Think of an example of this from your own life. How did confirmation bias shape your understanding of an issue? How do you th

IND101: CORNERSTONE A: FOUNDATIONS JAN2022 30080616 [8wk]

Engage   Today, the prevalence of social media, the rise of algorithms, filter bubbles, “bots”, and international hacking efforts have brought the issue of “fake news” to the forefront of our national and international consciousness.  As you read in the webtext this week, the spread of misinformation is not an entirely new problem and it does not have one simple solution. However, there are changes all information consumers can make to how they engage with stories, facts, and data that can lead us from a “post-truth” world to a “pro-truth” world.

Begin by reading chapter 4 of the webtext and viewing all of Professor Alex Edmans’ TED Talk “What to Trust in a ‘Post-Truth’ World”, below.

Alex Edmans What to trust in a "post-truth" world

Edmans, Al. (2018). What to trust in a "post-truth" world (Links to an external site.) . TedTalk. [Video: 17:40 minutes]. Transcripts Download Transcripts . Discussion Instructions Initial post: By Thursday of Module 4, create an initial post that responds to each of the prompts below:

• Edmans argues that confirmation bias causes us to believe information that confirms our point of view, which sometimes leads to accepting and sharing information that is fake, misleading, or misrepresentative.

• Think of an example of this from your own life. How did confirmation bias shape your understanding of an issue?

• How do you think we can move beyond confirmation bias to make sure what we’re accepting and sharing is true?