It’s normal to develop personal opinions on the things we see every day, such as advertisements, tv shows, gossip magazines, blogs, or social media posts. One important thing to keep in mind though, is that cynicism is not criticism. To become media literate, one must use knowledge to form judgements and become more understanding of the different forms of expression around us. Here is how you can use the critical process to navigate your way around “fake news.”
The 5 steps of the critical process are: Describe, Analyze, Interpret, Evaluate and Engage. A way in which I use these steps is when I’m looking at content that is shared on social media outlets. Far too often, I’ll log onto Facebook and find that people I’m friends with have shared opinion stories, but regard them as factual news. Another example is shared articles that might take a snippet out of a full speech or news clip and tell a whole other story based on one sentence from the bigger picture.
In order to prevent sharing this kind of misinformation, first I look at the source of the article. I ask myself “Is this a credible source? Are the people mentioned trustworthy or accomplished in their field? Does this outlet list facts with sources?” Next, I compare the story with similar stories on the same topic to see if the stories match up. Through research, it’s easy to spot similarities and inconsistencies between different outlets. Now that I’ve done my analysis, I can start asking myself why this matters. It’s important to be aware of how every little pattern and detail in a news clip or article matters when it comes to shaping an opinion. For example, when a widely disliked person is being interviewed for a show such as 60 Minutes, they might be filmed up close to fill the frame of the camera in order to give viewers the feeling that the subject of the frame is guilty and locked in with nowhere to run, while the interviewer might be shot from a wider distance, giving the illusion that they have more power or control over their environment in this particular situation.
Once I’ve done my research and I am certain that the information I am sharing is factual and beneficial to others, I share it on my account. Sharing your findings or opinions is the final step to the critical process and a crucial step in serving online democracy, so make sure to comment, participate in online discussions, and share what you know to be the truth.
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