Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22, 2021 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception: How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation." In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information. They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).
How to Debunk:
1. Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.
2. Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs. Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.
3. Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp. Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.
4. When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.
5. Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.
"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.
"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."
"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."
Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge
Source: Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021
Update: September 22, 2023: This is more important now than ever. Be vigilant and speak in your own way. Love Wins.
Update: McQuade, Barbara, "Attack From Within," 2024. New York Times best seller.
With the holidays behind us and time to lick my political wounds, it’s once again time to engage. After my root canal on January 2, I intend to get back on the bandwagon of life which includes expanding my involvement with Braver Angels and looking into local engagement through organizations like Indivisible or potentially other organizations where I’d be working shoulder to shoulder with my peers toward common goals of peace, prosperity, hopefulness and, most importantly, Love.
It’s time to gird our collective loins against the hate-filled incoming administration and to not cower out of a sense of fear, confusion or doubt. Be prepared for the onslaught of wrong headed, chaos inducing fear mongering that will reach a fever pitch in the month of January.
My plan to address what I think is coming is by adapting some tips that I have learned from Brigid Delaney’s book Reasons Not to Worry: How to be Stoic in Chaotic Times. I’m about a third of the way through the book, but the core premise of the book is to contain your thoughts to things that you have control over. According to Delaney, those things are:
- Your own personal character
- Your thoughts, feelings and reactions to outside events
- How you treat others
I’m a newbie to Stoicism and there are lots of nuances to the three items listed above. But, since I started reading it in November, I have applied those three ideas into both pre-decision and post-decision self assessments of how to handle a given situation or consider what I should have done in a given situation.
I apply it on the road in driving situations quite regularly and am working to apply it to things I read, hear and view as well. As I get deeper into this book and Stoicism, my hope is that I will worry less, think more and love better.
Jumping back into life will require me to add these Stoic tools to help dismantle the barriers put up to separate me from democratic thought and institutions. Maybe you’ll find them useful as well.
A Ray of Sunshine
Best wishes for the New Year!
Happy New Year