1. Renee Hobbs
Professor of Communication Studies
Director, Media Education Lab
University of Rhode Island USA
Twitter: @reneehobbs
A Workshop:
Critically Analyzing Conspiracy Theories
Brooklyn College
May 5, 2017
2. Can learning about conspiracy theories advance media literacy
competencies?
3.
4. Workshop: Critically Analyzing
Conspiracy Theories
1. Engage: What conspiracy theories have you
encountered?
2. Access: Gain information about the information
context where conspiracy theories thrive
3. Analyze: A YOUTUBE VIDEO
4. Create: Develop a video annotation to synthesize
learning and document analysis
5. Reflect: Should teachers screen & discuss
conspiracy theory videos in the classroom?
6. Act: Tweet about what you learned
5. LOVE HATE
CONSPIRACY THEORIES
People have a love-hate relationship with them
Who Killed JFK? 9/11
Area 51 Paul Is Dead
Birtherism Moon Landings
Jesus and Mary Magdalene Holocaust
CIA Experiments Reptilian Elite
Elvis Ebola
Vaccines Global Warming
6. DEFINE SOME VOCABULARY WORDS
TO UNDERSTAND CONSPIRACY THEORIES
conspiracy
anxiety
hoax
paranoid
pessimism
“false flag”
8. ACCESS: Conspiracy Theories
in an Information Age
1. Choice Overload
2. Sharing in a Network Culture
3. Six Types of Fake News
4. New Forms of Authority
5. Norms of Human Information Processing
6. Why We Share
7. How Context Shapes Text
8. Familiarity = Believability
10. New Realities in a
Networked Global Society
Cost to produce
content is low
Massive
fragmentation of
production &
consumption
Viral sharing means
popularity = profit
Content is consumed
as unbundled
snippets on social
media
11. Six Types of Fake News
Disinformation
Propaganda
Hoax
Parody/Satire
Errors in Journalism
Partisanship
Informing and Engaging the Public
Controlling Knowledge, Attitudes & Values
Cultural Criticism or Creative Expression
12. New Forms of Authority
Attention economics is surpassing traditional forms of authority and expertise
our attention — and
most of it free —
being found is
valuable."
Immediacy
Personalization
Interpretation
Findability
13. Selective exposure
Confirmation bias
Reality maintenance
Performative sharing
60% of people share
content without
reading/viewing it
Human
Information Processing
16. Government
commission concludes:
Peace is not in the
interest of a stable
society.
Even if lasting peace
"could be achieved, it
would almost certainly
not be in the best
interests of society to
achieve it.”
Context Shapes Text
17. Becomes a best selling
book, translated into 15
languages
1972: Leonard Lewin
admits he is the author
& explains its purpose
as dark political satire
Context Shapes Text
18. 1990:
Liberty Lobby publishes
the report as a public
domain document
Right-wing websites re-
distribute it online
Context Shapes Text
19. Both LEFT AND RIGHT
WING radicals believe
that government
creates war for
economic benefit
Context Shapes Text
20. Familiarity
Equals Believability
THE POWER OF A SINGLE EXPOSURE
Participants who were exposed to a conspiracy video were
significantly less likely to :
• think that there is widespread scientific agreement on
human-caused climate change
• sign a petition to help reduce global warming
• donate or volunteer for a charity in the next six months.
--Van der Linden, 2015
21. Workshop: Critically Analyzing
Conspiracy Theories
1. Engage: What conspiracy theories have you
encountered?
2. Access: Gain information about the information
context where conspiracy theories thrive
3. Analyze: A YOUTUBE VIDEO
4. Create: Develop a video annotation to synthesize
learning and document analysis
5. Reflect: Should teachers screen & discuss
conspiracy theory videos in the classroom?
6. Act: Tweet about what you learned
24. Media Literacy: A Pedagogy of Inquiry
1. Who is the author and what
is the purpose?
2. What techniques are used
to attract and hold your
attention?
3. What lifestyles, values and
points of view are presented?
4. How might different people
interpret this message?
5. What is omitted?
TEAM 2
27. What did you learn?
What new questions
have emerged?
TIME TO REFLECT
28. Media Literacy: A Pedagogy of Inquiry
“The thing is, Google
search isn’t neutral. Like
any other set of complex
algorithms, search is shot
through with the values
of its creators.”
-Wohlsen, 2016
31. Teaching about conspiracy theories risks
validating them
There’s not enough time in class to
examine evidence in depth
There’s too much junk information online
on these topics
It’s too easy to trivialize conspiracy
theories, reinforcing “us” and “them”
thinking
32. TWEET ABOUT SOMETHING YOU LEARNED IN THIS SESSION
Using hashtag #DigiURI #conspiracy
35. re
Conspiracy theories are alarm systems
that help people deal with threat. They
resonate most among groups suffering
from loss, weakness, or disunity.
--Uscinski & Parent, 2014
36. Conspiracy theories are constructed by people, they have
an author, purpose, point of view & bias
Even brief exposures to conspiracy theories can increase
their believability
Composing critical commentary about conspiracy
theories using digital annotation tools may advance the
development of critical thinking skills
Conspiracy theories resonate in an age of anxiety by
explaining complex and ambiguous realities
People need to take time to reflect on how conspiracy
theories are shaped by historical and political context
37.
38. Renee Hobbs
Professor of Communication Studies
Director, Media Education Lab
Harrington School of Communication
and Media
University of Rhode Island USA
Email: hobbs@uri.edu
Twitter: @reneehobbs
WEB: www.mediaeducationlab.com
Notes de l'éditeur
I’m interested in media literacy, which is the ability to access, analyze and evaluate, and create messages – in a wide variety of forms. Access - Analyze – Create – Reflect – Act.