GT libraries information literacy curriculum to combat fake news and cognitive bias in learners research and information seeking.

1. INFORMATION LITERACY
MODULE: GT1000
E X A M P L E C U R R I C U LU M TO B E U S E D I N
G T 1 0 0 0 - I L .

2. Key Points
• Learning Outcomes
• Basics of information analysis
• Curated Content
– Activity example
• Analyzing Fake News
– Activity example
• Basics of cognitive bias in research
– Activity example
• Availability Bias
– Activity example
• Conclusion

3. Learning Outcomes
• The learner will be able to list related curated content
resources and describe why that is valuable in academic
research.
• The learner will be able to list the key points in analyzing fake
news.
• The learner will be able to describe the basics of cognitive bias
and availability bias in academic research.

4. • Scholarly Vs. Non-Scholarly
• Peer-Reviewed
• Authoritative Open web resources
–.edu, .gov, and certain Think-Tanks
Information Analysis

5. • JSTOR
• Academic Search Complete
• PsycINFO
• Econ Lit
Subject Specific Resources

6. • Chase footnotes!
• Government Information
– Census.gov
– Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook
– USA.gov
– GPO.gov
• Think-Tanks (Some)
– RAND
– Brookings
Open web research

7. Search Activity Example
• The learner will pull a subject specific article or data set from
an OA resource.
• The learner will pull a subject specific article from a library
database.
• Have the learners compare/contrast article quality and discuss
with a partner.

10. Stanford Study
• The final version was given to 170 high school students. By and
large, students across grade levels were captivated by the
photograph and relied on it to evaluate the trustworthiness of the
post.
• Less than 20% of students constructed “Mastery” responses, or
responses that questioned the source of the post or the source of
the photo.
• Nearly 40% of students argued that the post provided strong
evidence because it presented pictorial evidence about conditions
near the power plant.
• A quarter of the students argued that the post did not provide
strong evidence, but only because it showed flowers and not other
plants or animals that may have been affected by the nuclear
radiation.

11. Fake News
• According to Pulitzer Prize-winning website Politifact:
“Fake news is made-up stuff, masterfully
manipulated to look like credible journalistic
reports that are easily spread online to large
audiences willing to believe the fictions and
spread the word."

12. Types of Fake News
• Fake news - These are the easiest to debunk and often come from known sham
sites that are designed to look like real news outlets. They may include misleading
photographs and headlines that, at first read, sound like they could be real.
• Misleading news - These are the hardest to debunk, because they often contain a
kernel of truth: A fact, event or quote that has been taken out of context. Look for
sensational headlines that aren't supported by the information in the article.
• Highly partisan news - A type of misleading news, this may be an interpretation of
a real news event where the facts are manipulated to fit an agenda.
• Clickbait - The shocking or teasing headlines of these stories trick you into clicking
for more information -- which may or may not live up to what was promised.
• Satire - This one is tough, because satire doesn't pretend to be real and serves a
purpose as commentary or entertainment. But if people are not familiar with a
satire site, they can share the news as if it is legitimate.
These definitions are taken from a CNN article with Dr. Melissa Zimdars, of Merrimack College and Alexios Mantzarlos, head of the
International Fact-Checking Network at the Poynter Institute.

13. Identifying Fake News
• Consider the source – Is it reliable?
• Read beyond headlines – A study from Columbia University & the French
National Institute shows that 6 in 10 people share news without reading
past the headline. Be one of the 4 who do.
• Check author credentials – Search for the name in the byline. Who are
they?
• Supporting sources – Are there any? Are they reliable?
• Check the dates – Sometimes old stories (or parts of them) are repackaged
as relevant up-to-the-minute news.
• Is it satire? - Consider whether it could be a joke or social commentary.
• Check your biases – Pause and consider (To be covered soon).
• Ask experts – When you really aren’t sure, invest the time to talk to
someone who knows.
Based on information from FactCheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center

14. Fake News: Why It Matters For You
• Accurate information is vital for you to make wise decisions
about where to live, what jobs to take, when and whether to
make major purchases, initiatives to support, investments to
make, etc.
• Your reputation – personal and professional – depends on
giving other people reliable information.
• Fake news can be harmful, for example, about medical or
health information.

