How to use critical thinking in the information flow

According to a 2019 Statista survey, 10% of users knew they were sharing fake news, 49% of those surveyed learned about it later. We tell you how not to fall for fake news and pump critical thinking

Critical thinking is the ability to question incoming information and one’s beliefs. The skill helps to think clearly and rationally, look for a logical connection between facts and formulate strong arguments. The basis of critical thinking is the ability to reason.

To become a critical thinker, one must be an active researcher, not a passive receiver of information.

A person with undeveloped critical thinking. Makes decisions quickly, without thinking, relying on feelings and intuition. Skimming through information. Doesn’t ponder over arguments or look for evidence.

A person with developed critical thinking. Thinks about his reaction before making a decision. He doubts incoming information and his beliefs until he finds evidence.

Critical thinking has been taught in American and European schools since the 1930s. According to According to the results of the Cambridge Assessment study, from 2001 to 2009, the number of British schools with courses in critical thinking increased from 130 to 1000. At the same time, student achievement increased. A study by The Foundation for Critical Thinking shows that critical thinking increases the intensity and effectiveness of learning.

Critical thinking has been discussed since ancient Greece. Plato and Socrates questioned established facts and asked questions in search of truth. In the modern world, the skill becomes even more relevant. Critical thinking helps you analyze information, avoid fake news, and make better decisions.

The modern information flow is a constant feed of messages, which mixes news, advertising, useful content, and propaganda. If you believe everything that is written and said, you can be deceived in order to manipulate or impose someone else’s opinion.

Journalists from the Canadian newspaper The Toronto Star in 2018 checked 1,3 million statements made by Donald Trump during his presidency. The newspaper staff found 1972 false statements and 68928 untruthful words. In 2017, Donald Trump made nearly three false claims a day. Such claims help Trump win the popular vote, but their choice will be unconscious and unfounded. If something does not suit the voters, the consequences of the choice will have to be dealt with by ourselves.

The Density of Donald Trump’s False Claims in 2017 (Photo: TORONTO STAR GRAPHIC)

The Density of Donald Trump’s False Claims in 2017 (Photo: TORONTO STAR GRAPHIC)

False media reports can negatively affect finances, profession or personal life. For example, an anonymous news source reports that the stock of a certain company will rise soon. If the news turns out to be unreliable, and you buy shares, you will lose money. All information may not be true. You need to learn to recognize lies, to separate facts and opinions.

According to the theory of information scarcity, a large flow of information increases the gap between different strata of society. Educated people know where to look for the information they need, learn faster, and know how to filter fakes and propaganda. Less educated people are lost in the information flow. They cannot find and identify useful information, and their opinion can be manipulated. Development is slowing down.

It turns out that only a small part of society has the correct important information. For example, people move away from scientific discoveries because they are difficult to understand. Because of this, they can be confused about automation or global warming, not prepare for change and lose their jobs. The opinions of such people can be formed by journalists, corporations or the state.

Learning critical thinking is not easy. It’s like learning a foreign language – at first everything seems complicated and incomprehensible, but when you understand the logic, it becomes easier. Start thinking about the things you usually trust. For example, if you’re browsing recommendations on social media, think about why you’re being shown the exact content, in that particular order. Question the abstracts and arguments of this article, check references to studies or the competence of experts.

Practice the skill on specific cases, for example, news. For this, the “5W + H”, AMVAIN, lexical analysis and services for determining authenticity are suitable.

“5W + H” is a system of questions that you can ask to incoming information. W and H stand for the first letters of special questions in English:

• What? — what happened?

• Why? – why did this happen?

• Who? – who reported it?

• Where? – where did it happen?

• When? – when did it happen?

• how? — how did it happen?

To check the authenticity of the news, try to find the answers to these six questions. If they suit you, most likely, the journalist is honest, and the information is true.

