1. What fact checking means online: This is a great piece from this Sunday's NYT Magazine. What are your thoughts on fact checking in the internet age? How can we, as a newspaper, do a better job of fact checking? What do you think about the writer's final thought?
2. How I almost saved the earth: This is awesome. And I don't use that word lightly. What a great example of factual satire. And what a great read for the eco-conscious Bay Area inhabitants. Is this an effective essay? Why or why not?
Share your thoughts and brilliance!
8 comments:
1. What fact checking means online:
I enjoyed this article a lot. I found the writer, Virginia Heffernan to have a very distinctive and insightful voice. She brings up completely valid points. In this era, we can fact-check just about anything with the click of a button. Whether these facts are completely accurate is another story. I notice daily that people are much too dependent on the Internet (more specifically Google), and essentially rely on it to serve as their brain. Although Google can, at times, be a life-saver, it is also good to remember that people survived without Google as well. They survived.
What I think The Voice can do to improve our fact-checking skills is to maybe take up the old-school red pen strategy. Although it may be a little more tedious, it works for the New Yorker, so I am sure it would work for us.
2. How I almost saved the earth:
This article was hilarious! And completely relatable, especially attending such a "green" school like MA. This essay was very effective. Scott Adams incorporates humor and mockery to get his point across that going green can be taken very radically... almost too radically. While turning off lights when you leave a room, and remembering to shut down your computer every night is easy, most people want windows in their house. Especially when you have a view that you've paid extra for.
What ‘Fact-Checking’ Means Online:
This article brought up an interesting issue I had never heard addressed before. Because of the ease and availability presented by the internet, we sometimes forget that accuracy may be sacrificed. We never think to “fact-check” the source of the fact-checker. This is a very relevant piece in terms of our work on the MA Voice because the internet is such a prevalent and omnipresent tool for us as high-school students. The author’s use of humor really made the article fun to read and easily followed. I appreciated the look into what fact-checking is considered nowadays in the internet community, it did a good job of revealing some flaws of easy access information in the form of the web. I’m sure as a paper we can make sure to be diligent in our fact-checking, not only the facts themselves, but the sources of the facts.
How I (Almost) Saved the Earth
This article perfectly mixed humor and satire with advice and legitimate suggestions. The balance created relayed a full understanding of the subject matter, as well as a humorous perspective on an issue the MA community knows well. Our school has a deep foundation in environmental consciousness, but I don’t think we realize when something isn’t really working out (e.g grey water system running from the pool locker rooms we share with the Masters team, who don’t have biodegradable soap). I only wish I could write something with this level of sarcasm and humor and still get a clear point across.
What Fact-Checking Means Online:
While I had known about the internet extensively changing how humans receive information, I hadn't ever really taken the time to process just HOW much the internet impacted and impacts virtually everything in our world, even jobs. Reading this article, I was reminded of those 20th century jobs that were altered because of this amazing new invention. What I enjoyed about this particular article was how Heffernan was able to explain what she did at her fact-checking job, a profession I was quasi-aware of, very quickly and concisely. It took her only a few paragraphs to immerse me in her job.
While it seems old-fashioned and meticulous, I realize that a "fact-checking" job is actually the only way to ensure correct information. I think about how many rumors, untrue facts, and fake headlines are thrown out on the internet and it's scary that this has become our main news and fact source.
I enjoyed this read because it made me think about the past and how new technology changes and shapes so much of the future.
For MA, I think we should bring more debatable or obscure topics into focus to get students and faculty to THINK about stuff, just like this article did for me. Generally we stick to pleasing, fun things in our paper but it would be interesting to take some new angles on different issues too.
How I (Almost) Saved the Earth
I read this article in the Wall Street Journal I believe this last Sunday, and it immediately caught my attention. First of all, the headline is witty and fun. Once I read the blurb below it, I was instantly intrigued. One guy trying to build the greenest house on the block? I'd like to see him try. And then, when I started to actually read the article, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
I, myself, take pride in writing a good "catch" for a story. Scott Adams did just that with an extraordinarily long opening, whose literary devices made the language interesting and compelling. I liked the repetition with "he tells you..." and all of this about the architect. The way Adams took me, personally, on a journey of trying to build a green house made me feel completely included in his life and story.
I think this was a great way to bring comedic and a new angle to the same old "Green" topic. I think this article definitely relates to MA because we are known as an extremely eco-friendly school. With all of the debate about global-warming on the news and in the papers, it is refreshing to see a well-written, funny, and all-inclusive story about a regular guy trying to help out with the environment.
This inspires me to want to do something about the environment in an upcoming paper, because I am thinking of all the new angles we can take. I think Adams showed us that with good writing (I really enjoyed the second person technique) and a good idea, a normal "green" story can be turned upside down.
What Fact Checking Means Online
The format of this article was initially confusing. I understood that “FC” stood for “fact check,” but it took a while longer for me to recognize that “VH” was the authors initials. Once I got past that, I appreciated the insight into the kind of nit-picking fact checkers do for a living. In fact, before reading this article I wasn’t aware that such a job existed. I always assumed that accuracy was solely the responsibility of the writer and editors. This story brings to mind an article my eighth grade English teacher read to us. I don’t remember the details, but I believe it was about a man who experimentally posted false information about a recently deceased, semi-famous person on Wikipedia, which was swallowed by lazy journalists and later regurgitated into major newspapers. Where were their fact checkers?
I thought this article was interesting as a report on the evolution of fact checking, a commentary on the impact of the internet as our primary news source, and a warning to carefully check my own facts this semester.
