Fake Hurricane Photos Spread Like Wildfire
Already,
dozens of images, purported to be of Hurricane Sandy descending on New York
City, have made their way onto the Internet. And because of Twitter and
retweeting the photos are quickly going viral.
The problem: most of them are fake.
And how do we know they are fake? Because they've been lifted from previous
news events or
movies.
This is not the first disaster to be the focus of digital image alterations and
misleading web postings, and it won't be the last.
The other problem is--media illiteracy is rampant. Our students will and do
believe everything they see without question. We have not done enough to provide
them with the necessary critical thinking/viewing skills they need to be healthy
skeptics.
The answer IS media education. If you don't know where to go to start educating
your students, contact me right away.
NOTE: Lots of great resources on my webpage:
Is Seeing Believing?
InstaSnopes: Sorting the Real Sandy Photos from the Fakes
How Many Fake Sandy Pix Were Shared Via Social Media?
Download
this list of media literacy critical thinking/viewing questions
Frank W. Baker