The journalist is obliged to refer to the source of information in the news. The IMVAIN method is a property that a trusted source must have. The method is named after the first letters of these properties:

• Independent – independent? Who is the source of information? How does the source benefit from the dissemination of the news? If yes, what will they get and why?
• Multiple – multiple? Are there other sources that say the same? Are there sources that refute this news? If there is only one source, why? If there are several sources, how connected are they and why?
• Verify – verified? Did the sources provide evidence of their words or refuted the claims before?
• Authoritative – authoritative? Why can the source be trusted? How does he know what he is talking about? If you were not there in person, where did you get the information from?
• Named – named? How is the source signed? Can you find it on the Internet? Has he appeared before? If you can’t find it, how will that affect the credibility of the outlet that broke the news?

IMVAIN questions should be asked only to the source, not to the news as a whole. If you answered all the questions and they suit you, then the source can be trusted. If you cannot answer two or more questions, do not trust this information.

Lexical analysis is a scientific method for checking text. The analysis helps to reveal the manipulation of the author with data and facts. To conduct a complete analysis, you need to delve into the methodology, but to check the news, it is enough to know a few signs of a text that you need to think about.

Euphemisms. Neutral in meaning words that replace something unpleasant or inappropriate. Euphemisms make it difficult to accurately understand the message. For example, instead of the word “bombing” the phrase “close air support” is used.

Expert introduction. Experts confirm or refute facts, help to understand a topic that the reader does not understand. The problem is that the regalia of an expert may not reflect his competence. For example, a historian will speak about the Gorbachev period, but his specialty will be our pre-revolutionary country.

Synonyms. Words that are close in meaning can change the perception of the message and the logic of the reader’s thinking. For example, if instead of a rally they write a procession or an uncoordinated action.

Appraisal vocabulary. The task of a journalist is to show the most objective picture of what is happening without assessments, opinions and judgments. If you meet an assessment in the news, then it is subjective.

Stylistically reduced vocabulary. The news may use swearing or insults. Such news is unprofessional, which means it can be false.

User opinions. Readers’ comments are used as part of the news, presenting them as the news itself. Thus, the journalist takes no responsibility for the words or vocabulary of readers, but conveys the meaning of their messages. For example, in the news about the fall of the ruble, the journalist will insert negative comments. The reader will form an opinion.

If you meet these signs in the text, then you need to stop and think. Ask yourself questions and try to answer them critically.

Special programs and services help to determine the authenticity of a photo or account. Here is some of them:

1. Detecting Fake News is a machine learning program for finding fake news. To install it, see the instructions.

2. Botometer is an Indiana University service that determines the authenticity of Twitter accounts. Botometer checks the user’s account, friends or subscribers and gives it from one – a real user, up to five points – a bot.

3. Politicfact – the site checks the statements of politicians and bloggers for veracity. The site is managed by a team of editors and journalists from the Institute for Media Research. Pointer.

4. Assembler – the service helps to distinguish real images from fake ones and shows traces of editing.

5. Tineye – finds similar images even if they are processed or upside down.

Like other skills, to develop critical thinking, you need to delve into theory and practice skills in practice. Head of the School of Critical Thinking and co-author of the book Critical Thinking, Nikita Nepryakhin developed the GLOBUS system. Nikita suggests constantly testing yourself for compliance with six requirements for thinking:

• flexible thinking;

• logical presentation;

• reasoned judgments;

• impartial approach;

• ordered thoughts;

• independent thinking.

Elena Plekhova believes that if information verification skills are poorly developed, but there is a habit of trusting suspicious sites, there may not be any difficulties in developing the skill. A person simply will not understand that his critical thinking is poorly developed, so you should first think about how critically you approach working with information.

However, critical thinking is not a panacea. Difficulties can arise even for a person with a developed skill. For example, if there is not enough information, it is hidden or there are no scientifically confirmed facts, studies. Critical thinking won’t help if you don’t know what to doubt.

“When working with information, crawl through the text on your stomach – read carefully, listen carefully, look for logical inconsistencies, learn to recognize manipulations,” says Elena. Stay focused and practice critical thinking. Reading the headlines to “be in the know” is not an option if you want to really understand what’s going on.