Post-truth Era

Evaluating Information in the Post-truth Era

(後真相時代的資訊辨識)

Alice Lee

Hong Kong Baptist University December 19, 2019

A Post-truth Era

• “Post-truth” is the 2016 International Word of

the Year by Oxford Dictionaries

Defining “Post-truth”

Oxford Dictionaries:

• Post-truth is the circumstance in which

objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief

(訴諸情感及個人信念，較陳述客觀事實更 能影響輿論的情況。)

• Information overload

• Misinformation and fake news spread around

Rumor and Propaganda in History

• Neither false news, hidden advertising or hate speech were invented in our time.

• What is new is the scope and therefore the

danger these forces represent.

New Ecosystem of the Media and Information Environment

• Power shift: everyone is a prosumer

• Mobile phone: convenient for photo and video taking/ immediacy

• Social media & Instant Messaging: Affordances

• Persistence: the durability of expression and content

• Visibility

• Connectivity

• Spreadability/ sharable

• Searchability

• Echo Chamber Effect (迴音室/同溫層效應)

• Advanced digital technologies

– AI: with the help of bots (e.g.,Twitter bots) – Click farms

– Deepfake

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLYRb6VECbo – Network propaganda (2016 US Presidential Election )

• Spin Doctor

– Donald Trump: Alternative fact ^{(語言偽術)}

Truth vs. Post-Truth

(by Clement So)

Truth Post-Truth

Facts Beliefs, emotions

Based on reality Unrestrained construction of reality

Science as basis Politics, vested interests

Objectivity as criteria Subjectivity, biased

Accuracy Mis-information, sensationalism

7

Mindset ( ^{處理資訊的心態)}

• The Crisis of Trust

– The spread of digital technology, creating vast data trails with the latent potential to contradict public statements

– Too much information, too many controversies

– Digital technologies facilitate spread of conspiracy theories – An increasing skeptical citizenry

– Do not trust the government, journalists & professionals – Everyone has their own truth-tellers

– Questions of where to look, what to focus on and who to trust are ones that we increasingly seek to answer for ourselves, without the help of intermediaries

– Charge of bias  not my perspective

• Value-driven Mindset

– Post-truth society: emotion > fact

Predisposition/ value takes over reality check (立場先行；雄辯勝事實)

– Endorse like-minded peers’ information (撐同溫層資訊) – Criticize/attack opposing views

• Fox TV Station  criticizes  CNN

– 盲目拒絕相信一切有害自己的資訊；盲目相信接受有利自己的資

訊

Evaluating Skills for News and

Information

1. News and Information Source

• Real or Fake?

The news sources

• Anonymous source?

• Government source?

• Reliable source?

– From unfamiliar organization, check their “about section to learn more

• A friend?

– Ask for your friend’s source

Understanding the background of the news organization

• Elite newspapers

• Popular newspapers

• Internet newspapers

• Free newspapers

• TV stations

• Radio stations

• Blogs

• Political stand

• Marketing approach

Select good news media

• What is a good news media organization?

– Play the role of public sphere and help to formulate public opinion

– Implement the social functions of news media – Professional production and presentation

with taste (專業及有品味的表達方式)

• Truth, objectivity, fair and justice, not sensational, good tase

Comparing different information sources

• Traditional newspaper

• TV & radio

• Online media (網媒)

• Citizen journalism (公民新聞)

• Bloggers (博客)

• Social media and apps (最多假消息？)

• Others

2. Sharing

• What is the source?

• If it is marked as “fact checked,” is there any supporting evidence?

• If it is stated as “reported by news media”

(新聞有報), any news link? You should check the official news site.

• If there is a link provided, check the link. The information may come from a content farm or unknown website.

3. Assess the Content and Look for Comprehensiveness & Bias

Hyping

• Framing

Comparing the news angles;

Separating opinions from facts

• How the story was told in different ways

Who’s Point of View

• What is the argument? What is the evidence?

The public opinion poll

Who conducts the poll?

 Government

 Media

 Interest groups/

pressure groups

 Business organizations

 Academics

 Research centers

How to evaluate it?

