14 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY FEBRUARY 6-12, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com Fact Check News literacy matters more than ever, as social media platforms move to reject fact checking. By Susan Meister FORUM Consider the impact of the widely circulated “news” that vaccines cause autism. Such a story, if unchallenged, can change decisions on when or if to provide vaccinations. Although the story has been debunked by every leading scientific organization, it has still resulted in a reduced number of vaccinations administered since it appeared. Fewer vaccinations can mean significant harm. They prevent diseases that have largely disappeared from the developed world, like measles, polio and diphtheria. Fact checking a story of this nature can be critical to maintaining public health. Unfortunately, it is no longer in favor. Meta recently announced it was disbanding its fact checking team. It joins other social media platforms that claim to be unbiased, but are spreading disinformation that is then magnified and projected by algorithms which operate with the speed of light. National News Literacy Week is Feb. 3-7, and its premise matters now more than ever. In the absence of gatekeepers to prevent the spread of misinformation and disinformation, fact checking by consumers of news has assumed a crucial role. Yet fact checking in itself has been excoriated by politicians as a violation of free speech that projects political bias. Journalists have been singled out. In this chaotic environment, mistrust of the media grows. Much of this mistrust is the result of the unchecked spread of disinformation and the reflexive rush to share it before it can be fact checked, and the lack of media literacy training in which fact checking skills are taught. For people who want to be part of a fact checking universe and see it as an important function in their local communities, there are a number of websites that are readily available. Among them are RumorGuard (the News Literacy Project), Politifact, FactCheck.org, Snopes, Media Bias/Fact Check and the International Fact Checking Network. Consider taking a news literacy test: Choose a story that provokes controversy and fact check it. Has it appeared in other news outlets? Is there evidence that proves the claims? Are the authors known and respected? Are there other sources that confirm or debunk it? Beyond this digital learning, the Monterey County Media Literacy Coalition invites you to join a conversation. Scholar Jevin West speaks on the topic of Media Literacy in the Age of Misinformation on April 3. He will lead a session at Carmel High School for 11th- and 12th-grade students and their teachers. That evening he will present to the public. News literacy is a mark of civic responsibility. Our decisions as a society depend on it. Susan Meister is a journalist and founder of the Monterey County Media Literacy Coalition. Monterey County Weekly is also a member. Media Literacy in the Age of Misinformation presentation takes place at 6:30pm on Thursday, April 3 at the Performing Arts Center at Carmel High School. Free; seating is limited. Reserve a seat at carmelpubliclibraryfoundation.org OPINION News literacy is a mark of civic responsibility. symphony fEBRUARY 15 & 16, 2025 GABRIELI / IVES / DORMAN no. 1 SUNSET CENTER, CARMEL MONTEREYSYMPHONY.ORG JAYCE OGREN MUSIC DIRECTOR
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