‘Let the reader beware’
An opinion piece by Chang Yueh-han (張約翰) (“Clickbait news abounds on holidays,” Feb 12, page 8) highlights a hazard that, as I have been warning my students as a university communication professor for years, has become a year-round challenge.
Misinformation or disinformation is something that we, as consumers of print and broadcast “news,” must be constantly on alert against.
With the proliferation of all-too-often undermonitored social media platforms, as well as more broadcast and print outlets that have no qualms about “bending” the news to tempt and attract more readers/viewers/listeners, it has become the sole responsibility of the consumer to verify that what they are being told is the truth.
As I caution my students time and again, “check and double-check” your information.
“Don’t rely on a single source. Equally important, do not pass on that information to others until you have done your due diligence as a communicator yourself.” Caveat lector.
Kirk Hazlett,
Adjunct professor, University of Tampa,
Tampa, Florida
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