“Ultra”

https://newslit.org/

Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 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

The holiday season is a time of giving…and receiving, let’s face it. There will be periods of time between now and New Years Day where you won’t be working, eating, watching football or engaging in whatever you engage in during the festivals of light and celebration held during the latter part of December.

As a friend or (maybe) respected acquaintance, I have a request for you. Listen to a little publicized and therefore little known history of events in the United States in an eight part podcast by journalist Rachel Maddow.

It takes place between the mid 1930’s through the post World War 2 years and on into the early 1950’s. It is a story that will engage you, enrage you, mystify you and make you think about this period in U.S. history in ways that you never have before.

I believe that every citizen of the United States should hear this story and what better way to hear it than from the dedicated journalist and master storyteller Ms. Maddow.

Come the new year, you will appreciate this story even more as history continues to unfold before our eyes in 2023.

One of the tools in addressing misinformation, disinformation and propaganda is to get out in front of it. It is a technique that has worked to throw a major wrench in Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Putin has and continues to wreak great suffering on the civilians of Ukraine, but he has been stifled in his attempt to gain control of the country by the United States Government and others in releasing critical intelligence to the public prior to the implementation of his disinformation campaign. By doing so, his ability to unleash his disinformation and propaganda to justify his invasion and his tactics has been undermined and used against him in the court of public opinion.

As you progress through the podcast, it will become more and more obvious to you why you should be learning this little known but wildly impactful history of our country and just how close we came to being run by Nazis. Follow this link to “Ultra” and make it a goal to finish it before the next Congress is seated in mid-January.

You’ll be glad you did.