How I Almost Saved the Earth
I thought this was an extremely effective essay. The extensive story about a theoretical “green” house grabbed my attention and kept me hooked. There was plenty of humor, which made me want to read on to the next joke, and kept the piece from feeling condescending or preachy. There were plenty of facts and real life examples that made me think about Adams’ point: that being green is hard. It made me think about the commitment and sacrifice required to truly live an eco-friendly life. I do supposedly eco-friendly things and buy supposedly eco-friendly products and tell myself that I’m saving the earth. But I have never sat myself down and weighed out the ecological cost of my existence, and I have never made a life-changing sacrifice to reduce my own carbon footprint. This article was a fun read, but it also made me call my own bluffs and left me with a lingering feeling of guilt. Which is probably a good thing.
1. "What fact checking means online"
I think before the creation of the internet, fact checking was much more therough and accurate. Fact checkers back then had to make dozens of calls a week to make sure that certain details of the articles were valid. However, in modern day society, a fact checker has the ability to use websites such as Google, FactCheck.org, and AmericanRhetoric.com. The advantage of using these websites is that one can confirm their fact in a short period of time, but they do not have to ability to actually call the website and ask them questions regarding the information.
In regards to the MA Voice, I think that we should utilize calling or emailing sources about facts instead of searching for them on the internet. If we contact the source, then it will decrease the chances of an embarrassment of having false information in our paper. As a response to the writers last comment, I think that over the years if information comes form an .org or .gov website it is termed a fact. However, there is always a possibility of human error, so how do we really know what they are saying is valid?
What ‘Fact-Checking’ Means Online
I found Virginia Heffernan’s article intriguing. While I have certainly debated if online information found through search engines such as Google was legitimate, as this practice became more of an everyday routine I have become much less conscious about the level of reliability of a source. Heffernan starts the article with a strong hook as she explains with such simplicity the significance of receiving the two sets of pencils. After the explanation of what seems to be a particularly tedious job, Heffernan brings up the new technique of fact checking through the internet. The comparison of dozens of phone calls a week to a click of a button shows how much has changed in the past fifteen years.
Although ostensibly the internet seems very reliable because it is being read worldwide, in reality the simple old techniques of fact checkers are more personal and dependable. I think for the MA voice we should first try to use some of the systems of the original fact checker and use the internet as a backup option.
How I (Almost) Saved the Earth
Scott Adams did a phenomenal job on creating a piece that is both effective in getting the point across as well as hilarious and amusing read. Adams took you on a journey of a good intended earth lover’s Odyssey. He takes something that would be created out of such simple things as twigs, pinecones and abandoned bird nests and shows how complicated and expensive it can be. Adams' use of factual satire makes this essay so effective because it keeps the reader easily engaged while still learning information. By using such specific examples it is informative and makes the reader better able to relate to the words. This essay is particularly appropriate for the eco- conscious Bay Area inhabitants because there are many people who live here who “love the earth, damn it.” This was a fantastic and enjoyable read why at the same time being completely educational which is a hard task to fulfill.
Let's see if this works again! From Ilana:
Scott Adams- How I Almost Saved the Earth
I really enjoyed Scott Adam’s piece of what it means to be green, and thought it was written hilariously. The repetition of the phrase “damn it” really emphasized how some attempts at going green are so extreme that you just have to laugh at them… or admire their dedication. Adams added to hilarity of his article using self-mockery, saying, “Don’t be a hypocrite like me.” Throughout the article, he talks about his approach to “find a middle ground” in terms of being green and resolves to be pragmatic. Yet, is there room for pragmatists amongst the ardent earth-savers? Adams also writes how, if you want to be green right now, then you have to pay for it, as he did with his photovoltaic system. He also used phrases such as “if your budget allows” and “waste of money,” which further associates “green” and affluence. His point, it seems, is that green isn’t cheap or easy. You can’t be lazy or looking for a bargain if saving the environment is what you’re after. His essay effectively shows the correlation between craziness, being green, and affluence. Is there a connection between the eco-conscious Bay Area and our region’s GDP per capita? Almost certainly, and thanks to this article, the specifics of this connection are a littler clearer. What is also effective about this essay is that he doesn’t convey this message abruptly. His use of humor softens his message.
Virginia Heffernan - What Fact Checking Means Online
I thought this was an interesting article. As Charlotte said, Heffernan’s unique voice is clearly shown through her writing. It was interesting to see how many different ways such trivial information, such as birth order, could and had to be checked. Although we do not need to be nearly as extreme with our fact-checking as The New Yorker does, The Voice definitely has room to improve. As far as interviews or whatnot, I don’t think it’s necessary to cross-reference our peers, but for informational facts and statistics, a little fact-checking wouldn’t hurt. I also think we could improve on proof-reading our issues for synthax errors.
From Ella via MC:
Article 1:
This article was very compelling to me. I have rarely thought about life
prior to google, for i honestly can't remember a life without it. It was
so interesting to read about how fact checkers worked and how labor
intensive their jobs were. Although it seems crazy that they had to do
that much work, after reading the article it seemed as if using the red
pens and number 2 pencils was more accurate. Virginia brought up a really
interesting point about how google made facts 'inexistent,' for how are
you supposed to know what is really true on google?! This article reminded
me of teachers and parents always saying, don't take a shortcut, for even
though it may be faster it is never guaranteed. To improve our fact
checking at The Voice, I agree with Charlotte: we should definitely use
the number 2 pencil and red pen method.
Article 2:
I think this essay is very effective! Not only is it funny, it is easy to
read, and you actually learn a lot about being green! I especially like
this piece because of how honest Scott Adams is; it is NOT easy to be
green! I think a lot of times people try and make being green sound easy
so that more people are willing to try it, but Scott is not afraid to tell
the truth! I also like how he writes this piece directly to the reader. It
kept me engaged and wanting to read more. I think this would be a good
article for everyone at MA to read, because i know we are a school that is
trying to become more green every day. This essay is a new angle on being
green, and i think that helps to make it extremely effective!
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