Fighting Fake News
Get media-savvy and polish up your critical thinking skills with these titles.
Broadcast hysteria : Orson Welles's War of the worlds and the art of fake news
Schwartz, A. Brad (Austin Bradley), author
2015
Calling bullshit : the art of skepticism in a data-driven world
Bergstrom, Carl T., author.
2020
The world is awash in bullshit, and we're drowning in it. Politicians are unconstrained by facts. Science is conducted by press release. Startup culture elevates bullshit to high art. These days, calling bullshit is a noble act. Calling Bullshit is a modern handbook to the art of skepticism. Bergstrom, a computational biologist, and West, an information scientist, catalogue bullshit in its many forms, explaining and offering readers the tools to see through the obfuscations, deliberate and careless, that dominate every realm of our lives.
The cure for everything! : untangling the twisted messages about health, fitness, and happiness
Caulfield, Timothy A., 1963-
2012
The death of expertise : the campaign against established knowledge and why it matters
Nichols, Thomas M., 1960-, author
2017
Escaping the rabbit hole : how to debunk conspiracy theories using facts, logic, and respect
West, Mick.
2018
"In Escaping the Rabbit Hole, author Mick West shares over a decade's worth of knowledge and experience investigating and debunking false conspiracy theories through his forum, MetaBunk.org, and sets forth a practical guide to helping friends and loved ones recognize these theories for what they really are. Perhaps counter-intuitively, the most successful approaches to helping individuals escape a rabbit hole aren't comprised of simply explaining why they are wrong; rather, West's tried-and-tested approach emphasizes clear communication based on mutual respect, honesty, openness, and patience. West puts his debunking techniques and best practices to the test with four of the most popular false conspiracy theories today (Chemtrails, 9/11 Controlled Demolition, False Flags, and Flat Earth) - providing road maps to help you to understand your friend and help them escape the rabbit hole. These are accompanied by real-life case studies of individuals who, with help, were able to break free from conspiracism"--Amazon.com.
Fake news : separating truth from fiction
Miller, Michael, 1958- author
2019
While popularized by President Donald Trump, the term "fake news" actually originated toward the end of the 19th century, in an era of rampant yellow journalism. Since then, it has come to encompass a broad universe of news stories and marketing strategies ranging from outright lies, propaganda, and conspiracy theories to hoaxes, opinion pieces, and satire -- all facilitated and manipulated by social media platforms. This title explores journalistic and fact-checking standards, Constitutional protections, and real-world case studies, helping readers identify the mechanics, perpetrators, motives, and psychology of fake news. A final chapter explores methods for assessing and avoiding the spread of fake news.
The hype machine : how social media disrupts our elections, our economy, and our health--and how we must adapt
Aral, Sinan, author
2020
"Social media connected the world--and gave rise to fake news and increasing polarization. Now a leading researcher at MIT draws on 20 years of research to show how these trends threaten our political, economic, and emotional health in this eye-opening exploration of the dark side of technological progress. Today we have the ability, unprecedented in human history, to amplify our interactions with each other through social media. It is paramount, MIT social media expert Sinan Aral says, that we recognize the outsized impact social media has on our culture, our democracy, and our lives in order to steer today's social technology toward good, while avoiding the ways it can pull us apart. Otherwise, we could fall victim to what Aral calls "The Hype Machine." As a senior researcher of the longest-running study of fake news ever conducted, Aral found that lies spread online farther and faster than the truth--a harrowing conclusion that was featured on the cover of Science magazine. Among the questions Aral explores following twenty years of field research: Did Russian interference change the 2016 election? And how is it affecting the vote in 2020? Why does fake news travel faster than the truth online? How do social ratings and automated sharing determine which products succeed and fail? How does social media affect our kids? First, Aral links alarming data and statistics to three accelerating social media shifts: hyper-socialization, personalized mass persuasion, and the tyranny of trends. Next, he grapples with the consequences of the Hype Machine for elections, businesses, dating, and health. Finally, he maps out strategies for navigating the Hype Machine, offering his singular guidance for managing social media to fulfill its promise going forward. Rarely has a book so directly wrestled with the secret forces that drive the news cycle every day"-- Provided by publisher.
Information wars : how we lost the global battle against disinformation & what we can do about it
Stengel, Richard, author
2020
In February of 2013, Richard Stengel, the former editor-in-chief of Time, joined the Obama administration as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Within days, two shocking events made world-wide headlines: ISIS executed American journalist James Foley on a graphic video seen by tens of millions, and Vladimir Putin's "little green men"-Russian special forces-invaded Crimea, amid a blizzard of Russian denials and false flags. What these events had in common besides their violent law-lessness is that they were the opening salvos in a new era of global information war, where countries and non-state actors use social media and disinformation to create their own narratives and undermine anyone who opposes them. Stengel was thrust onto the front lines of this battle as he was tasked with responding to the relentless weaponizing of information and grievance by ISIS, Russia, China, and others. He saw the scale of what he was up against and found himself hopelessly outgunned. Then, in 2016, the wars Stengel was fighting abroad came home during the presidential election, as "fake news" became a rallying cry and the Russians used the techniques they learned in Ukraine to influence the election here. Rarely has an accomplished journalist been not only a close observer but also a principal participant in the debates and decisions of American foreign policy. Stengel takes you behind the scenes in the ritualized world of diplomacy, from the daily 8:30 morning huddle with a restless John Kerry to a midnight sit-down in Saudi Arabia with the prince of darkness Mohammed bin Salman. The result is a rich account of a losing battle against trolls and bots-who are every bit as insidious as their names imply.
