The Info War
Precis:
Danny Westneat, in his article, "UW professor: The information war is real, and we're losing it" (2017), asserts that false information is being spread throughout social media to trick the gullible American public into falling for this propaganda. He develops this assertion by telling the story of a University of Washington professor who discovered a pattern in false information on social media, summarizing her conclusions on the matter, and stating how disgusted he is with the false information being spread. Westneat's purpose is to persuade his readers into concurring with the professor's findings, and to warn them to read news spread on social media with more skepticism. By reporting the findings of a university professor, Westneat establishes himself as a knowledgeable and credible source to the adult readers who will stumble upon his article.
Response:
As a naive child, I was very gullible when it came to information coming from television and the internet. I could easily be persuaded by a catchy headline that was completely false, and was posted solely for the purpose of pushing a political agenda. In my teenage years, however, I have begun to view headlines and information presented online with a great deal of skepticism. Unless news comes from familiar and reliable sources, I will not believe it. Furthermore, my lack of involvement in social media has restricted my source of news to the channels and newspapers that I trust.
Unfortunately, however, polls have revealed that many Americans receive their news from social media. With twitter bots and people spreading false information in a sneaky and undercover fashion, relying on social media for news is now more dangerous than ever. University of Washington professor Kate Starbird picked up on this by studying similar responses to mass shootings, which consistently claimed that the shooting was staged or made up in order to trick the American public and push the media's agenda. False information like this is spread rapidly, and in the form of varying sources, which makes it all the more believable to the casual viewer.
This report did not surprise me in the slightest bit, as it is consistent with articles I have read in the New York Times and other reliable sources about "fake news" and how it has impacted American ideology and politics. Additionally, as I mentioned earlier, I have always been skeptical of news from sources unfamiliar to me, as I had been educated by parents and teachers of the false information that is spread online. Hence, I agree with the professor and the author of this article that the issue of false news spreading rapidly online in a way that tricks the American public is threatening our entire system of belief in anything. While we once trusted the information that was being given to us online, as we become more aware of twitter bots and other sources of lies, we will slowly lose our trust in anyone who tries to provide us with news.
This is frightening. What if we reach a point where we are unsure of what is actually occurring in our country and in the world due to all of the fake news used to push political agendas? The thought of the American public no longer having sources of information that they can trust is quite scary. We rely so much on news sources to gain an understanding of the world around us, and to develop views on the issues that matter most to us. If we lose that trust in the news sources, we will lose our understanding of the world and our views will be distorted and confused.
It is vital that people read the professor's report themselves, so they can understand how serious this issue truly is. They must realize that how they get their news is extremely important, and it is the determining factor in whether they are being educated or fooled. Hopefully, thanks to the author of this article, more people will become aware of the "information war" that has begun in this country, and will make the right decisions in deciding who and what they should believe.
Danny Westneat, in his article, "UW professor: The information war is real, and we're losing it" (2017), asserts that false information is being spread throughout social media to trick the gullible American public into falling for this propaganda. He develops this assertion by telling the story of a University of Washington professor who discovered a pattern in false information on social media, summarizing her conclusions on the matter, and stating how disgusted he is with the false information being spread. Westneat's purpose is to persuade his readers into concurring with the professor's findings, and to warn them to read news spread on social media with more skepticism. By reporting the findings of a university professor, Westneat establishes himself as a knowledgeable and credible source to the adult readers who will stumble upon his article.
Response:
As a naive child, I was very gullible when it came to information coming from television and the internet. I could easily be persuaded by a catchy headline that was completely false, and was posted solely for the purpose of pushing a political agenda. In my teenage years, however, I have begun to view headlines and information presented online with a great deal of skepticism. Unless news comes from familiar and reliable sources, I will not believe it. Furthermore, my lack of involvement in social media has restricted my source of news to the channels and newspapers that I trust.
Unfortunately, however, polls have revealed that many Americans receive their news from social media. With twitter bots and people spreading false information in a sneaky and undercover fashion, relying on social media for news is now more dangerous than ever. University of Washington professor Kate Starbird picked up on this by studying similar responses to mass shootings, which consistently claimed that the shooting was staged or made up in order to trick the American public and push the media's agenda. False information like this is spread rapidly, and in the form of varying sources, which makes it all the more believable to the casual viewer.
This report did not surprise me in the slightest bit, as it is consistent with articles I have read in the New York Times and other reliable sources about "fake news" and how it has impacted American ideology and politics. Additionally, as I mentioned earlier, I have always been skeptical of news from sources unfamiliar to me, as I had been educated by parents and teachers of the false information that is spread online. Hence, I agree with the professor and the author of this article that the issue of false news spreading rapidly online in a way that tricks the American public is threatening our entire system of belief in anything. While we once trusted the information that was being given to us online, as we become more aware of twitter bots and other sources of lies, we will slowly lose our trust in anyone who tries to provide us with news.
This is frightening. What if we reach a point where we are unsure of what is actually occurring in our country and in the world due to all of the fake news used to push political agendas? The thought of the American public no longer having sources of information that they can trust is quite scary. We rely so much on news sources to gain an understanding of the world around us, and to develop views on the issues that matter most to us. If we lose that trust in the news sources, we will lose our understanding of the world and our views will be distorted and confused.
It is vital that people read the professor's report themselves, so they can understand how serious this issue truly is. They must realize that how they get their news is extremely important, and it is the determining factor in whether they are being educated or fooled. Hopefully, thanks to the author of this article, more people will become aware of the "information war" that has begun in this country, and will make the right decisions in deciding who and what they should believe.
You're precis was to excellent. However, if I were you I would add that he establishes the credibility of the professor by explaining her job and stuff which strengthens his and her argument.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you explained how polls point to the fact that many Americans get their news from social media. Furthermore, you had a similar response to me, so it's quite hard to criticize. However, I must inquire of one thing. This is not a criticism , but more of an inquiry. Are you, Akiva Finkelstein, predicting that in the future even currently credible news sources like the New York Times and Altright.com (just joking) will not be credible in the future due to the corruption of the internet. If so, that is very interesting.