New Jersey schools teaching to spot news misinformation

New Jersey has become the first state to enact a law that standardizes media literacy lessons in order to teach students to discern fact from fiction in news circulating online. NBC's Dasha Burns reports.
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#NBCNews #NewJersey #Misinformation

[@haruruben]

I had this sort of training but In university. Glad they’re starting this earlier

[@domni5138]

Throwing up signs on a newscast. . . that's one way to get noticed.

[@thomasdequincey5811]

This class is basically a free period.

[@TRIPLEDIGITS]

That's why they're shutting down TikTok

[@markusmuller6173]

Manipulation next level ... You need to check before my lies seduce you in this censored internet world ;) Neo, wake up :D And follow my white rabbit :)

[@dbuc4671]

1:35 they chose the worst possible moment to take his photo

[@philoctetes_wordsworth]

A GENUINE MIRACLE!

[@hansweichselbaum2534]

Great idea. What be nice to hear HOW they are doing it. If it was that simple, we would all do it.

[@bailbondsyesbailbonds]

You clearly havent been to class lately

[@kristawelch3821]

Yeah...we got taught how to do this in my 6th grade class in 1994. Why is this just catching on?

[@VP_A-Team]

The emergence and dependency on social media and the technology delivering it is why this is just catching on as the technology has outpaced the capacity to parce fact from propaganda with the information. People today live and rely on short bursts of 'information' - tweets, Facebook comments, etc., not actual reading. Source verification has become irrelevant. This comment is so long, most people seem to get anxiety and tend to shut down without readig the whole thing. I can't tell you how many times I get the comment 'too long', 'not reading that "essay"/"novel" when if I verbally told them the same thing, they wouldn't think twice over the 30-second comment. But reading?? Something longer than a tweet? Nope. I'm a 'boomer' and only rely on verified, parsed sources, mostly due to my former profession and having to follow a literal code of ethics to provide facts and truth to clients. My wife and I were on Facebook (mostly for the work we were doing for people with ptsd from domestic abuse) and did have Twitter but we stopped completely. Cesspool of misinformation/disinformation. I do make comments on youtube, I listen to msm but I fact check* everything* with confirmed, non-biased/slightly biased, highly rated factual sources, especially local media, cross-checking with other verified sources if available. But I also go straight to the sources (court rulings, police reports, laws, legislation, scientific reports from vetted sources ( have a partial scientific background so know how to research scientific information - not a 'foreign' language), certain experts we know, and direct-source quotes, even making a phone call to politicians, local media journalists and even those involved (anywhere) if important enough, etc.). Being married to a (former) professor of political science for 29 years who knows more about politics and U.S. society and culture and who, since 2006, has been on the team of 24 experts tracking the state of U.S. democracy for the Economist Intelligence Unit Democracy Index, which requires facts, not fallacy nor propaganda, does hurt. By the way, I'm so 'old', when I took computer science in high school, we had to use punch cards to program. What???

[@EndOfSqaures]

I get my news from voices in my head, FACT CHECK THAT!!!

[@dlite6999]

This New Jersey class should be implemented in EVERY STATE asap before the next POTUS election

[@jasonfoxfire]

All American kids need to be taught not to trust any news media either, liberal or Fox.

[@nathankendall5272]

I dunno... I watch both CNN and Fox. I like when both networks have a Democrat or Republican on to present opposing views. That's what critical thinking is all about. As long as the kids are being taught to use critical thinking and listen to voices on both sides to make an informed option, than all of this is ok. If the education is geared towards "you can trust it if it comes from a government website or a .edu website" I would be skeptical of the curriculum as both government and educational institutions of implicit bias and aren't batting 1.000 when it comes to telling three truth!

