How to choose your news - Damon Brown - video Dailymotion

TED-Ed

With the advent of the Internet and social media, news is distributed at an incredible rate by an unprecedented number of different media outlets. How do we choose which news to consume? Damon Brown gives the inside scoop on how the opinions and facts (and sometimes non-facts) make their way into the news and how the smart reader can tell them apart.  Lesson by Damon Brown, animation by Augenblick Studios.

Transcript

00:00How do you know what's happening in your world?

00:11The amount of information just a click away may be limitless,

00:15but the time and energy we have to absorb and evaluate it is not.

00:20All the information in the world won't be very useful

00:23unless you know how to read the news.

00:26To your grandparents, parents, or even older siblings,

00:29this idea would have sounded strange.

00:31Only a few decades ago, news was broad-based.

00:34Your choices were limited to a couple of general interest magazines

00:38and newspapers of record,

00:40and three or four TV networks

00:42where trusted newscasters delivered the day's news

00:45at the same reliable time every evening.

00:48But the problems with this system soon became apparent as mass media spread.

00:53While it was known that authoritarian countries controlled and censored information,

00:57a series of scandals showed that democratic governments were also misleading the public,

01:03often with media cooperation.

01:06Revelations of covert wars, secret assassinations, and political corruption

01:11undermined public faith in official narratives presented by mainstream sources.

01:17The breakdown of trust in media gatekeepers led to alternative newspapers, radio shows, and cable news

01:23competing with the major outlets and covering events from various perspectives.

01:28More recently, the Internet has multiplied the amount of information and viewpoints,

01:32with social media, blogs, and online video turning every citizen into a potential reporter.

01:38But if everyone is a reporter, nobody is,

01:41and different sources may disagree not only on opinions, but on the facts themselves.

01:46So how do you get the truth, or something close?

01:49One of the best ways is to get the original news unfiltered by middlemen.

01:54Instead of articles interpreting a scientific study or a politician's speech,

01:58you can often find the actual material and judge for yourself.

02:03For current events, follow reporters on social media.

02:06During major events such as the Arab Spring or the Ukrainian protests,

02:10newscasters and bloggers have posted updates and recordings from the midst of the chaos.

02:16Though many of these later appear in articles or broadcasts,

02:19keep in mind that these polished versions often combine the voice of the person who was there

02:24with the input of editors who weren't.

02:27At the same time, the more chaotic the story,

02:29the less you should try to follow it in real time.

02:32In events like terrorist attacks and natural disasters,

02:35today's media attempts continuous coverage,

02:38even when no reliable new information is available,

02:41sometimes leading to incorrect information,

02:44or false accusations of innocent people.

02:47It's easy to be anxious in such events,

02:49but try checking for the latest information at several points in the day,

02:53rather than every few minutes, allowing time for complete details to emerge

02:58and false reports to be refuted.

03:01While good journalism aims for objectivity, media bias is often unavoidable.

03:06When you can't get the direct story, read coverage in multiple outlets,

03:10which employ different reporters and interview different experts.

03:14Tuning into various sources and noting the differences

03:17lets you put the pieces together for a more complete picture.

03:21It's also crucial to separate fact from opinion.

03:24Words like think, likely, or probably mean that the outlet is being careful,

03:29or worse, taking a guess.

03:31And watch out for reports that rely on anonymous sources.

03:35These could be people who have little connection to the story,

03:38or have an interest in influencing coverage,

03:41their anonymity making them unaccountable for the information they provide.

03:45Finally, and most importantly, try to verify news before spreading it.

03:50While social media has enabled the truth to reach us faster,

03:53it's also allowed rumors to spread before they can be verified,

03:57and falsehoods to survive long after they've been refuted.

04:01So before you share that unbelievable or outrageous news item,

04:05do a web search to find any additional information or context you might have missed,

04:10and what others are saying about it.

04:13Today we are more free than ever from the old media gatekeepers

04:17who used to control the flow of information.

04:20But with freedom comes responsibility,

04:22the responsibility to curate our own experience

04:25and ensure that this flow does not become a flood,

04:28leaving us less informed than before we took the plunge.

04:35So even though it currently just seems to be used to like a conspiracy,

04:37because you have to help yourself know differently,

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How to choose your news - Damon Brown

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