Week 1 – Fake News, Disinformation and Misinformation

Week 2 – ABC Fact Check

Week 3 – Fact Check Cred

RMIT offers a ‘micro-credential’ called Fact Check, which was created to teach students some media literacy skills, particularly being able to check whether a news source is accurate and trustworthy. It also shows students how to discern when pictures or videos are manipulated, or generated by Artificial Intelligence (deepfakes).

There was a quiz at the end to see how much we had learned, and I got 19/20. I’m not too sure if it was better or worse than I thought I’d get; but some questions were worded vaguely, which made me feel like I was just guessing some answers. With that being said, I don’t know if I’m the target market of the credential, as I already understood much of what was discussed inside.

Before completing the credential, I never really thought about the differences between primary and secondary sources. I also believed that fact-checking and debunking were essentially the same thing, and were done concurrently.  While there are certainly some similarities, they seem to have different roles, and examine different types of claims. Sites like Snopes showing both fact checking and debunking don’t help the confusion.

As I already had some prior knowledge about disinformation and bias, I’m not sure if the credential alone will change my media engagement to a large degree; however, I believe that the lessons taught in the cred will change how I find information when doing research while studying, as I have more of an understanding of when to choose between primary and secondary sources.

I believe that Fact Check is a useful course to take, especially if you are learning how to do research at an academic level; or need a refresher due to changes in the media environment. In my opinion, it would be a useful credential for students in first year alongside lessons in academic research; as well as for mature age students, who may not be familiar with the current media landscape.

Article chosen: RMIT ABC Fact Check 2020, ‘Was former Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate correct when she said taxpayers’ money wasn’t used to purchase Cartier watches?’ ABC News, 18 December, viewed 11 March 2021, <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-18/did-australia-post-use-taxpayers-money-to-purchase-cartier-watch/12967188>

This Fact Check article discusses the recent scandal involving Christine Holgate, the former CEO of Australia Post, as well as the relationship between the federal government and Australia Post. I was interested at looking at this article because it was based on something that was only short-lived in this media cycle. When the scandal was first revealed openly, Melbourne was about to end their COVID-19 lockdowns, and the USA were about to vote; taking the oxygen from a comparatively minor story. Also, as a long term Post employee, I assumed that I was familiar enough with the watch scandal to be able to understand what facts were being checked.

The article itself was thorough, as it needed to explain Australia Post’s structure, as it is a ‘government business enterprise,’ something that may not be understood by the average person. I found it helpful that Fact Check remained on topic with the single claim, rather than trying to examine the entire scandal, as it could easily make the article confusing. It discussed the history of Australia Post specifically its change from a government department to a GBE, and the reasons why the government chose that structure. It also looked at the difference between government ownership and government funding.

For evidence, Fact Check examined legislation that governs Australia Post’s operations, as well as financial statements and Hansard. They also interviewed commercial law academics, and referenced a journal article and editorial piece. I believe that the use of both primary and secondary sources was well balanced, and made for a trustworthy and accessible investigation. The ‘Not cut and dried’ verdict is a reasonable finding, considering how fine the line is due to Australia Post’s business structure.

This otherwise dry article is important, as government funding and ownership is often oversimplified by some media sources, especially when the loaded term ‘taxpayer money’ is used.

From my understanding, fake news is a type of media that is designed to deceive some casual media consumers into believing a certain viewpoint. A fake news piece is designed to emulate legitimate news sources, but contain fabricated reports. Fake news is often shared through social media, usually by private users.

In class, we spoke about using the term disinformation instead of fake news, but I believe that disinformation is better used as an umbrella term, with fake news as a specific category.

Satirical journals, such as The Onion, The Chaser, and The Betoota Advocate, would not be considered fake news by the modern definition, because their articles are not written to be interpreted as factual, through elements such as subject matter, comedic references and writing style. A journal used for disinformation would instead be written in a more serious tone with no comedic elements, which would potentially be taken ‘more seriously’ by an otherwise uninformed reader.

Misinformation is where false information is understood as real. As media literacy has only recently become a talking point with the general public, it may take a number of years to reach a point where misinformation is no longer a dangerous weapon.

I get the majority of my news from social media – usually Facebook or Reddit, like most of the people I talked to in class. I also have a few news apps on my phone that push notifications. Interestingly, from my thorough research that totally wasn’t talking to others in class, the only legacy media source that was nearly as popular was the radio.

To be honest, I have unintentionally shared fake news. It was thankfully a fairly harmless article about something non-political, though I still felt a bit embarrassed after realising that the article I shared was fictional.

By the end of the semester, I want to learn how fact checking is done professionally, and possibly even reverse-engineer the ways that disinformation and misinformation are created, to counter and destroy them.