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4.10: The “Magic” of the Internet

  • Page ID
    68098
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    According to the Pew Research Center almost 50% of people from the ages of 18-49 get their news from online sources. Historian and Journalism Professor Andie Tucher at Columbia University has suggested that even though gossip and hoaxes have been the staple of supermarket tabloids, on email chains and online for years, the current brand of fake news and its popularity is a product of new technology colliding with a widespread mistrust of big institutions.

    “People have not yet sorted out in their minds how they’re going to incorporate [social media] into their news stream. They may be inclined to believe a false report originating on social media because it feels more magical, more interesting or even more authoritative because it seems more unmediated.” 1

    A properly worded claim, one that is appropriate to the argumentative environment, can become the basis for successful conflict resolution. Without an appropriately structured claim, critical thinkers will find their arguments dissolving into bickering, quarreling or destructive fighting. It is not an understatement to say that good, effective and potentially successful argumentation must begin with a mutually acceptable and correctly stated claim.

    If you don’t let the argumentative burdens to be switched, you can avoid being manipulated by others. Sales people or fake news creators will have much less control over you.

    Reference

    1. Nina Agrawal, "Where fake news came from — and why some readers believe it," 2016, "www.latimes.com/nation/la-na...2016-story.htm (accessed October 31, 2019)

    This page titled 4.10: The “Magic” of the Internet is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Jim Marteney (ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI)) .

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