As mass media has become more segregated, the news, in particular, has to address one challenging question. Do people actually care about accuracy?
Continue reading “We're not sure if online news is accurate, but read & share it anyways.”Category: Communication & Psychology Theory
Getting into the Baby Boomer Mindset
I must call Nana.
That was my first thought when the editor-in-chief at Lynchburg Living sent me a writing assignment focused on how seniors can manage their medications. I knew she could give me insights from her daily life.
Continue reading “Getting into the Baby Boomer Mindset”A novel way to tell your brand story, infographic
The War of the Words
The problem isn’t that we are believing fake news — it’s that we stopped believing in news. Since the middle of the 1900s, trust in the news has been slipping. It opened up a gap that financially-motivated false information generators happily filled.
Continue reading “The War of the Words”The Psychology Behind Fake News & Click Bait Ads
Click and someone makes money. It doesn’t matter if you quickly leave the site — the event has been logged. Unfortunately, that’s the incentive for creating clickbait. While we’re waiting for the industry to catch up, you can lower the amount of junk news you consume by learning to spot them before you click.
Continue reading “The Psychology Behind Fake News & Click Bait Ads”Have you looked up your Facebook classifications?
Let’s start on the other side of things. Facebook makes its money through advertisements. Advertisers, in a desire to reach their intended audiences, rely on Facebook to sell them space in front of the right types of people.
Continue reading “Have you looked up your Facebook classifications?”When journalists talk about the threat our First Amendment rights, here’s what they mean.
The year was 1798 when John Adams signed The Alien and Sedition Acts. Trouble was brewing across the ocean as the French built up their navy and eyed our young country. In response, the Federalist Congress passed the act and Adams signed it.
Protests followed immediately.
Continue reading “When journalists talk about the threat our First Amendment rights, here’s what they mean.”Have you shared a fake news story? Join the club.
At this point, people are aware that fake news exists. Their problem with it is twofold. First, people aren’t sure how to identify fake news. Second, it has rattled their trust in any source of news or caused them to build extremely loyal affinities for select sources.
Continue reading “Have you shared a fake news story? Join the club.”NPR talked to a Fake-News creator and confirmed it’s mostly about the ad money
During the last election, a popular fake news story, titled “FBI Agent Suspected In Hillary Email Leaks Found Dead In Apparent Murder-Suicide” spread across the internet. It’s completely false but, that didn’t stop hundreds of thousands of people from sharing it. The story lived on denverguardian.com – one of those fake news websites that only has one story.
Continue reading “NPR talked to a Fake-News creator and confirmed it’s mostly about the ad money”The Pew Research Center tested how well people can separate fact from opinion statements. The results aren’t surprising.
Have you ever been baffled when someone has clung to a belief despite clear evidence to the contrary? You might have noticed their mental strain, as they process the conflicting information and ultimately choose to reject it.
Continue reading “The Pew Research Center tested how well people can separate fact from opinion statements. The results aren’t surprising.”