{"id":15793,"date":"2018-10-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-10-15T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adra.sk\/kritickym_myslenim_proti_dezinformaciam\/"},"modified":"2018-10-15T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-10-15T00:00:00","slug":"kritickym_myslenim_proti_dezinformaciam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adra.sk\/en\/kritickym_myslenim_proti_dezinformaciam\/","title":{"rendered":"When critical thinking helps counter misinformation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you know that children and young people in the UK spend more hours a day in front of TV screens or tablet displays than they do sleeping? J\u00e1n Marko\u0161, a lecturer in critical thinking, shared this startling fact, as well as a number of other important statistics and necessary advice in the field of communication in virtual space, with the participants of the lecture on misinformation.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The impression that we are not disturbed while using a smartphone (and mobile communication through it) is wrong. And although this fact about invasion of privacy is presented as a warning by ICT experts and responsible media, we often ignore it. Critical Thinking Lecturer<\/a>, J\u00e1n Marko\u0161, who at the beginning of October led for members of CASD and ADRA Slovakia a lecture on misinformation on the Internet<\/strong> and the need for critical thinking, he mentioned this fact several times. To really realise that we are never alone when we are communicating on a mobile phone or a personal computer connected to the Internet.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

What data internet applications collect about us<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Whether we like it or not, all the information we search for and share with our friends is recorded. Creators versus receivers of news<\/strong> is always a very unequal fight. Few people read the various warnings that pop up when we open new web-page windows. Most of the time, without thinking long and hard and reading the whole notice, we click to agree (for example, to the terms and conditions for the processing of personal data or the use of so-called \u201ecookies\u201c). We do not want to be unnecessarily paranoid and trust that our actions will not be closely monitored and used to our disadvantage. But we are wrong.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2017, a female journalist was asked by employees of the company that runs the popular dating app Tinder, requested data<\/a>, that they have collected and preserved about her. This is his\/her right (as every citizen of the European Union) under data protection law. To her surprise, she received eight hundred pages from Tinder, densely packed with her sensitive information, secrets and intimacies, which she exchanged with potential partners in the context of \u201eonline\u201c dating and dating. Throughout the entire period that the journalist was active in this dating site, the app saved every single detail of the activity and communication.<\/p>\n

People can open up too easily in the apparent anonymity of the internet<\/strong> and to confide their sensitive data, desires or photographs - in order to find common ground and attract a kindred spirit. Dating apps exploit this phenomenon of easily passing on information about yourself because the data can't be felt. We think that everything we type about ourselves into the keyboard will eventually disappear somewhere, and that it's actually not that much at all. But when it appears in front of you in printed form, it scares you more easily. And maybe learn a lesson: more you guard your privacy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Influencing elections with fictional articles on the internet<\/strong><\/h3>\n

But there are other things going on in the virtual world, not just the collection of sensitive data about all of us. In the anonymous we are bolder in virtual space<\/strong>, we engage in various discussions (often leading to cyber-bullying) and express ourselves more offensively - because we think it's nothing serious, that it's not real, and that we can't hurt anyone online. Last but not least, facts and information on websites are increasingly being manipulated on the Internet, which then leads, for example, to influencing the conduct and results of elections.<\/p>\n

In 2016, a student from the small Macedonian town of Veles, marked by high unemployment and mass emigration, enriched himself by disseminated altered and false information<\/a>, that is, misinformation on the web and in Facebook groups that were dedicated to American politics. The post was shared eight hundred times and the boy made his first big money by clickbaiting. He dropped out of school, and the prospect of easy money (from clickbait and subsequent advertising) lured him to a way of manufacturing and spreading untruths<\/strong>. In this way, he most likely influenced the results of the election of the 45th President of the United States of America by editing and adjusting the data in dozens of articles published on right-wing American websites in his own way. As he later admitted, he did not care that he had written false fabrications and thus influenced the electoral thinking and actions of ordinary people who believed the information he manipulated (and then voted accordingly). He simply wanted to make money.<\/p>\n

Similar things are happening not only in the US but also in Europe. In the run-up to the elections<\/strong> similar, completely fabricated articles about specific candidates, containing catchy headlines - supposedly \u201eshocking revelations\u201c - with graphic photos, published on conspiracy websites and then circulated on social networks, will also catch up with us. Inadvertently or not, we all come across them, and not just because we spend eight, ten or more hours a day hanging out on the Internet.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Replace \u201eonline\u201c time with \u201eoffline\u201c activities<\/strong><\/h3>\n

