by
Barbara Smith, Communications Team Member/PCDCC Member
We are barraged with information. Whether it’s on our TV screens or mobile devices, magazines, emails, newspapers, or social media, we are constantly presented with information to absorb and evaluate. Loud and disparate voices are clamoring for our attention, all claiming to be the harbinger of truth, the voice of reason. But how reliable are those voices? When the information is wrong, do we know how to sort the unintentional mistake from the intentional deception?
Misinformation and disinformation are words frequently used as though they are interchangeable. Both refer to incorrect information, but the intent behind the words differs greatly. Misinformation is an error, a mistake that is easily corrected with proper facts and data. Disinformation has a nefarious intent—not only is the information incorrect but it is presented in such a way as to confuse, twist, or purposely misrepresent the truth.
Most of us think we are good at recognizing disinformation, that we have a good “BS” detector. We believe we recognize our own biases and can accurately judge the credibility of news sources. But do we? Let’s put that to the test. Try this quiz from the News Literacy Project. The items are a little dated, but that doesn’t affect the validity of your responses.
https://newslit.org/news-literacy-week/
Keep track of your score and ask your friends and neighbors to try it too. We’ll come back to this quiz as we move through upcoming articles on this topic. Look for the next part in the December PCDP newsletter.
