She offers one rule as the most important thing in reporting media: “know who created the message” (Halper 36). This is significant because the author of a rumor often has an underhanded motive when telling a story. Halper later mentions another rule regarding those who tell falsehoods. It’s important to know where a story started, so that you can judge whether or not the creator is trustworthy. That’s why Halper advises her readers to “find out who is actually behind the innocuous-sounding name” of a piece of news (38). When looking for the facts, one can’t take news articles at face-value. In the article, Halper gives another piece of advice to her audience: “take the time to fact-check the quotes” (38). She infers that even though ‘everyone’ may believe in something, it does not mean that it’s a true fact. Halper also implies that generally, people tend to lean towards the opinion of the majority and don’t spend enough time considering a topic on their own. She even gives students an immediate opportunity to use her advice by providing a list of places to fact-check her own information. In her attempt to educate readers on how to recognize reliable news reports, Halper seems entirely successful. The author appeals to her audience’s reasoning by referencing events where fake news stories caused very real consequences. Her first example is that of a radio station that claimed to be the first ever made in the United States. KDKA bragged profusely over this proclamation in the 1920s, but there’s no way to tell whether or not it was an intentional lie or if they just truly believed it (Halper 36). Either way, it was a false advertisement. Later in the article, Halper talks about the Great Moon Hoax that occurred in 1835. The New York Sun published an article that held ‘proof’ of life on the moon. Since there was no easy way to fact-check during that time, the public simply believed this piece of news (37). Although the piece was eventually revealed as fake, it had a real impact on American citizens. A major world event was
She offers one rule as the most important thing in reporting media: “know who created the message” (Halper 36). This is significant because the author of a rumor often has an underhanded motive when telling a story. Halper later mentions another rule regarding those who tell falsehoods. It’s important to know where a story started, so that you can judge whether or not the creator is trustworthy. That’s why Halper advises her readers to “find out who is actually behind the innocuous-sounding name” of a piece of news (38). When looking for the facts, one can’t take news articles at face-value. In the article, Halper gives another piece of advice to her audience: “take the time to fact-check the quotes” (38). She infers that even though ‘everyone’ may believe in something, it does not mean that it’s a true fact. Halper also implies that generally, people tend to lean towards the opinion of the majority and don’t spend enough time considering a topic on their own. She even gives students an immediate opportunity to use her advice by providing a list of places to fact-check her own information. In her attempt to educate readers on how to recognize reliable news reports, Halper seems entirely successful. The author appeals to her audience’s reasoning by referencing events where fake news stories caused very real consequences. Her first example is that of a radio station that claimed to be the first ever made in the United States. KDKA bragged profusely over this proclamation in the 1920s, but there’s no way to tell whether or not it was an intentional lie or if they just truly believed it (Halper 36). Either way, it was a false advertisement. Later in the article, Halper talks about the Great Moon Hoax that occurred in 1835. The New York Sun published an article that held ‘proof’ of life on the moon. Since there was no easy way to fact-check during that time, the public simply believed this piece of news (37). Although the piece was eventually revealed as fake, it had a real impact on American citizens. A major world event was