How to defend yourself<\/strong> against such manipulation<\/strong> and tracking our activities on the Internet? During the lecture J\u00e1n Marko\u0161 mentioned several steps. We need to take the Internet seriously and approach it as a public space where we meet and communicate more and more. We also need to distinguish between fun and self-education<\/strong> and the search for real information and news in the opinion-forming media. You also need to set up your browser with sufficient privacy protection in the form of ad blocking and \u201etracking\u201c of network activity. One must be able to stand up for the dignity of every person and group of people - not to stand by and contribute to their lynching, whether it is a subculture, an ethnic minority, a discriminated group on the margins of society, but also investigative journalists or activists from the non-governmental sector. If you come across a report that is internally contradictory and blatantly berates a person or group, sure enough it is a conspiracy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In addition to these five steps, it is also important to remain master of your time<\/strong> - know how to manage and keep your time spent on \u201eonline\u201c activities within reasonable limits. It is also important, but increasingly difficult, to be able to limit this time online and instead devote it to other, more meaningful<\/strong> activities in the \u201eoff-line\u201c space<\/strong>. Reading books, hiking, running, swimming or practicing yoga are cultivated only by the most self-disciplined. Leisure (body and spirit-enhancing) activities, volunteering in the community and time spent talking with loved ones or family should not be an exception, but rather a regularity and a good habit.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most importantly, however to acknowledge your addiction to communication<\/strong> in a virtual environment. Connecting to the Internet via data and ubiquitous \u201ewi-fi\u201c tempts us to check the status of our accounts on the network almost continuously and to handle emails or (often irrelevant) messages almost instantly. We spend our time on the Internet seeking entertainment, not knowledge. Instead of sports activities or face-to-face communication, we resort to playing computer games, watching videos of \u201einfluencers\u201c on the Internet and chatting with friends (and strangers) on social networks.<\/p>\n

We are overwhelmed with information<\/strong>, that we don't have time to sort. We give out tens or hundreds of likes every day under the photos of our so-called friends and we need to document our lives regularly on Instagram or Facebook. But realistically, we forget to live and experience it. We can't take a step without our mobile phones, we can't travel anywhere. At school, we don't pay attention to the lecture - we'd rather watch the teacher on the mobile screen than live in front of the blackboard...<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Avoid unverified information and lies
\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Preparing for the so-called rehab from \u201eonline\u201c life<\/strong> may sound like too strong or exaggerated a phrase, but the participants of Marko\u0161a's lecture gave him the truth. We need to build in ourselves the ability to bear the complexity of the world (to bear the knowledge that we do not know everything) and the ability to doubt in a healthy way; we also need to be able to question, argue and find answers in a decent discussion. The lecturer stressed that in critical thinking it is important to: use mathematics (numbers, data, statistics) and concepts, not impressions; to check the sources of rapidly emerging information and to follow only a few meaningful newspapers; to be able to link contexts.<\/p>\n

J\u00e1n Marko\u0161 encouraged those present to they did not believe the false reports<\/strong> and lies, although these are easier, quicker and cheaper to produce (tailored to specific target audiences), and are also better disseminated through networks. He advised them to create from critical thinking habit<\/strong>. This is the only way to avoid the obedient acceptance of half-truths to complete untruths and the further dissemination of unverified information, alarmist fake news, disinformation. Marko\u0161 lectures on critical thinking as a way of life in his courses for PDCS. Maybe this is the right way - how not to stray from the (virtual) path and not to be tempted by unethical shortcuts in the form of alarmist \u201ehoaxes\u201c and fabricated \u201efake-news\u201c on the Internet.<\/p>\n

The event was organized by the Director of ADRA Slovakia, Daniel Kaba, together with his colleagues, to strengthen capacities in the field of media education, ICT literacy and defending against the spread of lies, myths and misconceptions. Because these are the ones that spread rapidly on the internet and have a negative impact on the general public. In the future, we will undoubtedly return to or focus on planning lectures on similar topics, as raising public awareness in this area is not a short and one-off activity.<\/p>\n

Authors of the article Veronika Leitmanov\u00e1 and Boba M. Baluchov\u00e1, Photo: CASD and ADRA team<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vedeli ste, \u017ee deti a ml\u00e1de\u017e vo Ve\u013ekej Brit\u00e1nii str\u00e1via viac hod\u00edn denne pred telev\u00edznymi obrazovkami alebo pred displejmi tabletov, ako sp\u00e1nkom? O\u00a0tento zar\u00e1\u017eaj\u00faci fakt, ako aj o mno\u017estvo \u010fal\u0161\u00edch d\u00f4le\u017eit\u00fdch \u0161tatist\u00edk i\u00a0potrebn\u00fdch r\u00e1d z\u00a0oblasti komunik\u00e1cie vo virtu\u00e1lnom priestore, sa s\u00a0\u00fa\u010dastn\u00edkmi a\u00a0\u00fa\u010dastn\u00ed\u010dkami predn\u00e1\u0161ky o\u00a0dezinform\u00e1ci\u00e1ch podelil lektor kritick\u00e9ho myslenia J\u00e1n Marko\u0161. Dojem, \u017ee sme po\u010das pou\u017e\u00edvania […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":15794,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[292,293,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-novinky","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adra.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adra.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adra.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adra.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adra.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.adra.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adra.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adra.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adra.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adra.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}