Posted on 06/18/2018 10:54:31 AM PDT by COUNTrecount
Only a quarter of U.S. adults in a recent survey could fully identify factual statements - as opposed to opinion - in news stories, the Pew Research Center found in a study released on Monday.
The survey comes amid growing concerns about so-called fake news spread on the internet and social media. The term generally refers to fabricated news that has no basis in fact but is presented as being factually accurate.
Facebook Inc , Alphabet Inc's Google and other tech companies have recently come under scrutiny for failing to promptly tackle the problem of fake news as more Americans consume news on social media platforms.
The main portion of Pew's survey polled 5,035 adult Americans aged 18 and above in February and March. The study was intended to determine if respondents could differentiate between factual information and opinion statements in news stories.
Participants were given five factual statements such as "spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid make up the largest portion of the U.S. federal budget," and five opinion statements such as "democracy is the greatest form of government." They were asked to identify which ones were factual and which were opinions.
Only 26 percent were able to correctly identify all five factual statements. On opinions, about 35 percent were able to correctly identify all five statements. Roughly a quarter got most or all wrong in identifying facts and opinions, the research showed.
The study found that participants' ability to classify statements as factual or opinion varied widely based on their political awareness, trust in the news media, and "digital savviness" or degree to which they are confident in using digital devices and the internet.
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
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A lot of CNN/MSNBC/WaPo/NYslimes news articles don’t contain any facts.
Its not facts when its liberal editorializing dressed up as objective news.
That’s by definition, fake news.
No wonder Americans can’t distinguish facts from fiction.
Near as I can see this all traces back to the way “critical thinking” is taught. No statement that is not scientifically proven can be used. There is no distinction whatsoever between opinion and fact in the way that logic is used and imposed upon children for their entire educations. The biggest result I have seen is trying to get millenials to express any opinion at all. . .it’s as though they are aftraid to even have, much less express and opinion.
Oops - that’s “afraid” and “an opinion”.
Grapple?
Only snowflakes and functional morons need to grapple.
recognizing crap has, for me, become ridiculously simple.
Step 1 check the source.
If its from a known source, A pervert/soros/ the MSM or an academic, it is automatically rejected.
If it is from an unknown source, check the source on line NOT USING SNOPES, WIKIPEDIA, Snowflakes, pervert or Twinkie sites OR ANY GOVERNMENT SOURCE.
Rinse and repeat.
Oh my, this is rich.
How would “news stories” be defined? Maybe you can have video proof that a storm hit the town or a plane did crash. But on any political topic, the stories are 99% propaganda. They aren’t “news.” Of course people can’t pick out the truth. They don’t have video of the event; they are relying on a well oiled propaganda machine to disseminate falsehoods, and the people are told this is true.
So you can only measure how well a piece of propaganda does at influencing thought in a reader. There is no relation to truth, in any political story.
Near as I can see, "critical thinking” is no longer taught.
I think one of the main reasons opinions are confused with facts is because of the opinion pieces titled: “Fact Check...”
With the constant barrage of propaganda from the Ministry of Propaganda it is no wonder people don’t know what to believe.
Facts? Thee are none, it’s all opinion and Left Wing activism.
What it means is to be critical of everything (except marxism). Twist the history, twist the meaning of words, and find small flaws in Western Civ to be used to destroy it.
Since nothing in this world is perfect (except marxism, which has never been tried/sarc) you can find a 'critical flaw' in everything.
It's thinking that isn't taught now.
I’m smart enough to know the survey implies the average American is too stupid to read a newspaper, or listen to ABC News on TV.
This is a preamble for, “You’re too stupid to govern yourselves, so we’re going to run your lives for you, but we’re going to take what we’ve been doing so far to a new level.”
Because the dems and the media never tell the truth.
As opposed to what? (I know some of you will draw a distinction democratic republic, but I would probably have answered this question as a fact. )
"Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." - Winston Churchill
What are the Vegas odds that Schmuckerburg bought and paid for this survey to have the results that defend Facebook’s decree of being the Harbinger of Truth?
The MSM doesn’t care that we know they are propaganda as long as the ones they are propagandizing don’t know.
What they are afraid to say: sex, it depends on your sex
You are absolutely right. And the result is that students taught this way are afraid to think at all or to have or express opinions. That was the intended result.
I originally thought that “critical thinking” meant fundamental or essential thinking. But, nope. Per the Critical Thinking.org website, it is just fault-finding. If you get a chance, check out my blog post on “A Critique of Critical Thinking” (site s/b posted in my signature block). . .we are definitely on the same page.
Not me. Most of what is “reported” is either incomplete, biased, or erronious. The rest of it are simply lies. I dont believe any of it. The media in general are Americas public enemy #1.
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