4.1 Critical thinking: Understanding 'Truth'

The nature of 'truth' in the 21st Century

Here, we start to chip away at the idea of truth and how finding it in today's world demands highly developed critical thinking tools. Whilst the intention is to provide sources to prompt inquiry from students and enable them to identify bias and misinformation to form a balanced, informed opinion, this does mean that the tone of this page might appear bias in favour of post-truth theory. Hopefully this is an understandable slant!

Theme, topic and sub-topic

It is important to note that through the critical thinking topic, we are paying particular attention to the Approaches to Learning areas of Thinking Skills and, particularly on this page, Research Skills.

Truth, Post truth and Fake News

The tone this page takes is one that recognises the difficulties that students face discerning quality information in the face of such an unfiltered quantity available; misinformation is a tangible obstacle that students must understand to be able to get past.

There are many reasons why the words Truth, Post-truth and Fake News will continously pop up in PPS lessons. No less reason than we are asking students to build their research skills which ultimately comes down to being active, autonomous and discerning consumers of information. It is also a recognition of a global context; the truth is (and we need to be careful how we use that word given the ideas and activities that follow) that we live in a world where the truth is not necessarily easy to discern due in no small part to an overwhelming onslaught of available media. And then there is the real and perceived manipulation of media, often fashionably brandished with the words 'fake news'. How do we navigate this?

Some initial definitions from The Cambridge English Dictionary

misinformation: wrong information, or the fact that people are misinformed
disinformation: false information spread in order to deceive people.
fake news: false stories that appear to be news, spread on the internet or using other media, usually created to influence political views or as a joke.
post-truth: relating to a situation in which people are more likely to accept an argument based on their emotions and beliefs, rather than one based on facts
bias: the action of supporting or opposing a particular person or thing in an unfair way, because of allowing personal opinions to influence your judgment.
propaganda: information, ideas, opinions, or images, often only giving one part of an argument, that are broadcast, published, or in some other way spread with the intention of influencing people's opinions

... and from the Urban Dictionary: www.urbandictionary.com

(indicative of how language is changing to represent the current context, the word 'malinformation' is not yet in the Cambridge Dictionary but a definition is availbale in the Urban Dictionary. It is explored in the UNESCO video below)

Malinformation: Malinformation is fake information to make a scheme sound more believable. Often in the form of testimonials backing up Pyramid-like schemes. These scams tend to target people who suffer from chronic misinformedness.

Starting with misinformation ...

Setting the tone

UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation - have worked expansively on the impact disinformation and technology has had on quality journalism. Using the handle #fightfakenews, they ironically actively discourage the use of the word 'fake news' as an oxymoron (there's a lesson just by itself!) and replace it with more specific words such as misinformation, disinformation and malinformation (see definitions above).

The following video comes from a Facebook live stream by UNESCO and is a fascinating discussion about the landscape of 'Fake news'. It's lengthy so break it up - the first half is particularly useful to establishing the context in question.

Truth goes hand in hand with trust.

As a research activity, look into The Trust Project as a case study and the 8 Trust Indicators which you will find below the video here. Why do you think these questions are asked in particular? What does it tell us about the field of journalism nowadays?

As a class discuss the ethical implications and ideas that come from the questions below about Best Practices. (These are the first of 8 Trust Indicators set by the The Trust project)

Indicator 1: Best Practices
Who funds the site? What is its mission?
What standards and ethics guide the process of gathering news?
What happens if a journalist has ties to the topic covered?

UNIT PLAN: Exploring a Theory

Aim: To explore a definition of post-truth and reflect on the potential impact it might have on critical thinking tools and personal understanding of world events.

The final outcome of this lesson/topic (it can be a series of lessons quite easily) is to hold an ethical debate about the nature of post-truth theory in our understanding of the world. However, in the preparation of this, there is also an opportunity to practise critical reading skills with close reading of academic articles, discussion of content, validity of argument and the creation of informed opinions. Given below and in the worksheet, are examples of sources which will add something to the student's understanding of truth and post-truth. Clearly, other sources can be used. The sources are intentionally quite tricky in parts not merely as a way of getting students used to academic jargon; it is also an exercise for students to reflect explicitly on what they did and did not understand in this problem-solving exercise and how they kept moving forward to reach a group understanding.

In his article, 'Truth, Lies and Tweets: A Consensus Theory of Post-Truth', Vittorio Bufacchi takes the definition of Post-Truth further than the Oxford English Dictionary (and, indeed, the Cambridge English Dictionary's definition given above in the introduction and just below here) which incorporates an intentional undermining of theoretical frameworks to deligitimize scientific truth. He also goes on to justify his steps.

What do you think of the difference between the Cambridge English Dictionary's definition of Post-truth and Bufacchi's extended definition? What is the most important point Bufacchi makes in his explanation of why he did this?

Cambridge English Dictionary

post-truth: relating to a situation in which people are more likely to accept an argument based on their emotions and beliefs, rather than one based on facts

Vittorio Bufacchi

'Post-truth is a deliberate strategy aimed at creating an environment where objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion, where theoretical frameworks are undermined in order to make it impossible for someone to make sense of a certain event, phenomenon, or experience, and where scientific truth is delegitimized.

Compared to what we read in the OED, this definition has two advantages. First, it includes a dimension of epistemic injustice, whereby Post-Truth is used with the intent of subverting one’s relationship with the truth. Secondly, Post-Truth is at the forefront of a novel legitimization crisis, to the extent that Post-Truth delegitimizes science’s claims on truth. On the basis of this definition, we can now address the issue of why Post-Truth is such a big issue today, its origin and what to do about it^[1].

