Class 20 - Is Fake News Old News?
Welcome back!
Our session today is turning to the question of fake news, and asking: is fake news old news? What is fake news? And how new is it? Is it a recent threat to the public exercise of reason? Or does it have a longer history. The article we’re reading is Novaes, C. D., & de Ridder, J. (2021). Is fake news old news? In S. Bernecker, A. K. Flowerree, & T. Grundmann (Eds.), The Epistemology of Fake News (pp. 156-179). (Engaging Philosophy). The Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198863977.003.0008
Checking in
But first we’ll check in. Take five minutes to say hello, and also talk about one news story that you have read recently. Did you believe it? Why did you believe it? Or why did you not believe it?
Fake News
This paper is a useful one, because it helps us distinguish several different models of fake news, so we can think about them clearly. The central concern involves epistemic autonomy. So we’ll start with this:
- What is epistemic autonomy?
- What are the three models of fake news?
- How do these models differ?
- What are the challenges to epistemic autonomy posed by each?
We’ll take a good amount of time talking about this in groups. I recommend opening up the paper and actively discussing it while sharing it on screen, so that you can get really clear about the arguments.
Break
Putting the theory to work
In the second half, we’re going to see if we can think of examples of each of these models.
What fake news have you come across? List some ideas.
Now share these ideas in your groups. See if you can classify these different kinds of fake news into the three models:
A: Pleasing and Seducing B: Propaganda and Censorship C: Epistemic Pollution
Talk about this for 15 minutes in groups, and come prepared to share this in the main group.
Remedies
Now write for 10 minutes in response to the question: what remedies are there for fake news? We’ll share our ideas.
On Bullshit
Our session next week is moving to a closely allied subject, and that is bullshit. I want you to read Harry Frankfurt’s On Bullshit. You can find it on Perlego, or if you have trouble logging in, on the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/on-bullshit-by-harry-frankfurt/page/n13/mode/2up
Have fun!