Media Smart

Lessons, Tips and Strategies for Librarians, Classroom Instructors and other Information Professionals

Joanna M. Burkhardt

• Publisher: Facet Publishing
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781783305087, 9781783305094
• eBook ISBN: 9781783305278
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Library & Information Science
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Information has become one of the most crucial commodities in today's world. From multinational corporations to single individuals, we all make critical decisions based on the information available to us. However, modern ease of access to information does not often guarantee access to good information. In this digital age, where facts can be easily manipulated to align with political, social or monetary aims, media literacy has become an essential skill.

Media Smart: Lessons, Tips and Strategies for Librarians, Classroom Instructors and other Information Professionals is an invaluable toolkit for navigating the fraught information landscape. From the history of media manipulation to practical applications of media literacy, this book will offer a thorough grounding in teaching students to defend themselves from mis-and dis-information. It discusses how technology affects the information we receive, offers a brief look at the psychology behind how we process information, describes the various means by which media can be manipulated and provides tips about how to recognize and avoid false or misleading information. Featuring numerous classroom exercises and case studies specific to each aspect of media manipulation, this book is essential reading for students and educators in communications, media and information literacy as well as librarians and anyone interested in developing their media literacy skills.

1 A Brief History of Media and Media Manipulation

To understand how we have arrived at this juncture, it may be useful to briefly review the history of human communication and some of its uses.

The origins of human communication

Communication is an evolutionary adaptation that increases the likelihood that a species will survive. There are many instances of species that use communication to make themselves more efficient and successful in the natural world. For example, bees can tell co-workers the location of the pollen they carry to their hives (PBS, 2000). Ants leave chemical trails that provide information to other ants (Arnold, 2013). Bird song contains messages from ‘here I am’ to ‘look out for that hawk’ (Tkaczyk, n.d.). Larger animals also leave a variety of messages for others, ranging from spraying to rubbing pheromones onto surfaces to sounds of various kinds (Khan Academy, n.d.). These tactics are used to increase the chances of survival for the group or species. Sharing information has been vital to the survival of humans as well. While we cannot recapture conversations around an ancient campfire, there are clues from archaeological investigations that indicate that early humans used various nonverbal means of communication as a way to pass messages on to others.

Cave art was one means of communication. Art dating to about 50,000 years ago in Europe, Asia and Australia shows the types of animals that were hunted in the area, as well as some that were not local to the place where the drawings were made. Multiple handprints and stenciled handprint outlines indicated, at least, that numbers of people had visited a spot. Experts speculate about other messages the handprints might have conveyed. Ownership, membership in a group, indications of arrival or departure, and so on, have all been postulated. Paintings in hard-to-reach locations may have meant to communicate a spiritual element to life in the Paleolithic. It seems clear that cave art was meant to convey messages. It is just not clear from the modern vantage point exactly what those messages were (Clottes, 2020).

Portable art, pieces small and light enough to be carried, also convey information. Venus figurines, beads, shells, individualized tools and art supplies have all contributed to the creation of art and the spread of its messages. Especially as people began to move away from their native neighborhoods, the creation of portable art provided a means of both maintaining memories of the past and communicating ideas in the future. Portable art points to people with the leisure time to create it, the luxury of being able to carry it with them and the aesthetic sensitivity to populate inanimate objects with symbolic meaning (Portable Art, 2020).

Burials with artifacts communicate a sense of private property – what was important to the individual, what was too personal for anyone else to use. It might also convey the idea that the person buried would have need of the artifacts in whatever new place they were going to. Burial itself may have been more than just covering up the smell of a decomposing body. Burial makes it difficult for wild animals to feed on the body. A burial might have indicated reverence for the person who formerly inhabited the body. It might show people cared enough about the remains to prevent other animals from eating them (Grave Goods, 2021).

Workshop areas have been discovered that indicate the types of materials available for creating tools, weapons and utensils. The workshop also gives a sense of the preferences of the workers. Some materials and techniques were used more often than others, as were some decorative elements. Workshops and the items made there help to communicate the skills of the creators. In some cases, connections to distant places can be established. Raw materials that were not available close at hand have been found in many archaeological sites, indicating travel and transportation and/or a supply route for the needed materials. In some cases, the artifacts found in and around the workshop identified the individual creator, using fingerprints, elements of design or picture signatures. Tribal affiliation was often communicated in the use of specific tool types, use of unique decorative elements and the special materials used, etc. (University of Kansas, 2014; Gopher and Barkai, 2006; Willoughby, 1901; Office of the State Archaeologist, University of Iowa, n.d.). Garbage heaps communicate what was on the menu, how abundant the food types were and how varied the diet was. Also, they communicate what was considered disposable (Rathje and Murphy, 2001).