 The name of the sponsor/ the name of the researcher

 Purpose of the study

 Dates of fieldwork

 Universe or population to

which the results of the survey are projected

 Method by which the sample was selected

 Sample size

 Response rate of the survey

 Precision of the findings;

estimates of sampling error

4. Seeing is not Believing

• Easy to change a photo

• French cave rescue years ago, not Thailand

cave rescue

Verifying the photos

Online tools that help to verify the authenticity of a photo:

 TinEye

https://www.tineye.com/

 Google Search by Image

https://www.google.com/intl/es419/insidesearch/features/images/s earchbyimage.html

 How to Use Google Reverse Image Search to Fact Check Images

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5e9wTdAulA

Live broadcasting

• Live broadcasting on TV and websites

Tips for spotting false news (by Facebook)

• Be skeptical of headlines

• Look closely at the URL

• Investigate the source

• Watch for unusual formatting

• Consider the photos

• Inspect the dates

• Check the evidence

• Look at other reports

• Is the story a joke?

• Some stories are intentionally false

The Importance of Fact Check

• 「請廣傳」、「一手料」、已 fact Checked

• 偷圖作故、舊新聞

• 求驗傳媒

Fact Check Tips

眾新聞 訪問 求驗傳媒

• 第一，把內文、人名、關鍵字在各平台搜查一下，包括 Google、Facebook及百度等，在關鍵字前後加上「 ”」

，並善用以圖片搜索（reverse image search）、限制搜 索日期等功能，都會有助找到線索。

• 第二，如果消息是傳媒報道，但資料來源是「網民」或「

消息指」，便要尋找最初的資料來源，包括該資訊是來自 哪些群組。有時有關的傳聞可能已經澄清了，只是傳媒或

「手轉動」的網民沒有跟上。

• 第三，如果新聞有引用資料來源，便會去相關的資料來源

。如不是本地新聞，大家應該找一下原文，以避免本地傳

媒錯誤翻譯的情況。

Mindsets and Information

Processing

Why you think you’re right, even when you’re wrong?

Soldier mindset VS Scout mindset

(TED Talk)

• Combat Soldier:

– Regardless of your time and place – Your adrenaline is elevated

– Your actions stem from your deeply ingrained reflexes

– Reflexes that are rooted in a need to protect

yourself and your side, and to defeat the enemy

• Scout:

– Your job is not to attack or defend – It is to understand

– You are the one going out, mapping the terrain, identifying potential obstacles

– Wants to know what is really out there as accurately as possible

Motivated Reasoning: Combat Soldier Mindset

• A phenomenon in which our unconscious

motivations, desires and fears shape the way we interpret information.

• Some pieces of information feel like our allies

– we want them to win; we want to defend them

• Other information are the enemy

– We want to shoot them down

Scout Mindset

• The drive not to make one idea win and another lose

• Attempt to see the facts and evidence as objectively as you can

• To see what is there as honestly and accurately as you can even if it is not pretty, convenient or pleasant

• To cut through one’s own prejudices, biases and motivations

• They are less likely to say that someone who changes his mind seems weak

• Their self-worth as a person isn’t tied to how right or wrong they are about any particular topic

If we really want to improve our judgment as individual …

To use scout mindset

• To learn how to feel proud instead of ashamed when we notice we might have been wrong

about something

• To learn how to feel intrigued instead of

defensive when we encounter some information that contradicts our beliefs

• What do you most yearn for?

– To defend your own beliefs or to see the world as clearly as you possibly can?

Guiding the Students

1. Understanding How Misinformation Spreads

• The impact of the technologies

• Social media & Apps

• Lack of Fact check

• The impact of Misinformation

2. Nurturing Three Thinking Skills

• Critical Thinking Skill

– Fact check

• Reflective Thinking Skill

– Understand the pre-disposition of oneself

– Adopt the correct mindset for information processing, be open-minded

– Be aware of the consequence of sharing – Avoid echo chamber effect

• Positive Thinking Skill

– Passion & compassion – Public good

3. Value Education

• Value education can support information interpretation

• The right judgment

4. Doing Exercise

• How social media shape our relationship to and understanding of breaking news events?

– How do we know if information shared on social media is credible?

– What is the relationship between social media and the practice of quality journalism.

• Find out cases of fake news

– Evaluate the cases

– Discuss the impact of the fake news

Thank You

alicelee@hkbu.edu.hk