bulk of her time debunking so-called “cooking hack” videos. Amateur bakers and other viewers would ask her why the so-called easy recipes from channels like So Yummy didn’t work for them. As a service. she would demonstrate the so-called “shortcuts,” explain why they didn’t work, and then show how to execute a similar recipe the right way. With her willing husband serving as the unfortunate taste-tester, the videos gained popularity followed by requests for similar content, expanding to crafting and other “lifehack” …

Be Media Smart: A Collaborative Media Literacy Initiative For Ireland, Philip Russell

Conference Papers

This paper presents Ireland’s public awareness campaign – ‘Be Media Smart’- which was launched in Spring 2019 to combat misinformation and fake news and encourage people of all ages to stop, think, and check that information they see, read or hear across any media platform is reliable. Be Media Smart is an initiative of Media Literacy Ireland (MLI), an independent group facilitated by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) to enhance Irish people’s understanding of, and engagement with, media. Group members include large media and social media companies, Government bodies, libraries, academia and voluntary sector organisations.

The paper will provide …

Fact-Checking Viral Trends For News Writers, Elizabeth M. Downey

University Libraries Publications and Scholarship

Social media is a constant in day-to-day life and is often the first place news breaks. However, the likelihood of false information being spread across social media is high, and this can affect journalists trying to do their jobs, in both gathering information and trying to achieve balance. Reporters and news writers need to be able to quickly evaluate the legitimacy of social media sources for information, especially viral posts, lest they be accused of spreading “fake news.” This chapter examines how social media has disrupted traditional news reporting and caused media outlets to tackle the audience’s opinion of them …

Stop, Think, Check: Ireland's Be Media Smart Campaign, Philip Russell

Articles

‘Be Media Smart’ is an Irish public awareness campaign calling on people of all ages to ‘Be Media Smart’ and ‘Stop, Think, and Check’ that information they see, read or hear across any media platform is accurate and reliable. This national media literacy campaign was aimed at enhancing people’s understanding of, and engagement with, media, while also empowering them with the skills to evaluate content across all platforms.

Book Review: Fake News And Alternative Facts: Information Literacy In A Post-Truth Era By Nicole A. Cooke, Anna Morrissey

School of Information Student Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Student Research Journal, Volume 10, Issue 1, Student Reseach Journal

School of Information Student Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Be Media Smart: A National Media Literacy Campaign For Ireland, Philip Russell

Articles

‘Be Media Smart’ is an Irish public awareness campaign calling on people of all ages to ‘Be Media Smart’ and ‘Stop, Think, and Check’ that information they see, read or hear across any media platform is accurate and reliable. This national media literacy campaign was aimed at enhancing people’s understanding of, and engagement with, media, while also empowering them with the skills to evaluate content across all platforms.

News Literacy And Fake News Curriculum: School Librarians’ Perceptions Of Pedagogical Practices, Lesley Farmer

Journal of Media Literacy Education

The high profile of fake news reveals underlying trends in the production and consumption of news. While news literacy is a lifelong skill, the logical time to start teaching such literacy is in K-12 educational settings, so that all people have the opportunity to learn and practice news literacy. School librarians can play a critical role in helping students gain news literacy competence. This study investigated the needs for K-12 students to be news literate and their current level of skills as perceived by in-service teachers and school librarians in California. Respondents thought that their students were most competent at …

Media Literacy Ireland And The Be Media Smart Campaign, Philip Russell

Articles

‘Be Media Smart’ is an Irish public awareness campaign calling on people of all ages to ‘Be Media Smart’ and ‘Stop, Think, and Check’ that information they see, read or hear across any media platform is accurate and reliable. This national media literacy campaign was aimed at enhancing people’s understanding of, and engagement with, media, while also empowering them with the skills to evaluate content across all platforms.

