In learning about fake news, I have discovered that fake news is so easily spread due to social media, and that people tend to only look at headlines, ignoring the actual content of the supposed article. Fake news is meant to manipulate and mislead the public, sometimes even causing violent and catastrophic consequences. I have also learned that even informational and seemingly trustworthy articles can have motives behind them, like in the activity we did in class showed us that although a website may seem credible at first glance, more digging into the people who created the website, and there is more often than not, a motive behind not only their website alone, but their website as a whole. I learned that today, nothing is really as it seems, and it’s very important to do the extra work and find more information about the information you are trying to obtain, otherwise you are perpetuating more fake news and are becoming misinformed yourself.

Already after reading just two articles about fake news, there are already common thoughts and ideas about fake news. Both Steinmetz and Burkhardt have brought up the point that fake news is wide-spread because of social media, and that there are many ways to spread fake news. Someone can share the article themselves, thinking that it has merit, or people can like or comment on a post about the article. People can also end up sharing something about a fake news article, discrediting it and saying how it does not have merit, informing people not to read it or trust it, when in fact this also spreads fake news, because the more something its shared, the wider audience it creates.

My three choices for a research paper are: Colorism, the Increase in Hate Crimes, and Diversity in the Film Industry. The issue of colorism is a nuanced form of Racism that applies to people of color, and is very important to me to learn more about, as I don’t know all the elements behind it and the different issues it poses. The topic of the increase in hate crimes would also be an interesting and complex issue to explore. As there are many different elements to address in this topic, like what is causing this rise in hate motivated crimes, what social issues have to be resolved in order to decrease, or put an end to these crimes, and many other ideas. Diversity in the film industry has been more increasingly in the spotlight over the past few years. There has been a big response to diverse stories told on the big screen, and more noticeable growth in inclusivity in the hiring of actors and filmmakers. I think it would be interesting to explore what has contributed to this, and even how certain social issues are depicted in the film industry based on the strong increase of diversity in films. I don’t know a lot of the information behind these topics, and am interested in learning more about them, which is why I am considering these certain topics.

The author of the article concludes that fake news is a growing problem, and affects people’s perception of world issues, and the way people process information shown to them. The author also claims that we as a society have to retrain our brains to separate fact from misleading and false information, since most of the news presented on social media or the internet is combined or associated with a writer’s commentary and their own judgement of an issue presented, rather than an neutral and informing piece of news.

The author points out how “news” pieces are purposely created to manipulate the reader and mislead their perspective of an issue presented, through misinformation, and shock value.

One skill that I saw in the sample papers that reflect skills I have learned in the past is the use of concise and clear ideas through academic diction. Something that was emphasized in previous classes of mine, was to use academic and formal language in a formal piece of writing, like a research paper, to clearly and concisely convey your ideas. Diction is important in writing because it effects how your ideas come across to readers, and I thought the student sample papers reflected this very well.

I haven’t done very many research papers myself in the past, usually it was primarily literary analysis, so reading these samples and getting back into the mindset of research and the format of the paper that it entails has proven helpful. Learning how to include analysis with facts and quotes in a paper, creating an arguable thesis, and forming a conclusion are all things I am looking forward to improving upon and developing. I am also looking to improve upon finding usable sources on the topic of my paper to create the best argument.

My name is Alaina, I love reading and writing, and really enjoy English class. I like staying informed about political issues that I’m passionate about and having in-depth discussions about these issues with other people. I love animals. I spend my time binge-watching tv shows and chatting about movies, and finding new books to read, and I love animals!