Rewrite #1

 

Today I have read a very interesting article that was about bias information on the internet. Before that I read two opinion pieces which both spoke about media literacy, digital literacy and how people have received many bias information from the internet.

The first opinion piece had Mike Caufield’s SIFT model that helps increase your media literacy:

• Stop
• Investigate the source
• Find a trust source to verify
• Trace claims, quotes, and media back to the original text.

The second opinion piece contained the seven key components of digital literacy:

1. Critical Thinking
2. Online Safety Skills
3. Digital Culture
4. Collaboration and Creativity
5. Finding Information.
6. Communication and Netiquette
7. Functional Skills

After I got a pretty good hand of the two-opinion piece, I started reading the article about “News media literacy, perceptions of bias, and interpretation of news.” Before I start talking about what was written in the article, I got to say that it was a very long read but at least I found some parts quite interesting. One of the things that I found interesting is that people with devoted viewpoints may see news content as biased against their side, even when it is deemed unbiased by neutral audience. This may contribute to increasing levels of political division as people seek out news from sources that match their beliefs.

I’m going to be honest, the fact that people search for news that matches their beliefs seems also a bit bias too. The reason why I think that is because they are looking for news that matching their beliefs and completely disregard anything that doesn’t match what they believe.

Bias is a conscious twist on the part of a journalist, but it is difficult for readers/watchers to recognize when this shows up. Personal bias is 'perhaps one of the most rebellious barriers for news customers to overcome'. When I find something that grabbed my attention, like a spoiler for a movie or a show, or even something that is happening in the world then I generally prefer to look up more about the subject in different articles or even ask my friends if they know anything about it. It isn’t easy to recognise bias news especially when it looks real, but it also might end up being fake or just one-sided.

In the article that I read they asked people about their news media bias questionnaires (NML), trust in news and bias in news stories, and personal worldviews. The NML (National Media Literacy) phase of the interview focused on meanings of the term 'news media literacy' and related notions (e.g. bias) and how these ideas interact with each other to form a one’s view of the news.

Everybody who has been part in this study recognized that their viewpoints influenced their explanation of news stories. One participant believed his personal views influence largely his understanding of news. This does make sense to me because we as people are influenced by our personal views and when we see that an article goes against those view then we start complaining and immediately start to not accept it.

One group that was interviewed said they rely on advice about the news opening or journalist to detect bias information. Fifteen participants mentioned journalists, editors, producers, news ownership, or organizations as responsible for bias information in news. I actually agree with this statement, as those people are the ones that are finding the information that they later on write articles on. So, I think that they should try and make sure that the information that they have gathered isn’t one-sided/bias.

Overall, after reader the very long article I have realised that bias information does relate to digital literacy as through the internet. Online you easily manipulate information to your will and make anyone believe it, as long as the post sound valid and generally has formal language to show how serious it is.

Digital Media Companies Found Lacking in Helping Users Understand the Online Environment

https://www.medialiteracyireland.ie/news/digital-media-companies-found-lacking-in-helping-users-understand-the-online-environment

Ofcom research: Nearly half of people across the UK nations have come across false or misleading information about Covid-19

https://www.medialiteracyireland.ie/news/ofcom-research-nearly-half-of-people-across-the-uk-nations-have-come-across-false-or-misleading-information-about-covid-19

Tully M, Vraga EK, Smithson A-B. News media literacy, perceptions of bias, and interpretation of news. Journalism. 2020;21(2):209-226. doi:10.1177/1464884918805262

https://tudublin-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/irene_mcginn_tudublin_ie/ETLRv99FIY9Mvy-qySd5evkBBKLx-XfHp4pWLYBdFa25iA?e=bdGkAU

The original blog post

https://livsidmcollegeblog.blogspot.com/2021/10/media-literacy-and-bias-information_11.html