Fake News, Post-Truth & Information Literacy, Carol A. Watson, Caroline Osborne, Kristina L. Niedringhaus

Caroline L. Osborne

What is fake news? How did it arise? Why does recognizing fake news matter? How do we create information literate consumers in the legal community? This program will discuss the intersection of fake news and information literacy theory. We’ll provide an overview of the rise and proliferation of fake news including highlights of historical instances; a discussion of the impact of failing to detect fake news; and strategies for creating successful information literacy programming.

The Sociological And Humanistic Problem Of ‘Fake News,’ As It Applies To All Subjects, Including Scientific Research And Theories In The Public Sphere, Andrée Rathemacher, Amanda Izenstark

Technical Services Faculty Presentations

The main file available here contains the notes taken by student note-taker Kaleigh Miech during the Café Salon Discussion “The Sociological and Humanistic Problem of ‘Fake News,’ As It Applies to All Subjects, Including Scientific Research and Theories in the Public Sphere.” The discussion took place on January 17, 2019 as part of the University of Rhode Island 11th Annual Academic Summit. It was facilitated by Profs. Andrée Rathemacher and Amanda Izenstark.

Supplemental files include:

• An opening introduction prepared by the facilitators
• The official 11th Annual Academic Summit Program
• Café Salon Facilitator Guide

Libraries And Fake News: What’S The Problem? What’S The Plan?, Matthew C. Sullivan

Communications in Information Literacy

This article surveys the library and information science (LIS) response to the problems of fake news and misinformation from the 2016 U.S. presidential election to the end of 2018, focusing on how librarians and other information professionals in the United States have articulated the problems and the paths forward for combating them. Additionally, the article attempts to locate the LIS response in a larger interdisciplinary misinformation research program, provide commentary on the response in view of that research program, and lay out both a possible research agenda for the field and practical next steps for educators ahead of the 2020 …

Understanding Fake News By Teaching With The Game "Factitious"., Sharell Walker

Publications and Research

This presentation introduces readers to the online game "Factitious" as a tool for teaching students about fake news. "Facititous" is a collaboration between the American University Game Lab and the American University School of Communication.

Background Interview By Elaine Lasda And Kelsey O’Brien For The Book: All That's Not Fit To Print: Fake News And The Call To Action For Librarians And Information Professionals, Elaine M. Lasda, Kelsey O'Brien

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

Background interview by Elaine Lasda and Kelsey O’Brien for the book: All That's Not Fit to Print: Fake News and the Call to Action for Librarians and Information Professionals, by Amy Affelt (2019) London: Emerald (ISBN: 9781789733648). This interview provides perspective from two academic librarians regarding the prevalence, spread and fight against fake news in America today. One librarian works primarily with undergraduates and sees this as part of a greater need for metaliteracy education. One librarian works primarily with graduate students and faculty, and has seen effect of fake news on those groups.

Fighting Fake News And Biases With Cognitive Psychology, Marlee Givens, Seth Porter, Karen Viars, Liz Holdsworth

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Fake news, faulty data, and questionable research outputs: how do we find the truth when so much information is uncertain? Part of this problem is cognitive biases in our decision-making process. The mind will create a durable narrative around knowns and ignore unknowns. Scholar Daniel Kahneman (2012) refers to this phenomenon as, "What you see is all there is" or WYSIATI. Another common heuristic, the "availability cascade," causes the mind to prefer immediate examples that come to mind over more reliable information that is less easily recalled. These biases limit the accuracy of the information that people understand, as well …

You Deserve The Truth: Helping Students Understand The Causes And Consequences Of Fake News, Ngaire I. Smith, Heather Cyre

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Can dandelions cure cancer? Is Bill Murray running for President? Was a pizza place in New Jersey running a human trafficking ring? In this age of digital and social media it may be difficult for students to differentiate between authoritative information and fake news.

