Donna Halper

In “How to be a Skeptical News Consumer,” Donna Halper, a professor of media, describes the importance of fact checking when reading news, both online and in print. She explains how often pieces of information are inflated, whether it’s done to make a point or to make a profit. Many citizens spread stories around as a joke, but some rather gullible people believe them to be true. On occasion, a company advertises a false statement accidentally. The author supports her claims using examples of true events caused by untrue reports. Although Halper pokes fun at the people who believe these preposterous ideas, she also provides helpful tips to that part of her audience. The article, written in 2012, references political issues like Obama’s re-election …show more content…
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