Starting Out

This week we are introducing project blogs. My class and I have been asked to create a group project following a social issue of our choice, and to document our journey through this process. For this project, I am working with Aiden Kelly, Rhys Mc Carthy, and Roibeard Mac Cumascaigh from my group 3 Introduction to Digital Media class. 

We have been asked to cover the topic of misinformation and disinformation in the media. I personally think that this is a very interesting topic seeing as it's one of those subjects that is commonly discussed yet rarely understood. 

This subject goes into dept on the misleading, confusing and false information in the media that we had to face for decades now, even before the internet was introduced to the world. It talks about the differences between misinformation vs disinformation, the different ways and methods used by the media and government to convince the minds of its passive audience and it also discusses the dangers this can lead to.

There are many different aspects and areas surrounding this topic to talk about, seeing as the subject is very broad. So my group and I decided to split the topic up and do individual research on different subjects within this issue. We took it into turns to write down what needed to be discussed and what we thought would be suitable to present to the rest of the class and then choose one or two topics each to research on our own. 

I decided on the matter of the differences between misinformation and disinformation and also how the government (particularly the nazis, Russians and China) was able to use propaganda to influence the way people think and act. 

Now, it was time to do some more research. This time consisted of watching youtube videos to grasp some understanding following this subject. During this time I came across this book Animal Farm that I recalled studying back in secondary school. 

The book Animal Farm is a book I would recommend when learning about disinformation. It uses animals to expose the dangers of oppressive leaders who use propaganda to take advantage and control the lives of their passive citizens. Throughout this book, the different signs and symbols show us the class struggles, inequality, and corruption that still affect us today. Going back and revising this novel helped me understand this topic better a lot better.

References:

(Shout Out UK, 2020, How to understand misinformation,How to understand Misinformation, Disinformation and Malinformation)

(Noah Tavilin, 2015, TED - Ed, How false news spread,How to understand Misinformation, Disinformation and Malinformation)

(The Infographics show, 2021, How hitler build his properganda Machine,How Hitler Built His Propaganda Machine)

(George Owell, 1945, Animal Farm, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Farm)