After a brief presentation on the history of fake news and its prevalence in social media, workshop participants (acting as an early college seminar class) will watch a video about the PizzaGate incident and discuss the phenomenon of fake news, why people create it, and why people share it. Next the class will develop a fake …

Who’S Evaluating The Evaluators? Cognitive Biases, Fake News, And Information Literacy, Jon C. Pope, Kim Becnel

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

In response to the increased attention to “fake news” and “alternative facts” as information challenges in the wake of the recent election cycle, librarians and educators have dramatically stepped up efforts to cultivate basic information literacy skills, especially prioritizing the careful evaluation of online sources of information. While these critical source evaluation skills are an essential component of functional information literacy, the recent emphasis on them is predicated on a model of communication that assumes that the readers of these online sources are capable—and desirous—of making informed, objective judgments about the credibility of an external information source. Rhetorical theories, however, …

Battling Fake News And Developing Digital Literacy Skills In The Legal Profession, Carol A. Watson, Caroline Osborne, Kris Niedringhaus

Presentations

Alternative facts? Truthiness? Post Truth? Hardly a day passes without someone making a reference to fake news. But why should lawyers care and what can information technology professionals and the legal academy do about it?
In order to fulfil a lawyer's duty of technology competency, digital information literacy is essential. Legal professionals must be able to locate, evaluate and use online information effectively. Evaluation of the reliability of digital information is a complex skill that must be mastered for the successful practice of law.
This program will discuss digital information literacy in the context of fake news. The session will …

"This Was Actually Fun!": Engaging Users In Conversations About Digital Literacy, Madisson Goldhawk, Erin Johnson, Lillian S. Rigling

Western Libraries Presentations

This interactive presentation highlights pop-up programming designed to improve 21st century digital literacies. The session includes an overview of activity development and reflections on its success. Participants will explore light-touch digital literacy games on their personal devices and take home tools to recreate similar programming at their library.

Information Literacy Outreach In A Fake News World, Debbie Morrow

Debbie Morrow

Information Literacy Outreach In A Fake News World, Debbie Morrow

Debbie Morrow

Fake News And The Caulfield Technique, Ann Agee

Faculty and Staff Publications

Students are fighting a flood. Social media, news feeds, and more saturate them with misleading and fact-free information. In his open access ebook, “Web Literacy for Student Fact Checkers” (webliteracy.pressbooks.com), Michael Caulfield lays out practical, hands on techniques for determining the validity of online information. The director of blended and networked learning at Washington State University, Vancouver, and the editor of the New Horizons column for the EDUCAUSE Review, Michael Caulfield provides four strategies students can use to fact check information they find online:

• Check for previous work
• Go upstream to the source
• Read laterally
• Circle back

In this session, …

Fake News, Post-Truth & Information Literacy, Carol A. Watson, Caroline Osborne, Kristina L. Niedringhaus

Presentations

What is fake news? How did it arise? Why does recognizing fake news matter? How do we create information literate consumers in the legal community? This program will discuss the intersection of fake news and information literacy theory. We’ll provide an overview of the rise and proliferation of fake news including highlights of historical instances; a discussion of the impact of failing to detect fake news; and strategies for creating successful information literacy programming.

Post-Facts: Information Literacy And Authority After The 2016 Election, Stefanie Bluemle

Library and Information Science: Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works

This article addresses the challenge that post-truth politics poses to teaching authority in information literacy. First, it isolates an element of the post-truth phenomenon, an element it calls post-facts, to elucidate why teaching source evaluation is not, by itself, an antidote to fake news or other evidence of Americans’ media illiteracy. Second, it addresses the implications of post-facts politics for the concept of authority as defined by the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, drawing on the work of Patrick Wilson and Max Weber to illustrate which elements of authority librarians must rethink due to recent events.

Examining Student Perceptions Of Their Knowledge, Roles, And Power In The Information Cycle, Lucinda Rush

Libraries Faculty & Staff Publications

This project report describes a collaborative effort between librarians, staff, local journalists and students at Old Dominion University (Norfolk, VA) to provide a venue for a discussion about ‘fake news’. Post-event questionnaire results are analysed to explore what students learned as a result of attending the event as well as student perceptions of their own understanding and ownership of the roles that they can play in the information cycle.

Keepin' It Real Poster, National Conference Of African-American Librarians 2017, Aisha Conner-Gaten

Aisha Conner-Gaten