Fighting Misinformation

Digital Media Literacy

By: Tara Susman-Peña, Mehri Druckman, Nina Oduro, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Tara Susman-Peña

Americans spend hundreds, even thousands, of hours a week engaging with a wide range of media sources - TV, computers, tablets, radios, MP3 players, cell phones, newspapers, magazines, books, and more. Through these, we constantly access a wide range of platforms and media, from news to novels to Twitter feeds to email, and much more. Because we are continuously taking in information from a variety of sources, we are under constant threat from those who would intentionally (or accidentally) misinform - from foreign operatives, advertisers, politicians, and general scammers to our own friends and family. We all experience a near-constant barrage of incoming information. Combine that with the human brain’s reaction to stress or fear, and conditions are ripe for the spread of misinformation.

To better prepare you to defuse this threat, IREX (International Research & Exchanges Board) has teamed up with The Great Courses to provide a guide for navigating this tricky landscape with Fighting Misinformation: Digital Media Literacy, an eight-lecture course designed to arm you with the skills you need to be a savvy media consumer. Tara Susman-Peña, a senior technical advisor, and her colleagues at IREX, Mehri Druckman and Nina Oduro, will lead you step by step through the history, evolution, science, and impact of misinformation, helping you to develop the skills you need to combat fakes, stereotypes, and frauds within every kind of media source.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 The Great Courses (P)2020 The Teaching Company, LLC

Nice I like

the good shit of information misinformation informing others how to misinform others.
CIA handbook.

Very Informative

I liked the presentation of detailed steps given to check the veracity of what I’m reading, looking at, hearing, etc. It’s easy to be discouraged by misinformation - this course gave me very defined tools to use. Knowledge is power.

You lost me with Wikipedia

You can actually view a behind the scenes history as well as the arguments associated with updates for each Wiki page, it is pretty clear the cancel culture, angry, anti-American leftists frame the narrative. Sad really.

Common Sense Audio Book

The book takes a practical look at tools to avoid being sucked into the bias message wars pervading our society. I commend the author for presenting Some common sense tools for avoiding misinformation in an UNBIASED approach. That is very rare these days.

Good resource

This is a good course and somewhat disturbing since so much misinformation and disinformation exists. The presenters don't address out right lies meant for entertainment as parodies or sarcasm such as the Onion website. I find the Onion funny but some folks have on occasion taken them seriously. I suppose we have to be smart enough to recognize when information is not meant to be taken seriously. I do have a complaint, though, and it is very subjective. I found the voices of the presenters quite harsh and unpleasant to listen to.

Requirement

Given our current and recent past in world history this course should be given with every membership. It may not have every possible technique but it definitely helps with misinformation and tactics that are still being used today. For those that don’t want to only rely on the big tech companies to do what’s right this is a great course to get you more equipped to handle the analytics that are being used on us for others purposes. I can only hope they revisit this course every year and make adjustments to keep the information up to date. Thank you.

A Good Source of Information and Practical Advice

I have read several books about propaganda and misinformation and this still added to my knowledge. But of greater importance it informed me about helpful things I can do to improve my life. For example, they suggest looking at ones feelings after exposure to news in some form. This helps me take control of my reactions and helps me assess whether I want to consume news like this in the future.
They also point out the seemingly neutral tactic of advanced propaganda operators. The idea is that by promoting any and every form of extreme opinion the operators achieve a general destabilization. Methods like these use free speech to undermine democratic society.
This brief study is an easy quick way to learn a lot about the many forms of strong persuasion being used to undermine the happiness and security of ordinary people. The very powerful want your money and any power you have. They don't care about your happiness. Learning to not be influenced protects your own interests and happiness.

Just The Facts Man

The authors were fair and objective in their analysis of the traps a well informed citizen should beware of when seeking information from traditional (newspaper, radio, and TV) and cyber (social media) sources.

The only people that would have a problem with the info in these lectures are people that have a set in stone outlook and consider objectivity as a threat.

Worth the 3 hour listening time.

Basic skills

It is a nice introduction to the topic. It provides basic information for evaluating online information.

More Government Propaganda than Useful Guide

Material ignores the troubling fact that the biggest spreaders of misinformation recently have been mainstream media and the government, and the best information out there have been from random social media accounts (citizen journalists, if you will). It does nothing to prepare media consumers of this issue, instead it carried on with the antiquated assumption that we must continue to trust the government and mainstream outlets.

Technology doesn't help too because now these powerful entities can now simply get tech cos ban or deboost anyone that disagrees with.