How can you tell what news is true?
By SOPHIE OJDANIC AND ANNIE GJINECI
J.Hop Times Editors
You’ve probably done it — gone on your phone and checked Facebook and saw a few headlines that were ... well ... a bit hard to believe.
“Miley Cyrus dies!” “Ebola outbreak threatens the U.S.!”
Neither story is true, of course. But that didn’t stop millions of people from believing them. Even when something sounds true, it may not be.
NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams told viewers for years that he was on a helicopter that took enemy fire while he was reporting from Iraq. Only the helicopter was not under fire. It didn’t happen.
Williams, caught in his lie, apologized and blamed his poor memory.
So according to him, he kept forgetting that he wasn’t shot down. We won’t see Mr. Williams again until August. Maybe.
He’s been suspended.
Let’s tiptoe through the minefield. A headline from two years ago declared “Joan Rivers Dyes”, which was actually true. She did dye her hair. But at the time, she wasn’t dead.
And then there were these two widely-circulated news stories recently. One said that the iPhone 5 will have hologram projection, and the other insisted that “Science says blondes are going extinct.”
Wrong, and wrong.
So how do you know what’s accurate and what’s not? How do you know if you’re getting the full story, or only part of it? Many times, a half-truth, or something that sounds like it could be true, is worse than a lie.
Here’s an example. Starting around 2008, some politicians and newscasters claimed that President Obama was born in Africa and is a Muslim. It has been proven many times that he was born in Hawaii and is a Christian. But a recent Gallup poll showed that nearly 30 percent of Americans still believe he is foreign born and a Muslim.
A decade or two ago, most people got their news from newspapers, radio and a handful of TV stations. Today, thanks to the Internet, the choices are endless. When the capture of a Boston Marathon bomber first shows up on Twitter, you know the game has changed.
Is it good that we have so many choices?
Yes and no, say most teachers at JHMS.
It’s really important to have credible news sources, they said. We need to be aware of where the reporters get their news. Are they checking both sides of the story? Teachers, including civics teacher Mr. Memmer, suggest getting your daily news from multiple verified sources.
“Keep in mind that anybody can put misleading info out there,’’ he said.
Then there are bloggers and pundits and other people who show up on-line and on TV with an opinion. Is it fact? “It’s up to us to check,’’ Mr. Memmer said.
But who has the time for that?
Here’s a quick way to tell if what you’re getting is the truth — if a news show host is talking about an issue, and all the guests on the show agree with the host, that’s a problem. Most issues are not one-sided.
Reading a newspaper or watching the evening news takes time. And the news you get is usually several hours old. This is where the Internet comes in.
“I get my news from the Internet because I’m always on the Internet,” said eighth-grader Mia Jakupovic. Turns out, it’s not just Mia. Most students say they rely on social media, friends or their parents to gettheir news. But how reliable is that?
“We have to be smart consumers of the news,’’ Mr. Memmer said. “That means reading as much as we can. The more we know, the harder it is to fool us.”
That’s easier said than done. Most students would rather read a two-line text than a 700-word story. But you pay a price for not digging a little deeper.
“Too much news today is biased,’’ said Ms. Serne, a language arts teacher who gets her news from several newspapers and major network TV. “And you have to realize that. There are so many ways of getting the news, but you need to be aware of what those news sources are and then find some you can trust. Ask yourself if they’re checking both sides, if they’re accurate and fair.
“The best way to stay well informed," Ms. Serne added, “is to get the full story from as many good sources as you can.’’
By SOPHIE OJDANIC AND ANNIE GJINECI
J.Hop Times Editors
You’ve probably done it — gone on your phone and checked Facebook and saw a few headlines that were ... well ... a bit hard to believe.
“Miley Cyrus dies!” “Ebola outbreak threatens the U.S.!”
Neither story is true, of course. But that didn’t stop millions of people from believing them. Even when something sounds true, it may not be.
NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams told viewers for years that he was on a helicopter that took enemy fire while he was reporting from Iraq. Only the helicopter was not under fire. It didn’t happen.
Williams, caught in his lie, apologized and blamed his poor memory.
So according to him, he kept forgetting that he wasn’t shot down. We won’t see Mr. Williams again until August. Maybe.
He’s been suspended.
Let’s tiptoe through the minefield. A headline from two years ago declared “Joan Rivers Dyes”, which was actually true. She did dye her hair. But at the time, she wasn’t dead.
And then there were these two widely-circulated news stories recently. One said that the iPhone 5 will have hologram projection, and the other insisted that “Science says blondes are going extinct.”
Wrong, and wrong.
So how do you know what’s accurate and what’s not? How do you know if you’re getting the full story, or only part of it? Many times, a half-truth, or something that sounds like it could be true, is worse than a lie.
Here’s an example. Starting around 2008, some politicians and newscasters claimed that President Obama was born in Africa and is a Muslim. It has been proven many times that he was born in Hawaii and is a Christian. But a recent Gallup poll showed that nearly 30 percent of Americans still believe he is foreign born and a Muslim.
A decade or two ago, most people got their news from newspapers, radio and a handful of TV stations. Today, thanks to the Internet, the choices are endless. When the capture of a Boston Marathon bomber first shows up on Twitter, you know the game has changed.
Is it good that we have so many choices?
Yes and no, say most teachers at JHMS.
It’s really important to have credible news sources, they said. We need to be aware of where the reporters get their news. Are they checking both sides of the story? Teachers, including civics teacher Mr. Memmer, suggest getting your daily news from multiple verified sources.
“Keep in mind that anybody can put misleading info out there,’’ he said.
Then there are bloggers and pundits and other people who show up on-line and on TV with an opinion. Is it fact? “It’s up to us to check,’’ Mr. Memmer said.
But who has the time for that?
Here’s a quick way to tell if what you’re getting is the truth — if a news show host is talking about an issue, and all the guests on the show agree with the host, that’s a problem. Most issues are not one-sided.
Reading a newspaper or watching the evening news takes time. And the news you get is usually several hours old. This is where the Internet comes in.
“I get my news from the Internet because I’m always on the Internet,” said eighth-grader Mia Jakupovic. Turns out, it’s not just Mia. Most students say they rely on social media, friends or their parents to gettheir news. But how reliable is that?
“We have to be smart consumers of the news,’’ Mr. Memmer said. “That means reading as much as we can. The more we know, the harder it is to fool us.”
That’s easier said than done. Most students would rather read a two-line text than a 700-word story. But you pay a price for not digging a little deeper.
“Too much news today is biased,’’ said Ms. Serne, a language arts teacher who gets her news from several newspapers and major network TV. “And you have to realize that. There are so many ways of getting the news, but you need to be aware of what those news sources are and then find some you can trust. Ask yourself if they’re checking both sides, if they’re accurate and fair.
“The best way to stay well informed," Ms. Serne added, “is to get the full story from as many good sources as you can.’’