Critical Digital Literacy Education Guide

7 activity 7: MEDIA BIAS IN THE PAST— PRIMARY SOURCE ANALYSIS Conduct a primary source analysis. Consider the role the media play in broadcasting misinformation and disinformation and the ways this reinforces discrimination. Media have the power to both reflect and shape public opinion. This means that the messages and imagery in news media have the power to influence people in both positive and negative ways. 1. Choose one of the following examples of discriminatory immigration policy in Canada’s history, and read the corresponding article on The Canadian Encyclopedia . Take notes or complete a 5Ws chart: • Chinese Head Tax • Komagata Maru • Black Oklahomans (Order-in-Council P.C. 1911-1324) 2. Next, working in pairs with the Media Analysis Worksheet , review other news coverage and imagery from the time. 3. In your pair, complete the worksheet. 4. Join another pair and share your findings. activity 8: DETECTING MEDIA BIAS — ANALYZING HEADLINES Build skills to analyze bias in news headlines. Media coverage plays a critical role in shaping and informing public opinion. Reliable news sources provide well-researched context and analysis on current events. But even the most dependable sources are prone to bias. Bias in media can appear in many ways: by omission, by emphasis, by repetition, in language, in photos, in statistics, and in headlines. Bias, in some capacity, is unavoidable. Every piece of news that is published carries with it the point of view of its creators. While we cannot find a news source devoid of bias, we can remain alert to how it influences coverage. Digital media consumers often do not read beyond the headlines. Headlines are designed to capture your attention, prompting you to read and (hopefully) share content. Today, some platforms create attention-grabbing “clickbait” headlines that do not represent the content of the article or the truth. Clicking on these headlines generates advertising revenue for the site. This financially motivated disinformation has the potential to confuse the public on important issues. Headlines have the power to shape public opinion, even if few read beyond the catchy text. 1. Work with your teacher to identify a current issue in the news for analysis and do some background reading on the issue. 2. Working in pairs or small groups, conduct research online to identify five to ten news articles on the assigned topic. Be sure to select a variety of sources that represent different points of view. 3. Use the Analyzing Headlines Worksheet to create a list of the headlines and the sources you consulted. 4. Use the worksheet to explore the headlines further. For each headline, answer the following questions: Is the headline a statement of fact or opinion? What type of language does the headline use? Does the language of the headline suggest any bias on the subject? 5. Have a class discussion about media bias and the importance of reading beyond headlines. What are the benefits of reading an entire article and not just the headline? Why is it sometimes harmful to read only the headline of a story? How might reading only the headlines of stories contribute to the spread of disinformation or misinformation? Extension 1: Explore examples of media bias around the issue of immigration in Canada today using the same framework as above. How has the language used to describe immigrants or immigration changed or stayed the same? Extension 2: Watch “ The Last Best West ” video and read the Order-in-Council P.C. 1911-1324 entry on The Canadian Encyclopedia . Make notes on key points. Write a report or participate in a class discussion answering the following question: What is the historical significance of Order-in-Council P.C. 1911-1324? Use the Historical Significance Criteria listed below to guide your assessment. Historical Significance Criteria: For more information on the Historical Thinking Concepts, visit historicalthinking.ca . Prominence: Was the person or event recognized as significant at the time? Consequences: What effect(s) did the person or event cause? Impact: How widespread was the person or event’s impact? How long-lasting were the effects? Revealing: What does the person or event reveal about the larger historical context or current issues? Does it improve our understanding of a historical issue or period? Immigrants aboard the Komagata Maru, 1914 (Courtesy Library and Archives Canada/PA-034015) . Order-in-Council P.C. 1911-1324 (Courtesy Library and Archives Canada/301313). Immigration officials draft a document (Still from “The Last Best West,” Historica Canada, 2019). Stack of newspapers (Photo Kozyr/ Shutterstock.com/790644301). Busy train station in China (Still from “The SARS Outbreak,” Historica Canada, 2019).