As humans settled in semi-permanent and permanent locations, the population began to grow steadily. The shift from hunting and gathering to more sedentary occupations, such as farming and herding, created new and different means of communication among people. People began to acquire goods and property and to distinguish personal versus public property which, in turn, created a need for long-lasting and portable record-keeping. The use of art as a means of communicating this information did not seem to meet all the communication needs of a sedentary population (History of Communication, 2021).

Numbers and writing

Numbers and writing appeared at about this time in the development of many societies. As the concept of individual ownership of goods emerged, those who had the knowledge and means of record-keeping had an advantage. The advent of systems of writing allowed the transmission of current and historic information. Those with the ability to write could control the narrative. In some cases, by restricting the number of people with the skills to use and understand numbers and writing, individuals and elite groups were able to sequester power and control over others. For example, government and religion in the Maya, Aztec and Inca civilizations were clearly linked to knowledge and power (Mesoamerican Writing Systems, 2021; History of Writing, 2021).

In a society divided into two categories – those who created and controlled information, and those who did not – it was still necessary to disseminate information. The topic and depth of the communications were controlled by the ruling class. Oral mechanisms for the translation of information from leaders to their followers exist today. It seems probable that similar forms of communication were used in the past as well.

Storytelling, for example, is a deep-seated tradition among humans. Storytelling can range from telling a spouse about the events of the day, to spinning an imaginary tale about magic and witchcraft. Storytelling is a means of conveying social mores, history, religious beliefs and hopes/fears for the future. In most public libraries, there is a time when parents can bring their children to the library to hear a story. The explosion of the market for recorded books is an indicator that many people other than children also enjoy hearing a story. Storytelling was one means for a non-literate group to pass on information in a format that was easy to remember.

Oral transmission of news

Before literacy was common, and even before printing was common, town criers conveyed the news of the day to anyone who wanted to listen. Some civilizations had runners or riders who carried news from place to place. Often these criers, runners and riders were employed by the ruling elite to supply the non-elite with information about rules and regulations and upcoming events. Controlling information allowed the elite to disseminate the specific information they wanted to share. Today, as in the past, representatives of government often travel to conduct government business. They often carry decrees, government decisions, information about events in far-off places, and so on. In the past, government information would have been read out loud in the town square, the town hall and/or the local pub.

Circuit court riders are one example of a kind of government official traveling from place to place in the name of the government, although there are many other examples from written historic accounts of the Roman Empire, Chinese dynasties and South and Central American empires. A circuit court rider would ride to a particular group of towns or villages on a schedule to hear law cases and hand down decisions. Inevitably, the judge would share information about the other places he had visited and deliver news from other places on his circuit.

Official government communications are not the only source of information people have and/or need. Humans have been nomadic for much of our history. As nomadic populations of humans grew, it became more likely that one group would encounter another. Those encounters probably included an exchange of information. Once a sedentary lifestyle became common, fewer people moved from place to place. This limited the scope for information gathering to the most local sources. People who continued to travel from place to place often provided news outside of the local sphere to those who did not travel.

Increasing commerce between sedentary groups often required that some people move from one community to another to allow the exchange of goods. To accommodate these travelers, methods of public transportation began to emerge. Stagecoach drivers, for example, often transported people, goods and information from one community to another. At each end of the journey, drivers would collect information. When arriving at the opposite end of the journey, people waited anxiously to hear what news the stagecoach driver brought back.

Information in print

The invention of the printing press in the 1440s changed the dynamics of communication, slowly relegating oral communication to a position of lesser importance. While the ability to read was still very limited for centuries after printing press publications became available, the number of publications and the ability to produce multiples of the same publication with relative speed, increased the availability of information. It also increased the motivation to learn how to read and write.

When printing became common, printed transmission of news included:

1 Broadsides/flyers. These were usually one-page advertisements for goods and services and entertainments, and sometimes a means of sharing gossip, new song lyrics and recruitment opportunities.

2 Newspapers. We think of newspapers as presenting the news of the day in a fair and unbiased manner to keep people informed and educated. However, ‘The line between fact and fiction has been blurry since the early days of journalism. Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it was common for newspapers to print straight news alongside hoaxes, tall tales, and real events told through the eyes of fictional characters’ (McLeod, 2020, 263). It was also common to have articles written by fictitious authors. For example, Benjamin Franklin ‘penned at least one hundred items under fake names throughout his life’ (McLeod, 2018). Sketches were reports that used many of the literary tropes of fiction writing but were based on a real event. ‘In the early eighteenth century, Daniel Defoe, Benjamin Franklin, and contributors to The Spectator routinely published sketches’ (McLeod, 2020, 268).

3 Journals/magazines. When printing was more common and literacy rates made it profitable, the publication of subject specific materials, shorter than book length, was possible. Scientific and antiquarian societies published articles on various specialized topics to help scholars know what discoveries had been made in a given field, what colleagues were working on in what disciplines and what new data was available on a given subject. Journals were portable, so the dissemination of information in this format allowed the exchange of information to increase in speed.

