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Unit 5: Essay: Unit 5: Essay

Unit 5: Essay
Unit 5: Essay
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“Unit 5: Essay”

Essay

The Construction of Truth/Fake News

This critical essay is a chance to prove your comprehension of the concepts throughout Construction of Truth, and to analyze a component of news relating to recent media events using media literacy best practices.

Length and format: 3-4 pages, single space, Times New Roman.

PREPARATION

        Part 1: Evaluate News Information

  1. Read Anna Clark, “Millions of People Depend on the Great Lakes’ Water Supply. Trump Decimated the Lab Protecting It.” ProPublica, May 6, 2025, https://www.propublica.org/article/noaa-michigan-lab-toxic-algae-blooms-great-lakes-drinking-water.
  2. Read Audrey Streb, “White House To Scrap Federal Climate Research Office As Part Of ‘Woke Ideology’ Cleanse,” Daily Caller, April 11, 2025, https://dailycaller.com/2025/04/11/white-house-scrap-another-federal-climate-research-office/#google_vignette.
  3. Analyze the two articles according to the “Is It Real News?” checklist.

WRITING

Basing your response on the two articles above, answer these three questions in a single, comprehensive, 3-4 page (single space) essay. Do not feel compelled to answer the questions in the order presented below–in fact, it will show sophistication in your thinking to NOT follow this exact order:

  1. What is the role of journalism in a democracy? In answering this question, touch upon the following topics:
  • How journalists construct the truth according to five of the elements of journalism. (Module 3, Unit 1)
  • How journalists operating under a Social Responsibility model of expression differ from a State or Authoritarian model of expression. (Unit 1)
  • How U.S.  journalism works as the Fourth Estate to hold political figures accountable. (Unit 1)
  • Compare the codes of ethics/journalistic and ethical standards for each media organization: ProPublica and Daily Caller. How comprehensive are they, and does that make a difference in the resulting quality of journalism? Does the article appear to follow the organization’s ethical standards?

  1. How is our democracy being compromised by an increasingly volatile climate of fake news? In answering this question, touch upon the following topics:
  • The sources of fake news: satirists, hoaxers & huxters, opinion entrepreneurs, propagandists, and information anarchists. (Unit 2)
  • Social media sites like Facebook, X, and Reddit, and the thousands of Internet sites that present content as real news, and how these sites have complicated the media environment with unchecked disinformation. (Units 2 and 3)
  • The advent of AI in the information environment. (Unit 2)
  • The rise of a well-financed conservative media movement that competes with traditional journalism practices. (Unit 3)
  1. What would you tell someone what they need to know to respond to the proliferation of fake news?

GRADING RUBRIC

Comparison of two articles 40%

The Social responsibility model of expression (as it differs from State or Authoritarian) 5%

The Fourth Estate 5%

5 elements of journalism 5%

Comparison of ethics and standards of reliable news 5%

The five types of fake news 5%

An analysis of our complicated media environment  20%

How to respond to the proliferation of fake news 5%

Grammar and spelling 10%

Units
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