Chapter 4 Self-Quiz

. Fake news is…

News that government officials don't like

A conspiracy

Deliberately false or misleading news stories that masquerade as truthful reporting.

True news stories that seem fake.

. Propaganda is…

Deliberately biased or misleading information designed to promote a political cause or point of view.

Trustworthy information from dissident organizations.

Writing that expresses opinions or advocates change

Deliberately biased information designed to sell a product.

. Writing that expresses opinions or advocates change (advocacy journalism) is not fake news unless…

It comes from an opposing political party

There is a deliberate attempt to deceive

Someone calls it fake

The reporting is inept or sloppy

. The fake news story concocted by Cameron Harris…

Did not fool anyone

Was easy to create

Was very difficult to create

Did not make any money

. Reasonable skepticism entails that…

We doubt everything

We do not believe a claim unless we feel it's true

We accept all claims until they are proved false

We do not believe a claim unless there are legitimate reasons for doing so

. Legitimate reasons for believing a claim come from…

Reliable evidence, trustworthy sources, and critical reasoning

Social media

Sources that agree with a preferred partisan view

Sources that reinforce my personal beliefs

. When professional fact-checkers want to know whether a website is a reliable source of information, they...

Check the site's design and graphics

Read virtually

Read laterally

Focus exclusively and carefully on the site

. Critical thinking tells us that it is reasonable to...

Reject claims that we don't like

Reject claims that are supported by reliable authorities

Reject claims when there is good reason for believing them false

Accept unsupported claims

. Skilled researchers. . .

Do not use Google

Do not consult Google except as a last resort

Use Google sensibly

Do not use Google Scholar

. The best cure for confirmation bias is to. . .

Look only for disconfirming evidence

Look for disconfirming as well as confirming evidence

Deny confirming evidence

Accept only confirming evidence

. Lies are different from merely false statements.

True

False

. Lateral reading is the best way to assess the reliability of a website.

True

False

. Reasonable skepticism means that we mistrust all sources.

True

False

. A legitimate reason for believing a claim is that most people believe it.

True

False

. People tend to believe photos and videos, too easily thinking that what they see is the whole, undistorted, simple truth.

True

False

. It is reasonable to suspend judgment on claims that you are unsure of.

True

False

. A common flaw in reasoning is the failure to consider evidence or arguments that do not support our preferred claims or positions.

True

False

. Your believing that something is true makes it true.

True

False

. A legitimate reason for believing a claim is that it feels right.

True

False

. Satirical news is intended to be funny or outrageous and is definitely fake but is not necessarily fake news.

True

False

Quiz Content