After taking ASCJ 200 this semester and discussing topics that revolve entirely around current events and today’s latest news, I was curious to see how relevant the topic of fake news was within students across USC’s campus, regardless of major, age, or grade. After reading this article posted in The Guardian and looking at the stats available, I realized how influential fake news has become within our society. While we learn about fake news and hear about it constantly within the walls of Annenberg, I wanted to learn more about student’s opinions on the subject outside of just my school at USC.
While I’ve always believed the spread of fake news, or the term at least, began with the election of Donald Trump, I was never fully aware of how prominent it was throughout other news outlets published within the USA and other countries alike. Upon further research, as well as talking to my younger sister who’s currently in AP Literature, I realized the concept of “fake news” has been significant throughout publications dating back to the novel Candide which dates back to 1759.
My goal with creating this vox pop was to not only to find out more information about how fake news presents itself with the public but also to create an awareness among my peers about how it has been prevalent within their own lives and those around them. Fake news is a topic that many people view as controversial and while it is discussed thoroughly within the classroom, not many people tend to discuss with their friends or fellow students. In order to create this awareness, I created a set of questions that dove into the knowledge each student had surrounding the topic of fake news as well as how they perceived its presence within society. The questions are as follows:
- What platforms do you get most of your news from?
- How familiar are you with the concept “fake news”?
- How often do you really think you see “fake new” in your life?
- What topics are likely to be the focus of “fake news” that you’ve had experience with?
- How do you spot “fake news”/do you know how to spot it?
- How do you think “fake news” has caused divides between communities and people online and in everyday life?
- What do you think should be done about the “fake news” epidemic?
Throughout the interviews, I gathered that students were more aware of the concept of fake news than I had originally anticipated, however not many knew or cared enough to try to spot it. In order to conclude my interviews in a way I believed would be most beneficial to all participants, I offered to send them the link to the listed article as well as urged them to educate themselves on how to truly spot “fake news” as we learned to within this course.
To hear the completed interviews and findings, listen to my official vox pop below!
Taylor Talk 