Levin, K., 2020. The Remedy For The Spread Of Fake News? History Teachers. [online] Smithsonian Magazine. Available at: <https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/remedy-spread-fake-news-history-teachers-180961310/> [Accessed 6 December 2016].
Summary:
This article talks about how the internet can be potentially a good and bad source for people to learn about their history. This article quoted another article saying that they had their child had an assignment on the civil war. On the internet, he found a website that contained false information about how there were black Confederate soldiers. What some historians discovered is that the website was made by the sons of confederate veterans to try to help them distance their history from slavery. On the other hand, the internet can also be a great place for finding out about history. At the end of one paragraph, Levin talks about how with the internet he can introduce his students to lesser-known historical figures that people normally wouldn’t find in textbooks. Another reason that the internet can be a good place to learn about history is that people can do their own research for as long as you want. If you find yourself researching online, then double-check to see if the source they used is credible or not.
Reflection:
I agree with author Levin’s opinion on the subject. For people that don’t know how to do research on the internet properly, it can be very dangerous to them because false information can lead to unnecessary problems in the future. To go back on the example I used in the summary if enough people believed that there were black Confederate soldiers then there could be a lot more people that the confederacy did nothing wrong. This can lead to even more racist problems in America.
Quotablels: “‘It is not intended to pose an alternative truth,” writes author Neal Gabler, “as if there could be such a thing, but to destroy truth altogether, to set us adrift in a world of belief without facts, a world where there is no defense against lies.'”
I learned that internet can be a good tool to learn about anything historical . In addition , I also learned that it can lead to false information . What surprised me ? Let me tell you from experience , It is good to look at our internet platform to research but you have to do this carefully ! We can’t rely on everything we see . What I really did not comprehend was why wasn’t there any examples of what is reliable ! I think us as readers would love to know about that a bit more , For example in my public speaking assignment we talked about academic website such as JSTOR help 🙂