The Onion: News or Not??

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Headlines from The Onion• “Obama Vows To Split ISIS Into Dozens Of

Extremist Splinter Groups” (Sept 10, 2014)• “ISIS poses a significant threat to U.S. interests

both overseas and at home, and that is why we are committed to a limited military engagement that will fracture the terrorist network’s leadership and consequently create a myriad of smaller cells, each with its own violent, radical agenda,” said Obama.

• http://www.theonion.com/articles/obama-vows-to-split-isis-into-dozens-of-extremist,36903/

Headlines from The Onion• “ExxonMobil, Chevron Locked In Bidding War To

Acquire Lucrative Pennsylvania Senator” (July 28, 2014)• “… securing such a highly profitable elected official

won’t be cheap—it never is. Both of these companies know that if they are fortunate enough to gain possession of this senator, the acquisition will pay dividends for years to come.”

• http://www.theonion.com/articles/exxonmobil-chevron-locked-in-bidding-war-to-acquir,36561/

literallyunbelievable.org

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literallyunbelievable.org

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Safeguards

• Forbes, 8/18/2014: “Facebook Is Testing A 'Satire' Tag Since Users Think The Onion Articles Are True”• “Facebook spokesman Jessie Baker said that the

news feed units were designed to surface popular links that are shared on Facebook, but the company does not make any judgment about whether the links are true or false ‘just as we don’t make any judgment about whether the content of your status updates are true or false.’”

Safeguards

• Boston Globe, 5/4/2014: “Facebook draws fire on ‘related articles’ push”• “‘They have really screwed up,’ said Emily Bell,

director of Columbia Journalism School’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism. ‘If you are spreading false information, you have a serious problem on your hands. They shouldn’t be recommending stories until they have got it figured out.’”

• The incident is important, Bell said, because it illustrates the danger of having a company such as Facebook become one of the world’s most widespread purveyors of news and information.

“I Found it Online….”• Hetracil• http://www.hetracil.com/index.html

• The Ova Prima Foundation• http://www.ovaprima.org/

• RYT Hospital• http://rythospital.com/

• Dehydrated Water• http://www.buydehydratedwater.com/home.html

The 6th Most Popular Website

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Wikipedia• Web-based encyclopedia• Contains information on an impressively wide range

of topics.

• Functions through a type of web software known as “wikis.”• Merriam-Webster: “a web site that allows visitors to

make changes, contributions, or corrections”

• Controversial in the world of academic research• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliability_of_Wikipedia

Deepwater Horizon

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Wikipedia• Cnet, 3/20/2014: “BP accused of rewriting

environmental record on Wikipedia”• According to this article, “BP is not directly editing its

page, but instead has apparently inserted a BP representative into the editing community who provides Wikipedia editors with text. The text is then copied "as is" onto the page by Wikipedia editors. Readers might assume its unbiased information when its, in fact, vetted by higher-ups at BP before hitting the page.”

• A company, organization, or institution editing its own Wikipedia page immediately raises questions about bias and credibility.

Usefulness of Wikipedia• What is the capital of Cameroon?• Where is Lake Baikal?• Where was the Buddha from?• Who is Ann Dunham?

Problems with Wikipedia

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_articles_needing_factual_verification

• REMEMBER: Wikipedia claims to be nothing more than an encyclopedia, which should never be your only research resource.

What Is the #1 Website?

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Google

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Google Search Tools• Weather• Time• Sunrise & Sunset• Calculator• Public Data• Unit Conversion• Maps

What Are “Filter Bubbles?”

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What Are “Filter Bubbles?”• http://

www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles?language=en#t-516567

You Are a Scholar• Resources such as Google and Wikipedia are

great for finding basic, practical information, but they are inadequate for research purposes.

• When performing academic research, Google and Wikipedia can be useful for giving you an overview of your topic, but you should always consult (and cite) reliable academic sources in your scholarly work.

• Remember the CRAAP test!

Where to Look?• GALILEO• JSTOR• Credo Reference• Books: Library’s Reference Collection• Journals• Ask a librarian.• Ask your professor.

Resources• “Facebook Is Testing A 'Satire' Tag Since Users

Think The Onion Articles Are True,” Amit Chowdhry, Forbes, 8/18/2014• http://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchowdhry/2014/08/18/facebook-i

s-testing-a-satire-tag-since-users-think-the-onion-articles-are-true/

• “Facebook draws fire on ‘related articles’ push,” Michael Kranish, Boston Globe, 5/4/2014• http://

www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2014/05/03/facebook-push-related-articles-users-without-checking-credibility-draws-fire/rPae4M2LlzpVHIJAmfDYNL/story.html

• “BP accused of rewriting environmental record on Wikipedia,” Violet Blue, Cnet, 3/20/2013• http://www.cnet.com/news/bp-accused-of-rewriting-environmental

-record-on-wikipedia/

Resources• “Beware online ‘filter bubbles,’” Eli Pariser, TED, March

2011• http://

www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles?language=en#t-516567