15. Fake News Activity #2
• Each learner will retrieve a subject specific article on a topic,
e.g., global warming.
• Google the author or institution to find out more about them.
Once you know more about the author, what is their stake in
making this argument? In other words, why do they care?
• Think-Pair-Share

16. Fake News Activity #3
• Digital fake news quiz:
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/can-you-tell-fake-news-
when-you-see-it/54143932-efb7-46de-af6b-
f92108a329dc_quiz.html?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.76fd0db2ef46
• Each learner should take the quiz.
• Think-Pair-Share.

18. Cognitive Bias
Confirmation Bias
• Is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information
in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses.
• It is a type of cognitive bias and a systematic error of inductive
reasoning. People display this bias when they gather or remember
information selectively, or when they interpret it in a biased way.
The effect is stronger for emotionally charged issues and for deeply
entrenched beliefs. People also tend to interpret ambiguous
evidence as supporting their existing position.
• This is biological and everyone does it, so the be careful to check
your biases.

19. WYSIATI
Limited Data Intuition
Conclusion based
on assumption
that limited data
is all that mater

21. Results
• Understanding how individuals revise their political beliefs has important
implications for society. In a preregistered study (N = 900), we
experimentally separated the predictions of 2 leading theories of human
belief revision—desirability bias and confirmation bias—in the context of
the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
• Participants indicated who they desired to win, and who they believed
would win, the election. Following confrontation with evidence that was
either consistent or inconsistent with their desires or beliefs, they again
indicated who they believed would win.
• We observed a robust desirability bias—individuals updated their beliefs
more if the evidence was consistent (vs. inconsistent) with their desired
outcome. This bias was independent of whether the evidence was
consistent or inconsistent with their prior beliefs. In contrast, we found
limited evidence of an independent confirmation bias in belief updating.
These results have implications for the relevant psychological theories
and for political belief revision in practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c)
2017 APA, all rights reserved)

28. Bias Based on Prior Beliefs
• Two groups that were either opponents or proponents of the
death penalty were shown two pieces of evidence on the
deterrent of capital punishments”
– One Supporting.
– One providing evidence against.
• Both groups were broken into smaller groups. So overall, half the
proponents and opponents of capital punishment had their opinions
reinforced by before/after data, but challenged by state/state data,
and vice versa.
• Subjects confidently uncovered flaws in the methods of research that went
against their preexisting views, but downplayed flaws in research that
supported the view

30. Bias Activity #1
• Confirmation Bias Puzzle:
– https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/07/03/upshot/a-quick-
puzzle-to-test-your-problem-solving.html?_r=0

31. Bias Activity #2
• Take 10 minutes
• Find an article that is empirical on two sides of an argument,
e.g., taxation.
• Think-Pair-Share
• Compare and Contrast articles
• Which article could you use? Which could you not? Why?

32. Bias Activity #3
• Each student will have a homework assignment of pulling what
they think is an empirical article from any source online on a
given topic e.g., Global Warming.
• They will write a paragraph on why the article is empirical and
why it is “correct”.
• In class the students will think-pair-share and explain their
reasoning.
• The instructor/librarian will comment on the quality of the
information but also discuss the confirmation bias behind each
choice.

33. Availability Cascade
• The availability heuristic is a mental shortcut that relies on
immediate examples that come to a given person's mind when
evaluating a specific topic, concept, method or decision.
– As in, recent information or information that cascades in media
weighs heavier in recall.
– I.E. Terrorism, The media usually focuses on violent or extreme
cases, which are more readily available in the public's mind.
– So this will impact individuals understanding of information.

35. Availability Activity Example #1
• What is more dangerous?
• A.) Terrorism
• B.)Diabetes

36. Availability Activity Example #2:
• Learners should count how many times the people in white
pass the ball:
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGQmdoK_ZfY

37. Conclusion
• Key Points:
– Follow the Fake News outline in information analysis
– Scholarly VS Non-Scholarly i.e. authority of information
– Check your Biases
• Confirmation Bias
• Availability Cascade

38. Contact Information
• Seth M. Porter, MA, MLIS
• Co-Coordinator of Library Instruction
• Social Sciences Librarian
• Georgia Institute of Technology
• seth.porter@library.gatech.edu
• 404-894-1392