Fake News Outline

THE ALLURE OF FAKE NEWS: Outline I. Introduction A. Thesis statement: Internet technologies enable the proliferation of fake news, and only education and awareness can curtail the influence fake news has on society. II. Body Paragraph A. Claim: Prior exposure to a fake news story makes a person more likely to believe in the veracity of the information. 1.

Evidence: Just a one-time exposure to a fake news item on a social media platform like Facebook increases the likelihood that a person will believe the fake news story, with the effects lasting as long as a week (Pennycook, Cannon, & Rand, 2017) 2. Evidence: The prior exposure phenomenon is a type of confirmation bias, whereby “ We pick out those bits of data that make us feel good because they confirm our prejudices,” (Heshmat, 2015, p. 1). 3.

Discussion: Fake news is sinister and difficult to curtail because even just one exposure to a fake news story can reinforce prejudicial or irrational beliefs. III. Body Paragraph A. Claim: Mob mentality is at work with fake news, as research shows a viral post is more likely to be perceived as trustworthy even when it is fake 1. Evidence: Becker (2016) notes that the proliferation of fake news is akin to a mob mentality, whereby people believe what they read simply because it is popular. 2.

Evidence: A viral post on social media is more likely to be perceived of as true than one that can be fact-checked (Papanastasiou, 2017) 3. Discussion: Because social media algorithms also contribute to the proliferation of fake news stories, curbing the influence of fake news has become a daunting, if not totally impossible, task. IV. Body Paragraph A. Claim: Free speech enables the creation and dissemination of fake news, and free speech can also be the most effective weapon against fake news. 1.

Evidence: Librarians are at the forefront of media literacy, and can help stop fake news (Becker, 2016). 2. Evidence: Aggressive and systematic tagging of fake news is essential because anything that is not tagged as “fake” will be perceived of as real (Pennycook & Rand, 2017). V. Body Paragraph A. Counterargument: It is too difficult to debunk fake news because the algorithms used in social media sites make it almost impossible to prevent content from going viral. B. Rebuttal: (state the refuting claim that disputes the counterargument) 1.

Evidence: There are ways of “curbing social bots,” which would be “an effective strategy for mitigating the spread of online misinformation,” (Shao, Ciampaglia, Varol, et al, 2017, p. 1). 2. Evidence: To overcome the problems with algorithms, it is also important to target audiences and bots that are geared towards vulnerable populations like “Trump supporters and young adults,” (Pennycook & Rand, 2017, p. 1). VI. Conclusion A.

Call to action: Communications and media specialists, educators, librarians, and policymakers need to work together with the tech industry to develop the means by which to stop the spread of fake news. B. Concluding statement: Fake news is a menace, exacerbating ignorance and undermining democracy. Media organizations and technology companies can only do so much; individuals have a personal responsibility to themselves and their community to research all news items and refuse to share fake news. References Becker, B.W. (2016). The librarian’s information.