News Media Credibility

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The manner in which the news media communicates information affects our everyday lives. In our society, we experience how news can overload a population of people that rely on information from various media outlets. In addition to adults having easy access to news and current events, children are just as affected by information if they do not properly evaluate what makes sources credible. Therefore, the subject of our divisive political climate assignment deals with source validation. Source validation is a fundamental method to avoid misinformation by checking the accuracy of content one receives. Therefore, accuracy is the condition of presenting exact evidence that is free from errors. Through source validation, consumers become aware …show more content…

For instance, in this paper, we investigate the story about President Trump’s telephone conversation with a widow, Mrs. Myeshia Johnson, whose husband, Army Sergeant La David T. Johnson, died in the African nation of Niger. According to personal accounts, President Trump stated, “He knew what he signed up for, but it hurts anyway.” The students will dive deeper into the news and media to help their literacy skills grow by understanding how to measure a fact versus a lie. For instance, which media outlet gave an accurate depiction of the verbal exchange between President Trump and Mrs. Johnson? How can students determine credibility? “Young children learn how science and technologies influence beliefs, knowledge, and their daily lives.” For the introduction and hook of our lesson plan, students receive 10 shortened straws and a piece of paper. The instructor informs the students to evaluate 10 statements. An example is, “Wednesday is the day after Friday.” Whenever the students think a sentence is false, they will place a straw on the paper to indicate the teacher’s false statement. If the students think a statement is true, they will not use a straw. By the end of the 10 statements, the students will examine the length of their …show more content…

Adequate scaffolding will guide the children to compare Pinocchio’s growing nose to the awareness of certain risks involved when students do not validate news outlets that can deliver fake news. The students will then study indicators that led them to identify truths versus lies by recognizing skills and factors that help them know when an account is true or false, such as: observations, prior knowledge, background experience, and trust in the source. Following the introduction, students will compare and contrast four sources classified as reliable/positive; reliable/negative; unreliable/positive; and unreliable/negative. Once the students organize the news articles by rank, they will then argue why certain sources are more valid than other sources. The overall goal of the lesson is to have young learners decipher expertness and trustworthiness. According to Kohring and Matthes (2007), expertness refers to, “how well informed and intelligent a communicator is perceived;” whereas trustworthiness is “operationalized by the absence of persuasive intentions and as impartiality” (p. 233). As stated by WNYC (2013), The Breaking News Consumer’s Handbook has nine tips to teach children how the news media can better report breaking news: • In the immediate aftermath, news outlets will get it

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