Research, Analysis and Discussion

Motion: We all have a moral responsibility to hold beliefs that are true or likely to be true

Preparation

In groups, students scrutinise one source before moving to the next one. Choose one of the systems listed here to fact check and validate each source before considering its content.
1. 8 Trust Indicators from www.trustproject.org
2. 10 ways to spot online misinformation
3. R.A.V.E.N system: picture included here.

Source 1: Vittorio Bufacchi, Truth, Lies and Tweets: A Consensus Theory of Post-Truth'

What does this source tell you about the origins of thought behind 'We all have a moral responsibility to hold beliefs that are true or likely to be true'?

'... Media outlets are not the only culpable parties in the explosion of Post-Truth: consumers of information also have a moral responsibility. Maria Paola Ferretti (2018) has recently drawn our attention to a tradition in the history of Western political thought, originating in the work of John Locke, according to which citizens in a liberal society have a duty to do their best to hold beliefs that are true or very likely to be true. This duty has sometimes been called the ‘alethic obligation’, from the Greek term for truth, Aletheia (α'λήθ∊ια). Ferretti argues that if we accept our alethic obligation, then our responsibilities as believers increase, rather than diminish. This is in stark contrast to the prophets of Post-Truth, who want to release us from our alethic obligations'.

Source 2: Dr Chris Henry, The Politics of (Post) Truth: Theories of Truth in Contemporary Philosophy, University of Kent at Canterbury, accessed 30/12/2020

If something is true, no matter how controversial, should it lead to action?

'Generally speaking the truth claims form the weight of political argumentation, and theories of truth are often used to ground claims in a certain sense of 'reality'; when thinking either politics or the political, truth claims tread a thin line between a reductively dogmatic world-view and qualified political claims that ground their authority in a theory of their truthful relationship in the world.

However, this 'consequentialist' justification for truth as a legitimisation for (often coercive) political claims - 'because it is true that immigration leads to social unrest, and it is true that social unrest is undesirable, we must develop a policy to reduce immigration' - is challenged by both critical and liberal theorists alike. For liberal universalist, who deny the ability to make consequentialist truth claims, institutions of the state must take a neutral stance ... for example, the French ban of the traditional Muslim headscarf (foulard) is not a 'neutral' decision but is grounded upon a republican conceptualisation of the public sphere from which obvious distinction is intolerable'.

Source 3: Tom Buchanan, 'How to reduce the spread of Fake News - by doing nothing', 18/12/2020 University of Westminster, https://theconversation.com/how-to-reduce-the-spread-of-fake-news-by-doing-nothing-152097

What do you think might be the effect of ignoring 'fake news'?
Can you explore some of the examples given in more detail?

'When we come across false information on social media, it is only natural to feel the need to call it out or argue with it. But my research suggests this might do more harm than good. It might seem counterintuitive, but the best way to react to fake news – and reduce its impact – may be to do nothing at all.

False information on social media is a big problem. A UK parliament committee said online misinformation was a threat to “the very fabric of our democracy”. It can exploit and exacerbate divisions in society. There are many examples of it leading to social unrest and inciting violence, for example in Myanmar and the United States.

It has often been used to try to influence political processes. One recent report found evidence of organised social media manipulation campaigns in 48 different countries. The UK is one of those countries, as demonstrated by news reports about a local branch of the Conservatives which urged activists to campaign by “weaponising fake news”.

Social media users also regularly encounter harmful misinformation about vaccines and virus outbreaks. This is particularly important with the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines because the spread of false information online may discourage people from getting vaccinated – making it a life or death matter.

With all these very serious consequences in mind, it can be very tempting to comment on false information when it’s posted online – pointing out that it is untrue, or that we disagree with it. Why would that be a bad thing?'

Teacher support material

There has been a number of suggestions in the activities above of different ways that students can fact check what they are reading. You have various options here for them to explore the validity of these sources before they start shaping their ideas. You can use the 8 Trust Indicators or checklist of 10 Ways to spot Online Misinformation. Or you may already have introduced students to the R.A.V.E.N system of critically checking sources included on the reflective project skills pages here: Research skills and Critical Thinking are just two places which use this/

In the sources themselves, key words are highlighted which might prompt questions from either you or your students might raise concerns themselves. It should be noted that these sources have been chosen specifically because they are theoretically trustworthy but the message to students is that rigour must be applied to all sources no matter how trustworthy they seem. No one is infallible and fact checking needs to become as instinctive as clicking like and sharing! For example, an interesting article used in Source 3 uses a wide range of sources, but students might feel that they can explore and check those examples a bit further such as the mention of Myanmar and the United States. And if they do fact check then where might they go to to do this. The Media Bias Chart is updated continously and is an interesting image for students and teachers alike to consider.

Footnotes

^ Bufacchi V, Truth, Lies and Tweets: A Consensus Theory of Post-Truth, 14/01/2020, https://doi.org/10.1177/0191453719896382

Quick Ideas, plenaries and reflections

Conspiracies and Misinformation

Two short videos here explore misinformation spread in 2020 and who is behind it. Video 1 is by BBC Monitoring's Olga Robinson and Video 2, Specialist disinformation reporter Marianna Spring explains who exactly the stakeholders and gameplayers are in viral misinformation.

Fake News 2020: Being detective

Having explored the idea of truth, post-truth and misinformation so far, students might like to play detective and trace the way certain misinformation grew and spread this year in 2020. Below are some stories deemed, queried or proven to be 'fake news' (trying to be impartial!): take one, two ... all and explore the story.

How did it grow? What truth is built on? What was the impact? The BBC videos below helps frame the issues.

'Dolphins in Venice'           '5G causes Covid 19'                      'Trained Triceratops'

'Veganism stops you catching Covid 19'            'Stop the Steal'                             'Ethiopia Conflict in November 2020'

Who starts viral misinformation?

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4.1 Critical thinking: Understanding 'Truth'