Likewar : the weaponization of social media
Singer, P. W. (Peter Warren), author
2018
"Two defense experts explore the collision of war, politics, and social media, where the most important battles are now only a click away."-- Provided by publisher.
Mind over media : propaganda education for a digital age
Hobbs, Renee, author
2020
"Propaganda is inescapable. It's everywhere. Students need to analyze, resist, critique-and create. Media literacy educators have always insisted that we are both creators and receivers of media messages. The truth of this is even more apparent in today's digital environment, with children and adults alike participating in a ubiquitous, nonstop stream of social media. Clearly, students need the tools to interpret news and information critically-not just for school but for life in a "post-truth" world, where the lines blur between entertainment, information, and persuasion. Renee Hobbs demonstrates how a global perspective on contemporary propaganda enables educators to stimulate both the intellectual curiosity and the cultural sensitivities of students. Replete with classroom and online learning activities and samples of student work, Mind Over Media provides a state-of- the-art look at the theory and practice of propaganda in contemporary society, and shows how to build learners' critical thinking and communication skills on topics including computational propaganda, content marketing, fake news, and disinformation"-- Provided by publisher.
Outnumbered : from Facebook and Google to fake news and filter-bubbles -- the algorithms that control our lives
Sumpter, David J. T., 1973- author
2018
Science fictions : how fraud, bias, negligence, and hype undermine the search for truth
Ritchie, Stuart (Stuart J.), author.
2020
"Science is how we understand the world. Yet critical flaws in peer review, statistical methods, and publication procedures have rendered a shocking number of scientific studies useless-or worse, badly misleading. Drawing on surprising new data from "meta-science" (the science of how science works), Science Fictions documents the errors that have distorted our knowledge on issues as varied as cancer biology, nutrition, genetics, immigration, education, and extraterrestrial life. Stuart Ritchie's own work challenging an infamous psychology experiment helped spark what's now widely known as the "replication crisis," the realization that many supposed scientific truths cannot be relied upon. Now, he reveals the very human biases, mistakes, and deceptions that undermine the scientific endeavor: from contamination in science labs to the secret vaults of failed studies that nobody gets to see; from outright cheating with fake data to the more common but still ruinous temptation to exaggerate mediocre results for a shot at scientific fame. Yet Science Fictions is far from a counsel of despair. Rather, it's a defense of the scientific method against the pressures and perverse incentives that lead scientists to bend the rules. By illustrating the ways that science goes wrong, Ritchie gives us the knowledge we need to spot dubious research, and points the way to reforms that might save science from itself"-- Provided by publisher.
The smear : how shady political operatives and fake news control what you see, what you think, and how you vote
Attkisson, Sharyl, 1961-, author
2017
Terms of disservice : how Silicon Valley is destructive by design
Ghosh, Dipayan.
2020
"High technology presents a paradox. In just a few decades, it has transformed the world, making almost limitless quantities of information instantly available to billions of people and reshaping businesses, institutions, and even entire economies. But it also has come to rule our lives, addicting many of us to the march of megapixels across electronic screens both large and small. Despite its undeniable value, technology is exacerbating deep social and political divisions in many societies. Elections influenced by fake news and unscrupulous hidden actors, the cyber-hacking of trusted national institutions, the vacuuming of private information by Silicon Valley behemoths, ongoing threats to vital infrastructure from terrorist groups and even foreign governments-all of these concerns are now part of the daily news cycle and are certain to become increasingly serious into the future. In this new world of endless technology, how can individuals, institutions, and governments harness its positive contributions while protecting each of us, no matter who or where we are? In this book, a former Facebook public policy adviser who went on to assist President Obama in the White House offers practical ideas for using technology to create an open and accessible world that protects all consumers and civilians. As a computer scientist turned policymaker, Ghosh answers the biggest questions about technology facing the world today and guides industry leaders, policymakers, and the general public in thinking about how we can ensure that the internet works for everyone, not just Silicon Valley"-- Provided by publisher.
True or false : a CIA analyst's guide to spotting fake news
Otis, Cindy L., author
2020
"A YA Nonfiction book about the history of Fake News and tips for how to spot it"-- Provided by publisher.
Truth : a brief history of total Bull---t
Phillips, Tom (Journalist), author
2020
We live in a "post-truth" world, we're told. But was there ever really a golden age of truth-telling? Or have people been lying, fibbing, and just plain bullsh*tting since the beginning of time? Tom Phillips, editor of a leading independent fact-checking organization, deals with this question every day. In Truth, he tells the story of how we humans have spent history lying to each other--and ourselves--about everything from business to politics to plain old geography. Along the way, he chronicles the world's oldest customer service complaint, the Great Moon Hoax of 1835, and the surprisingly dishonest career of Benjamin Franklin. Sharp, witty, and with a clear-eyed view of humanity's checkered past, Truth reveals why people lie--and how we can cut through the bullsh*t.
The truth matters : a citizen's guide to separating facts from lies and stopping fake news in its tracks
Bartlett, Bruce R., 1951-
2017
Virtual unreality : just because the Internet told you, how do you know it's true?
Seife, Charles, author
2014