Taking the RMIT Fact Credential was a really understandable and informing introduction into ‘fake news’ and fact checking. Before undertaking the credential I had little to no fact checking skills so this has been really useful for me in learning the basics of how to fact check.

Something I would like to explore more is misinformation and disinformation and how personal opinion and bias can influence this. Sadly I think there is a lot of bias through misinformation in the 21st century, especially with their being such intense political climates in countries like the US. Television channels such as the American Fox News are notorious for their extreme right wing bias whilst Australian newspapers such as the Australian are also known for their conservative bias which is made obvious by their misrepresentation, exaggeration, underestimation and source selection in regards to their stories. I definitely agree with the credential in that ‘a fair and balanced report will provide differing points of view.’ It was interesting to learn that there can be bias through language and placement. Colourful language that uses adverbs can single bias whilst the prominence given to a certain news report through its placement or coverage can indicate bias.

Disinformation isn’t something I have heard much about but I find it really fascinating and would like to further research into the topic. Of course there can be a lot of misinformation on social media but I’m curious in regards to who in a political sense has and would intentionally spread lies and the impact it has had on the people exposed to this ‘news’. Both disinformation and misinformation of news, especially political and environmental news, can be extremely manipulating to the public which is why fact checking sources are so important.