4 Books. Although books were heavy and somewhat less portable than journals, their length allowed a subject to be discussed at length and in detail. Books also allowed the history of an era to be recorded for posterity. Books provided both long and short stories for those who preferred to have their storytelling experiences on paper. Legal documents were printed and bound making it easier for people to know what laws had actually been enacted.

Electronic communication

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the invention of electronic means of sharing information again increased the speed at which information could travel as well as how far it could easily be transmitted. Electronic transmission of news began with the invention of the telegraph in the 1830s–1840s. This was followed by the invention of the radio in the 1890s. Television broadcasting began in the 1920s. Computers were invented and set to work in the 1940s and 1950s and became household items in the 1990s. Computers led to networks that allowed interaction between computers, which in turn allowed the online electronic communication tools we use today: e-mail, the internet and social media. Communication in today’s world is almost instantaneous.

Advertising

As populations increased, people began to specialize in the production of goods. This made it possible for an individual to buy something they needed rather than having to make all items themselves. As mercantilism increased, the number of products available for sale also increased. The ability to inform buyers about available products, where to get them and the benefits of purchasing those products created advertising in a wide variety of media – from oral to printed to electronic – as each means of communication became available. Advertising became a revenue stream that supported the publication of many magazines, journals and books. This revenue allowed publishers to expand their businesses, which, in turn, allowed more venues for advertisers.

Some publishers selected only high-quality advertisements whose content was accurate and honest. Others were less concerned about the content of the ads they published. As publishers became reliant on revenue from advertisers, those advertisers became influential in determining the content of the publications in which they chose to advertise. This cycle of influence grew exponentially when it became possible to advertise on the internet.

The internet provided a 24/7 audience and billions of places where advertisements could be placed. The internet and social media, with the help of data collection tools, created the ability to capture personal information about potential customers. This, in turn, allowed very specific advertising to be sent to very select target groups, an advertiser’s dream come true. Today, the advertisers are the customers, essentially buying access to audiences, and the potential customers are the product the advertisers are buying.

Spread of misinformation

The ability to share and spread true information to inform and improve humanity is an altruistic goal. Cultures around the world teach the value of truth in communication, using stories that are easy to understand and easy to remember. There are cautionary tales told in many cultures that show why the spread of false information could be dangerous and even deadly. There are other tales that underline the importance of truth telling. For example, the story of the boy who ‘cried wolf’ when there was no wolf ended badly for the boy and his sheep after his false communications resulted in the loss of trust from his neighbors. The story of the emperor’s new clothes shows another side of truth telling. The emperor tells people he is wearing the most beautiful clothes in the world, when he is actually wearing no clothes at all. The general public is afraid to call him out for his fraud, thinking that they must not be seeing what everyone else sees. A child calls out the truth in a public forum, correctly stating the reality of the case, and convincing his elders that the emperor has been communicating a false narrative. In the real world, a landmark Freedom of Speech decision by the US Supreme Court cautioned that there are limits to free speech. Shouting ‘Fire!’ in a crowded theater when there is no fire is not protected free speech because of the potential harm that communication could create.

Unfortunately, as human history tells us, there are always some who will use available technology to misinform or disinform to gain an advantage for themselves, or just to enjoy the reaction. Before the internet era, the spread of false stories was relatively limited. Each new communication technology increased the possibilities for reaching a larger audience. Recent technological advances, especially the internet and social media, have exponentially increased the ability to spread both information and dis- and misinformation. Below are a few examples of historic means of misinforming, underlining the growth in the ability to reach larger and larger audiences as new technologies became available.

Pasquino is the name given by Romans to a type of sculpture discovered in Rome in the 15th century. It became a custom to attach anonymous satirical comments and criticisms to the base of a pasquino. Pasquinade is the literary tradition named for this practice, which continues to this day. Individuals come to the pasquino to read what was posted there.

Canard is a French word for an unfounded rumor or story....

Table of contents

• Cover
• Praise for Media Smart
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of exercises
• Preface
• Introduction
• 1. A Brief History of Media and Media Manipulation
• 2. The Psychology of Memory and Learning
• 3. The Internet, Technology and the Media
• 4. Selecting Sources of Information
• 5. Expertise, Authority and Credibility
• 6. Language in Media Messages
• 7. Algorithms, Bots, Trolls, Cyborgs and Artificial Intelligence
• 8. Statistics and Data Visualization
• 9. Images, Reverse Image Searching and Deepfakes
• 10. Media Manipulation and Fact Checking
• 11. The Ethics of Likes, Clicks, Shares and Data Harvesting
• 12. How We Can Help Ourselves
• Resources
• Bibliography
• Index