[@VP_A-Team]

@@nathankendall5272 Fox was literally created as a propaganda network. My wife was asked by Roger Alies, Chuck Koch and Rupert Murdoch to help create a propaganda network which eventually became Fox. The new boss at CNN is a libertarian who is tied to Fox and believes Fox is "good journalism" and thinks CNN should be like Fox. CNN is quickly becoming 'Fox-lite'. Right now in the U.S., there is no "both sides" because one side has been 44-year-developed propaganda (my wife was there when it was proposed, outlined, planned then implemented). Just because there seems t be two different stances, doesn't mean it's"both sides". Fact check *everything* with confirmed, non-biased/slightly biased, highly rated factual sources (there are a few sites that do this). Use local media, cross-checking with other verified sources if available. But also go straight to the sources (court rulings, police reports, laws, legislation, scientific reports from vetted sources ( how convenient to say not to trust a "...government website or an .edu website..." - exactly what authoritarians do to subvert democracy ). That is absolutely NOT what critical thinking is. NOT believing direct-source information suggests 'indoctrination' - exactly what every authoritarian country did when they were democracies. i.e. "Don't believe the 'facts', just listen to us"

[@bailbondsyesbailbonds]

Good teachers anywhere should already be doing this

[@matthewrutters6842]

They should just teach critical thinking. This seems like it could easily be politicized.

[@MissPreciousLove]

Maybe, if critical thinking were still taught and encouraged, there wouldn’t be such a need. Also, if the principals of true journalism were still applied and followed (as opposed to principals of today’s ‘media outlets’), when news and events were simply reported void of emotion and opinion, there’d be less ‘misinformation’. Finally, if we simply taught that an opinion does not make something a fact nor does it make it misinformation, and to be able to decipher one from the other, we’d be much better off. However, for any of these things to be a reality would require common sense which it seems is lacking in the world today!

[@VP_A-Team]

_"...the principals of true journalism were still applied and followed..."_ actually s fllwed by MSNBC, NBC, ABC, CBS, etc.. My wife' niece works/worked with MSNBC and NBC (as well as CNN before the new [edt: -Fx-lving-] Fox-loving boss came in) in the division responsible for verifying and vetting facts and real news. She is at NBC now, but she'd be fired if she allowed 'fake news' from getting through to even a pundit. There are 4 levels of verification and vetting before information gets to the newscasters and pundits. They have a standards and ethics process. Don't believe the trope about 'fake news' or even the notion news today is not verified and vetted; that belief is exactly what the Republican Party has been disingenuously propagating since 1980.

[@MissPreciousLove]

@@VP_A-Team Doesn’t matter how much the information is verified or vetted, emotion and opinion still is a factor. Notice that I never said anything about ‘fake news’... as that was never the point I was trying to make. As for your comment regarding Republicans... they are no worse than Democrats. Let’s be honest, both parties are self-serving and only looking to push their own agendas. That’s not ‘misinformation’ that’s being perpetrated by media, it’s just very evident and is reported on, daily, by news organizations.

[@tracyknowles4680]

NBC reporting on how to spot fake news .. lol lol lol

[@davidplays6286]

But nbc is fake lol

[@VP_A-Team]

Wow. You sure (do not) know how to process information. How do you get to _"NBC reporting on how to spot fake news" from them just reporting about what NJ is doing? I don't see any NBC 'spotting' anything but broadcasting what NJ is doing. Context is not your friend.

[@davidplays6286]

@@VP_A-Team what a 🐏 🤣🤣🤣blind

[@davidplays6286]

@@VP_A-Team just be a sheep

[@nathankendall5272]

How about let parents teach their kids this stuff? Focus on math, science etc. Ya know... the type of subjects that naturally teach children to think objectively and problem solve?

[@unicorn-glasses]

Because many parents don't have this skill themselves? Mine certainly don't. You can't trust all parents to be good teachers, because they aren't. That's the reason why we have schools. Stupid people are allowed to reproduce, and often do. Their kids shouldn't have to suffer because of bad luck.

[@gcboy16]

Frhsd greatest school system ever

[@1968poder]

learning other languages and comparing news from it, is another tool to combat misinformation, not many bad actors understand many languages

[@abrakkehakka1357]

Always a good idea. However there are also many alternative quite balanced media outlets in the English language. Besides the public service (and commercial) outlets in other english speaking nations-like Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia-also some non-English speaking nations have public service (and possible commercial ones too) media outlets in English. E.g. France, Germany, and the EU. And one could start with watching any of those if one doesn’t have the time to learn another language.

