Paper Three “We weren’t interested in doing a story about the ‘fake news’ that is invoked by politicians against the media for stories that they don’t like or for comments that they don’t like… We’re using the term “fake news” to describe stories that are provably false, have enormous traction in the culture, and are consumed by millions of people.” --Michael Radutzky, 60 Minutes Overtime, CBS News Perhaps the most difficult aspect of doing research in 2017 is figuring out how to evaluate sources. Chris Hayes, in Twilight of the Elites, refers to what he calls “the most destructive effect of the fail decade”: The cascade of elite failure has discredited not only elites and our central institutions, but the very mental habits we use to form our beliefs about the world. At the same time, the Internet has produced an unprecedented amount of information to sort through and radically expanded the arduous task of figuring out just whom to trust. (106) Here, Hayes makes the point that it is not just that news media outlets and elites that have been “discredited”; it’s that the “mental habits” or shortcuts we thought we could rely on to form our ideas about the world have been discredited too. By our “mental habits,” Hayes means the “mental habit” of trusting what he calls “old sources of authority” that have been discredited or compromised. By 2016, the problem of what information to trust had become far more serious. Paper Three asks you to examine one aspect of the “arduous task” of figuring out what information and which sources and authorities we can trust. Write a paper in which you examine one of the following problems researchers encounter in evaluating sources. See the list on page 2 for more specific project ideas for these problems. 1. Recognizing Propaganda and determining its source and purpose. (e.g., Nazi propaganda in WWII) 2. Recognizing fake news. (e.g., “pizzagate”) 3. Dealing with writers or speakers who use “alternative facts” (that is, information that has been distorted, faked or twisted. (e.g., the “Sandy Hook is a hoax” truthers; 9/11 truthers; global climate change deniers) 4. Recognizing the bias or agenda (political, ideological or economic) of information sources (newspapers, cable TV networks, websites, broadcast TV news, local TV news, political parties, advocacy groups, lobbyists, PR departments of corporations, etc.) As you examine one of these issues, you will also need to show how ordinary readers and listeners can learn to identify sources that are not credible, that rely on lies and distortions, and that are intended to mislead the public. Finally, why does it matter if we can’t trust “the news”? General Points: · It will be important to define your terms carefully. What is “fake news,” for example? Note the epigraph above distinguishes “fake news” from “news that people don’t like” or “news that challenges peoples’ prejudices.” You will to define terms like “fake news,” “alternative facts,” “propa.

1. Paper Three
“We weren’t interested in doing a story about the ‘fake news’
that is invoked by politicians against the media for stories that
they don’t like or for comments that they don’t like…
We’re using the term “fake news” to describe stories that are
provably false, have enormous traction in the culture, and are
consumed by millions of people.”
--Michael Radutzky, 60 Minutes Overtime, CBS News
Perhaps the most difficult aspect of doing research in 2017 is
figuring out how to evaluate sources. Chris Hayes, in Twilight
of the Elites, refers to what he calls “the most destructive effect
of the fail decade”:
The cascade of elite failure has discredited not only elites and
our central institutions, but the very mental habits we use to
form our beliefs about the world. At the same time, the Internet
has produced an unprecedented amount of information to sort
through and radically expanded the arduous task of figuring out
just whom to trust. (106)
Here, Hayes makes the point that it is not just that news media
outlets and elites that have been “discredited”; it’s that the
“mental habits” or shortcuts we thought we could rely on to
form our ideas about the world have been discredited too. By
our “mental habits,” Hayes means the “mental habit” of trusting
what he calls “old sources of authority” that have been
discredited or compromised. By 2016, the problem of what
information to trust had become far more serious.
Paper Three asks you to examine one aspect of the
“arduous task” of figuring out what information and which
sources and authorities we can trust. Write a paper in which
you examine one of the following problems researchers

2. encounter in evaluating sources. See the list on page 2 for more
specific project ideas for these problems.
1. Recognizing Propaganda and determining its source and
purpose. (e.g., Nazi propaganda in WWII)
2. Recognizing fake news. (e.g., “pizzagate”)
3. Dealing with writers or speakers who use “alternative facts”
(that is, information that has been distorted, faked or twisted.
(e.g., the “Sandy Hook is a hoax” truthers; 9/11 truthers; global
climate change deniers)
4. Recognizing the bias or agenda (political, ideological or
economic) of information sources (newspapers, cable TV
networks, websites, broadcast TV news, local TV news,
political parties, advocacy groups, lobbyists, PR departments of
corporations, etc.)
As you examine one of these issues, you will also need to show
how ordinary readers and listeners can learn to identify sources
that are not credible, that rely on lies and distortions, and that
are intended to mislead the public. Finally, why does it matter if
we can’t trust “the news”?
General Points:
· It will be important to define your terms carefully. What is
“fake news,” for example? Note the epigraph above
distinguishes “fake news” from “news that people don’t like” or
“news that challenges peoples’ prejudices.” You will to define
terms like “fake news,” “alternative facts,” “propaganda” and
“bias.”
· Choose a focus that is narrow enough for a 6 to 8-page paper.
· You will need original sources. That is, we will need to see
examples of “fake news” or “propaganda.”
· You will need a project statement that lays out what your
paper will do.
· You will also need analysis: what experts have written about
these problems? What are the points that people debate? You

3. will need a number of sources.
· You will need an extended “case study” or 2-3 developed
examples to illustrate your project. So search for good
examples.
· Of course, you will prepare an Annotated Bibliography before
you draft your paper and a Works Cited for the final draft.
· Follow MLA format for in-text citation and Works Cited.
Propaganda: “Propaganda” is an old term and a common one. It
points to organized attempts to shape public opinion of large
groups and to encourage certain beliefs and actions. You can
look for cases and examples in history, often when countries
want to go to war and try to get public opinion behind them
(See, for example, the “Gulf of Tonkin” resolution that was a
“cause” for the U.S. to go to war in Vietnam; Nazi efforts to
dehumanize Jews; pro- and anti-Communist propaganda in the
1950s; propaganda used by ISIS and other extremist groups.)
Fake News: These stories are “provably false” and usually
disseminated via extremist websites into social media. (See, for
example, “pizzagate” and a number of other stories planted by
people outside the U.S. who were paid by Russia to disrupt the
2016 election.) Here, you will want to examine original
documents of “fake news” and identify sources that traffic in
them. “Fake news,” like propaganda, often has the purpose of
misleading the public to serve someone’s agenda. Fake news
may be one weapon in a propaganda campaign.
“Alternative Facts”: Bless PR advisor Kellyanne Conway for
giving us the term “alternative facts.” Another word for
“alternative facts” is “lies.” But conspiracy theories that twist
the truth, create elaborate conspiracy theories out of nothing,
present information out of context, and search for sinister
explanations for obvious “true” facts also involve “alternative
facts.” Here are some conspiracy theories that thrive on

4. “alternative facts”: 9/11 truther movement; Sandy Hook truther
movement; the “birther” lies about Barack Obama; the “moon
landing truther movement,” which is common in Europe;
Oklahoma City bombing conspiracy theories.
“Bias or Agenda”: This term covers the fact that writers and
news outlets often have a distinct perspective or point of view.
One project might be to follow one news outlet to see if you can
identify an ideological or political agenda or a bias toward a
particular world view. Another project might be to examine 3
“op-ed” writers (from Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and
your local paper) to see if you can determine what perspective
this person writes from.