Activity

Bad Press, Bad Chart

Although terms like “fake news” and “alternative facts” are now commonplace, it is not as if the recognition of these terms has resulted in substantially less bullshit in the popular press media. To be sure, however, not all problematic products of journalism or company PR (e.g., stories, charts, infographics, tweets, etc.) are intentionally deceptive – sometimes it’s simply a lack of competence. This activity requires you to find 3-5 examples of “bad press.”

For each of your 3-5 examples, include a link to the story or an image-capture of the chosen chart, tweet, and so forth. Also, answer the questions below for each example.

How did you come across the example? Was it pushed to you, shared with you, etc.?

What makes the example bullshit?

Does the example exemplify any specific concepts from the class ppt?