Discussion Reply: Reply to Each Peer

Reply#1

Hello,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the subject. I agree with your statement, “We are always surrounded by information, and understanding which sources we can trust isn’t always easy,” especially with the credibility of the news media. According to Moore and Parker (2017), the media are in the business to make a profit (p. 111). As a result, there is bias within the media. The media can show us what they want to portray, what message to convey, whether it is for a particular political group, or merely a type of entertainment for the audience to have. According to Moore and Parker (2017), “you can now find news that satisfies nearly any political bias” (p. 113). The authors also stated the majority of viewers accept political news that is propaganda (p. 109). So, watching the news, I always analyze the credibility of their claim.

References

Moore, B. N., & Parker, R. (2017). Critical thinking (12th ed.). New York, NY, USA: McGraw-Hill Education.

Reply #2

A claim is an opinion or judgment. When a claim is credible it provides sources to back up its credibility. For instance, a credible source would be someone who has experience and knowledge to prove that the claim is in fact true. A way to evaluate whether a claim is true is the sources provided to prove its credibility. For example, looking at a person’s credentials can provide an insight as to whether a person is qualified to provide judgments or answers to a claim (Savolainen, 2011). Whether a claim is credible is also for example why articles, for example, should be current that why they are valid. Outdated information at some point may have been credible but the information is constantly changing. Another way to evaluate whether a claim is credible is to look for certain criteria such as unbiased approaches, honesty, references to outside sources, evidence, and an unbiased approach (Savolainen, 2011).

References:

Savolainen, R. (2011). Judging the quality and credibility of information in internet discussion forums. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 62(7), 1243-1256. doi:10.1002/asi.21546

Moore, B., & Parker, R. (2016). Critical Thinking. NY: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.