Sources
Week 8
• Take-home style exam
• Submitted on Turnitin.com
• Available November 2
• Due November 8
• Short answer and essay on material presented up to Week 6.
• Study guide now online
Midterm Exam
Says Who?
Critical Evaluation of Sources interviewed
for News Reports
ü What is her/his self-interest?
ü Does anyone else say so?
ü Is it verified fact, or assertion?
ü How would this source know?
ü Who, exactly, is this source?
Smart Questions About Sources:
Critical Thinking is…Critical Thinking skills:
Why Sources Matter
What Are the ConsequencesWhen The Press Gets it Wrong?
U.S. Invades Iraq to Capture WMD
Why Critical Thinking About Sources Matters
To Be Fair…
"Saddam Hussein has spent the be1er part of this decade, and much of his na7on's
wealth, not on providing for the Iraqi people, but on developing nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and the missiles to
deliver them."
President Clinton, Jan. 27, 1998.
To Be Fair…
"Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there ma1ers a great
deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear,
chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security
threat we face."
Madeleine Albright, Feb. 18, 1998.
To Be Fair…
"Fateful decisions will be made in the days and weeks ahead. At issue is nothing less than the fundamental ques7on of whether or not we can keep the most lethal weapons known to mankind out of the hands of an unreconstructed tyrant and aggressor …”
Sen. Joe Biden (D, DE), Feb. 12, 1998
To Be Fair…
"He will use those weapons of mass destruc7on again, as he has ten 7mes since
1983."
Sandy Berger, Clinton Na7onal Security Adviser,
Feb. 18, 1998
“The problematic articles varied in authorship and subject matter, but many shared a common feature. They
depended at least in part on information from a circle of Iraqi informants, defectors and exiles bent on ‘regime
change’ in Iraq, people whose credibility has come under increasing public debate in recent weeks.”
May 26, 2004
üWhat is her/his self-interest?
üDoes anyone else say so?
üIs it fact, or assertion?
üHow would this source know?
üWho, exactly, is this source?
Today: Five Smart Questions About Sources:
Judging the Reliability of Sources
Named Sources Are Better Than Unnamed Sources
Authoritative/Informed Sources Are Better Than Uninformed Sources
Independent Sources Are Better Than Self-Interested Sources
Sources Who Verify Are Better Than Sources Who Assert
Multiple Sources Are Better Than Single Sources
(Mnemonic Device: I’M VAIN)
Judging the Reliability of Sources
Independent Sources Are Better Than
Self-Interested Sources
Self Interest vs. Selfishness Intellectual
Religion/poli7cs Familial/Roman7c
Financial
A Self-interested source…
An Independent source
Independence: Rival Praises Finding
Decoded DNA Reveals Details Of Black Death GermScien/sts have used DNA lurking inside the teeth of medieval Black Death vic/ms to figure out the en/re gene/c code of the deadly bacterium that swept across Europe more than 600 years ago, killing an es/mated half of the popula/on...
The Natural History Museum of Denmark's Thomas Gilbert is one of the scien/sts who tried to find plague DNA in Black Death vic/ms in the past without success. He says the new technique used in this study is exci/ng and the analysis is compelling. "It's a great result. It looks very, very convincing," Gilbert says. "There's no reason why the data shouldn't be real."
How is this source self-‐interested?Does that mean the story is unreliable?
NYT – (October 13, 2011) People with eaFng disorders like anorexia have opened up a new baKleground in the insurance wars, tesFng the boundaries of laws mandaFng equivalent coverage for mental illnesses.
Independent Sources Are Better Than Self-Interested Sources
Independence: A Ruthless Standard
Judging the Reliability of Sources
Multiple Sources Are Better Than Single Sources
Multiple Sources vs. Lone Source
Multiple Sources Trump a Lone Source?
Reconstructing the Blackwater Incident in Nusoor Square
In Pursuit of TruthBlackwater shooting
Judging the Reliability of Sources
Sources Who Verify Are Better Than
Sources Who Assert
The Tokyo ci/zens’ group…in consulta/on with the Yokohama-‐based Isotope Research Ins/tute, collected soil samples from near their own homes. Some of the results were shocking: the sample that Mr. Hayashida collected under shrubs near his neighborhood baseball field in the Edogawa ward measured nearly 138,000 becquerels per square meter of radioac/ve cesium 137, which can damage cells and lead to an increased risk of cancer.
Verifying or Asserting?
Verifying or Asserting?
Sources Who Verify vs. Sources Who Assert
Just Like We Always ask:
“Did the Reporter Open the Freezer?”
You can also ask”“Did the Source
Open the Freezer?
A Corollary to Last Week’s Lesson:
Judging the Reliability of Sources
Authoritative/Informed Sources Are Better Than
Un-informed Sources
Authoritative vs. Uninformed
Authoritative/Informed Sources vs. Un-informed Sources
Judging the Reliability of Sources
Named Sources Are Better Than
Unnamed Sources
Who Was ‘Deep Throat’?
The Most Famous Unnamed Source in History
Who Was ‘Deep Throat’?
The Most Famous Unnamed Source in History
Who Was ‘Deep Throat’?
The Most Famous Unnamed Source in History
Characterizing Unnamed Sources
Vaccines are Dangerous?Sez Who?
Evaluating Anonymous Sources
TransparencyCharacterization
Corroboration (evidence/sources)
Evaluate The Sources
Sources Outlets
Evaluate The Source
Judging the Reliability of Sources
Named Sources Are Better Than Unnamed Sources
Authoritative/Informed Sources Are Better Than Uninformed Sources
Independent Sources Are Better Than Self-Interested Sources
Sources Who Verify Are Better Than Sources Who Assert
Multiple Sources Are Better Than Single Sources
(Mnemonic Device: I’M VAIN)
Evaluate Sources
Key Lesson:
Evaluate Sources
Evaluate Sources
Evaluate SourcesTo Find Reliable Information
With Which You:Make a decision
Take ActionMake a judgment
Preparing to Deconstruct the News
1) What Do I Know?
2) How Do I Know It?
3) What Don’t I Know?
• Take-home style exam
• Submitted on Turnitin.com
• Available November 2
• Due November 8
• Short answer and essay on material presented up to Week 6.
• Study guide now online
Midterm Exam