In this section of our seminar, we consider diverse ways in which one can fight for the truth. However, we also encounter an age-old paradox. To defend the truth, someone must play the role of the defender. 
But who is to say that this individual or political regime is equipped to act as the arbiter of truth. Indeed, what is to prevent them from putting their own interests above the principles they claim to defend?
20. Wednesday, October 14 Tools and techniques for distinguishing fact from fiction, lies, disinformation, and bizarro conspiracies
Here are a number of recommendations about ways to distinguish facts from fictions. Which ones are likely to have the greatest chance of success?
Valerie Strauss, “Fighting the Misinformation Pandemic” READ
Checkology: READ
West, Darrell M. “How to Combat Fake News and Disinformation.” Brookings, 18 Dec. 2017 READ
NPR, “News is scary, here’s how to spot misinformation” READ
Subhashish Bhadra and Varad Pande,”Fighting the Misinformation Pandemic in the age of Covid-19″ READ
Now that you have considered these recommendations, read this scholarly study and ask yourself whether any of the preceding techniques will have a realistic chance of success:
21. Monday, October 19 Assuming others will do the work for us
What role should the leaders of global communications networks play in defending the Truth? In this section, we will reflect on both the policies of digital giants and their potential political and social implications
I. The heads of Google, Twitter, and Facebook have responded to the challenge of controlling digital content in provocatively different ways. Which approach would you choose?
Compare and contrast:
Daisuke Wakabayashi and Shane Goldmacher , “Google Policy Change Upends Online Plans for 2020 Campaigns” PRINT AND READ
Cecilia Kang and Mike Isaac, “Defiant Zuckerberg says Facebook won’t police free speech” PRINT AND READ
Kate Conger, “Twitter will ban all political ads, CEO Jack Dorsey says” PRINT AND READ
II. How comfortable should we feel about putting Truth-telling in the hands of global communications corporations? This is a good occasion to meditate on Fahrenheit 451:
Amnesty International Report, Surveillance Giants READ pp. 5-11 and skim the rest
Caitlin Dewey, Washington Post, August 19, 2016, “98 personal data points that Facebook uses to target ads to you” READ If politics is about power, this is a lot of power!
Could these data points be 98 good reasons for shutting down your Facebook account?
See this journal abstract confirming that computers can know you better than anyone else READ SUMMARY HERE
22. Wednesday, October 21 The Second Great Debate!
Topic: “Twitter definitely should have flagged Donald Trump’s tweet for glorifying violence
Please prepare for this debate by reading about Twitter’s actions HERE and reflecting on the issues we have covered in our preceding class. Also, look through the linked articles on the preceding sites for lots of evidence supporting both sides
Debate structure TBA
Your second essay assignment is HERE
23. Monday, October 26 John Dewey Revisited: Public Engagement as a solution
Could participatory democracy provide the solution to safeguarding the Truth? Is Truth-seeking from the ground up possible?
In this session, consider the unique croudsourced experiment in Truth-telling called Wikipedia. Also, please remind me to tell you what it’s like to be banned by Wikipedia.
What standards does the participatory encyclopedia, Wikipedia, employ to determine “what’s fit to print”? How are these standards upheld? Please choose the most controversial political issue you can think of (e.g., the Arab-Israel conflict) and attempt to determine whether Wikipedia’s respective site lives up to its pretensions “to provide a neutrally written summary of existing mainstream knowledge in a fair and accurate manner with a straightforward, “‘just-the-facts style.’” If your site meets these standards, see if you can find one that doesn’t.
Wikipedia’s Mission Statement READ AND PRINT
Alex Pasternack, “How Wikipedia’s volunteers became the web’s best weapon against misinformation” PRINT AND READ
Richard Cooke, “Wikipedia Is the Last Best Place on the Internet” PRINT AND READ
To pique your curiosity, see if you can figure out why certain Wikipedia sites ranked among the 5000 most accessed pages over the past week. The page is regularly updated. I was fascinated by both the topics and their rankings HERE