misinformation and disinformation
1. Choose your case study: this should be an example of misinformation, disinformation, or fake news: (see list at the end of this document)
⦁ A list has been provided, but you can also propose your own – please email the UCs on
socialproblems@westernsydney.edu.au
⦁ You MUST NOT use the example provided in the ACTION task for Module 2: if you do, then you will receive 0 for the assessment task.
⦁ Identify what kind of information the ‘case study’ is (is it misinformation, disinformation, or fake news).
⦁ Identify the original source of circulation for the case study. Use this as your reference point. You need to include a full citation to the original source at the start of your assignment (this is not included in the word count). You should then decide on an abbreviated ‘nickname’ for the case study item and use this within your discussion.
2. Analyse the case study (before writing) – you will be taken through an example of this in the ACTION task of Module 2. These questions are designed to help you ‘plot out’ your discussion: your assignment should not simply question-answer responses (see point 3 below)
⦁ First reactions to the false narrative:
⦁ What is the claim? Why does it exist?
⦁ Do you instinctively trust what the claimant is saying? Why or Why not?
⦁ What impact does the claim have when you don’t know if it is true or not?
⦁ The context of the claim:
• The ‘author’ of the claim (who is the original source of the
misinformation/disinformation/fake news):
⦁ Who is making the claim?
⦁ Are there other parties who also make the claim?
⦁ Do they have ‘authority’ to make that claim?
⦁ Why are they making the claim? How does this fit with their ‘history’
and their ‘agenda’? (i.e. what else have they posted or discussed in the
past/present)
⦁ What other stakeholders (or interested parties) might exist?
• The context of the claim (why is the misinformation/disinformation/fake news being shared):
• What is the issue at its core?
• What is the timeline of the claim (i.e. how/when did the claim come
about; what is the temporal/spatial context in which the claim was
made?)
• What continues to keep this claim in circulation? (i.e. why do people
know about it or talk about it)
• What are the implications of this claim being made? • How is the issue discussed
c. Fact Checking the case study:
• What evidence is provided to support the claim?
d. Challenging the narrative – countering the claim:
⦁ Using the library search engine (library.westernsydney.edu.au), what scholarly
resources can you find to factcheck the story? What do these sources suggest:
is the claim credible or not?
⦁ Is there other information on the internet that gives you evidence for or
against this claim? (be specific when you mention these in the assignment)
⦁ How do you think that we can convince the general public of the ‘truth’? Why
is this important?