[@1968poder]

@@abrakkehakka1357 always searching and comparing between Korean, Spanish, Portuguese and English, those are my forte

[@VP_A-Team]

Actually not true. Non-English news and social media have far, far less moderation on content. Spanish social media is the driving factor in the shift from Democratic voting to Republican voting because it is not moderated as much, not even as close as much. Parcing (separating) news from propaganda is difficult because well-planned propaganda starts with mostly facts, mixed with propaganda leading to more and more propaganda until one thinks all they are reading is true. Only in the English sphere is there dedicated fact checking and moderation; other languages do not have nearly as many people involved and the guardrails that go with it.

[@VP_A-Team]

@@1968poder Also excellent you are a polyglot (multiple languages) but most do not have the time or will to learn more than 1 or 2 languages (the second usually due to heritage). My wife is a polyglot with a mind that can learn languages easily. She became fluent in Spanish in 6 months (phenomenal memory helps). It took me about 4 years to be as fluent as she is. She learned to become perfectly fluent in German in about 9 months to a year. French, she knew at a young age but took a 3 month course and became completely fluent. I had been in an advanced French program in high school (Canada), yet never became fluent until I took the course with her (I was way ahead of her (American-raised) at first but she blew by me at the end). So your option is rare. But your idea is great for you to filter truth from fallacy.

[@1968poder]

@@VP_A-Team you learn deeply when you are in need, not learned in school, sorry

[@samanthab1923]

There would be no need for this if parents questioned their kids on where they heard such nonsense.

[@mydoto]

so you are saying kids should not learn critical thinking....they should ask their parents for everything? ok...lmaooo

[@michaelschaefer1904]

Will Russiagate's disinformaiton be included?

[@VP_A-Team]

No. But how to spot and vet people like you might.

[@kotk05]

Student: "For my assignment, I looked into the false claim that President Biden made about giving his uncle the purple heart during his Vice Presidency ..." Librarian: "EXCUSE ME??!!" Student: "Yeah his uncle passed away in 1999 long before he made it to the White House." Librarian: "You see class, this is what happens when you fall for misinformation." Student: "I have the video, the words come out of his mouth." Librarian: "Silence! You're suspended. GTFO!"

[@flameofthewest4902]

Ok class, step one...look for the Fox logo

[@amosburton]

LOL! Just Fox, not CNN too?

[@Stalkedbyapsycho]

😂

[@davidplays6286]

More like brainwashing the kids

[@AaaaNinja]

Or brainwash-proofing.

[@davidplays6286]

@@AaaaNinja your dumb the schools are controlled by the government the daily news you watch is a lie the media is controlled

[@michaelschaefer1904]

@@AaaaNinja Dream on - Ever visit an NJEA convention?

[@VP_A-Team]

Teaching kids how to parse factual information from propaganda and misinformation/disinformation is the opposite of brainwashing. Dd you not even listen?

[@davidplays6286]

@@VP_A-Team propaganda is false Information your so dumb I bett your vaxed 🤣🤣🤣

[@a.evelyn5498]

They have ALWAYS taught this in school! It’s essential for writing papers.

[@AaaaNinja]

They teach about sourcing for your papers, not about source credibility. You can literally write anything as long as you use citations. In accredited colleges they have a mandatory critical thinking unit. But that's not high school. That's college.

[@michaelschaefer1904]

Chapter 1: Democrats are the party of science and the fetus is a blob of tissue.

[@VP_A-Team]

Nope. Chapter 1: Ignore 'Michael Schaefer'. See how vetting out disinformation works?

[@scottlalexander510]

Child: Dad, why do I have to go to school? Father: You need to go to school so you can be molded into a state-approved, homogenous drone that cannot think outside of the prescribed consensus. You will learn to repeat information instead of how to think for yourself so that you don't become a threat to the status quo - because they don't tolerate independent thought. When you graduate you will get a job, pay your government extortion fees, in the form of taxes, in order to perpetuate the corporate system of indentured servitude for your political and corporate overlords. Get your children out of these government indoctrination camps!

[@jrenner325]

I couldn’t have said it better myself…thank you! 👏

[@filmopfil]

we need those for udults to