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ERIC Number: EJ1153347
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 9
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1094-9046
EISSN: N/A
Teach the Conspiracies
Hobbs, Renee
Knowledge Quest, v46 n1 p16-24 Sep-Oct 2017
It's indisputable: disinformation, hoaxes, propaganda, and hyper-partisanship are increasingly global phenomena. Educators, librarians, policymakers, and community leaders are wondering about the implications of the changing information landscape. Anyone can publish and promote anything, and increasing political polarization is being combined with feelings of powerlessness, disillusionment, apathy, and indifference to truth in a way that may compromise the future of our democracy. All over the world, the range of conspiracy theories and their visibility are increasing, say experts, in part because of the rise of digital and social media. Given how contagious conspiracy theories are, it would seem natural for school librarians and other educators to keep these potentially dangerous ideas far away from the minds of impressionable adolescents and young adults. But on the contrary, because of the increased prominence of conspiracy theories in our culture today, it's more important than ever to tackle the topic of conspiracy theories head on as an approach to building media and information-literacy competencies.
American Association of School Librarians. Available from: American Library Association. 50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611. Tel: 1-800-545-2433; Web site: http://knowledgequest.aasl.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A