Keeping up as a Global Citizen
As our world becomes more connected than ever, it is important to stay informed on the events happening near us as well as the issues going on around the globe. With so much information available to us at our fingertips, we have the power to understand the daily struggles of people living thousands of miles away from us, and we can learn to appreciate the diverse perspectives that are presented to us.
However, the internet has also opened up the door to misinformation. This article will talk about some of the best ways we can stay informed, and how to fact-check the information we receive. These skills will help us become better citizens not just in our own country, but also on the world stage.
There are a few steps you can take to become an engaged and well-informed global citizen. These steps include keeping up with the news, exploring ideas outside of your filter bubble, and fact-checking the information we receive. Let’s dive into details about how to accomplish each of those three steps.
1. Keep up with international, national, and local news.
There are many ways to keep up with the news, but finding an unbiased and reliable one can be difficult. Here are some ways to discover the latest events:
Watching or reading traditional news sources - these are generally unbiased sources you can watch or read regularly; however, it is not a complete list:
British Broadcasting Corporation(BBC), National Public Radio(NPR), The New Yorker, New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Associated Press, or The Washington Post.
Listening to Podcasts - podcasts have gained popularity over the last few years and news podcasts have become a part of many people’s daily commute. Most news podcasts summarize the most important events of the day into ~20min segments, which makes it easy for us to stay informed while running errands or getting ready in the morning.
A few examples of news podcasts include New York Time’s The Daily, NPR Up First, Vox Today, Explained, PBS NewsHour, and The Takeaway.
Subscribing to local newspapers - Although the local paper has become less popular over time, they’re still the most trusted news source when it comes to in-depth reporting of local events. You can also subscribe to the online version so you can read the news from the internet.
Subscribe to newsletters - There are many places where you can subscribe to a daily newsletter. Oftentimes, they are emailed to you in the form of a “morning briefing”, where you are presented with a short summary or bullet points of the most important events of the day.
Use News Aggregator - oftentimes, the amount of information we see every day can become quite overwhelming. News aggregators help bring together the news that’s scattered around the internet and present them to users in one location.
Here are some good news aggregators: Feedly, News360, Flipboard, Pocket, and Google News.
People have created popular media bias charts like the one below to help show the level of bias a specific source has. You can use this chart as a guide to help you search for news sources. However, keep in mind that even mainstream sources that are perceived as unbiased can sometimes contain biased information, so be sure to keep reading so you can learn how to fact-check for yourself!
Media Bias chart by Vanessa Otero
These days, many young adults rely on social media for information about current events. However, social media is not the best place to go to when seeking out real and trusted news. A new report from Pew Research has found that Americans who get their news from social media tend to be less informed and more prone to conspiracy theories.
The study was done between October 2019 and June 2020, during this study, respondents were asked nine different fact-based questions related to political news. Only 17% of the people who use social media as their primary news source scored “high political knowledge” which means they answered at least 8 out of the 9 questions right. The graph below shows that people who use news websites or apps as their primary news source scored the highest in political knowledge, while those who use social media as their primary source scored second lowest.
2. Explore ideas/thoughts that are outside of your filter bubble.
Your filter bubble refers to the unique realm of information that’s presented to you based on algorithms that can guess and determine what you like to see. These algorithms limit the information you see and can eventually create a confirmation bias, where we start to search and interpret information in ways that support what we already believe.
Confirmation bias from verywellmind.com
There are many things you can actively do to avoid being stuck inside a filter bubble.
When researching an issue or topic, actively look for different points of view.
For example, if you’re trying to understand the argument surrounding increased minimum wage, don’t just google “why should the government increase the minimum wage”. Doing so will give you an incomplete perspective of the issue. Instead, search up both the pros and cons of increasing minimum wage, and learn about how it affects our economy. After gathering all necessary information, make sure to think critically through each and every argument, and come up with your own understanding of the issue.
Learn how to unlearn certain things that no longer serve you or others around you.
Growing up, you might have been taught things that no longer align with your values. You are allowed to change your mind and give up false assumptions, no matter how long you’ve believed in them. The ability to change and unlearn certain narratives or biases is fundamental to our growth as well as our goal to become well-informed citizens.
Have conversations with friends, family, and people you might disagree with.
As we’re all somewhat caught up in our personal filter bubbles, it is important to engage with people close to us, even if their beliefs strongly oppose our own. Having these conversations will help you understand where other people are coming from, and realize that what sets us apart might not be as extreme as we thought them to be.
Don’t talk to people to disagree, instead, talk to people to learn more about the world.
When having those conversations with people who disagree with you, make sure to keep an open mind. Do not go into the conversation with the goal of persuading them to side with you. Instead, sit down and listen, and try your best to emphasize with their stories. There’s something we can learn from anyone, no matter their beliefs.
Explore some good sources of information:
TED: Ted talks offer many brilliant videos that can show you ideas you might not have thought of before
Perspecs: offers you stories from three different perspectives.
Google Scholars: you can find some great academic articles here
Books: visit our community library to find some great books that are recommended by your fellow menti users!
3. Fact-checking and evaluating information online
So much of the stories we read online are not 100% factual, this means we’ve got to level up our fact-checking skills. Before we dive into the tools we can use to fact check, let’s first understand what misinformation and disinformation are, as well as the difference between the two.
Misinformation is “false information that is spread, regardless of if there’s an intention to mislead”. All of us have probably at some point spread misinformation without realizing. It can happen like the game of telephone, where you hear something from a friend but miss a small detail when telling it to someone else.
Disinformation is “deliberately misleading or biased information; manipulated narrative or facts; propaganda.” In other words, disinformation is knowingly spreading misinformation.
Resources you can use to fact check
Guidelines or methods for fact-checking
There are many methods you can use to determine the reliability of the information given. One of the popular ones is called the CRAAP test, which you can use to evaluate content. CRAAP stands for Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose. Here is a guide you can use to check off each criterion.
There’s a guideline created by Columbia University that you can also use to evaluate information.
Some of the most important questions to ask are:
What is the purpose of this site?
Who created the information at this site, and what is this person’s background and level of expertise?
When was the information at this site updated?
Where can I go to check the accuracy of this information?
Why did this person or group put this information on the internet?
Does the website present only one side of the issue, or are multiple perspectives provided?
How are information and/or images at this site shaped by the author’s stance?
Is there anyone who might be offended or hurt by the information at this site?
How can I connect these ideas to my own questions and interpretations?
reach out to people who have expertise on the topic
If you see something on the internet and you’re not sure about, feel free to reach out to teachers or people in specific fields that can give you a better understanding of the issue. If you don’t know where to start looking, check out our career explorations page! We have people from different fields who might be able to help you!
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