Critique Paper

Instruction: As your unit activity in this module, you will write a critique paper about debunking a

historical fact and give ways and tips on how to distinguish a fact to a fake information.

Over the centuries, the world became flooded with too much information. Every piece of

information, whether from the past or in the present, almost serve as a guide among individuals in their

daily lives not until it reached the point where people are no longer aware of the kinds of information

presented to them, whether if it's fake or not. Nowadays, seven out of ten individuals get blinded by

false information from an ideological perspective, due to inadequate media literacy and their lack of

critical thinking. This is one reason why people from across the world experience conflicts. In the present

times, we call fake information as fake news, and it has permeated almost all aspects of our lives. Fake

news is nothing new. Hence, without a shadow of a doubt, fake information has always been present

alongside history. It has become a barrier among individuals, particularly among historians, in achieving

transparency concerning historical research studies. For that reason, journalists and historians came up

with the idea of debunking, the most effective way that forces the recipients to think more deeply about

the published facts and thus elicits the untruthfulness of a primarily false information. However, the

process of debunking isn’t just a walk in the park. It can be so challenging. Just recently, some experts

held an experiment, which showed the resilience of certain false information to stay for an extended

period of time even after it’s correction based on how it was initially presented to the recipients and the

way it influence their opinions. Nevertheless, the phenomenon of debunking contributes significantly to

the clarity and transparency with regards to our historical inquiries. It does not only question the

sources of a particular information from the past, but also the intention of the author and its content.

Thus it promotes confidence among individuals specifically on how to work with information and orient

themselves correctly in such informal overload. Debunking is indeed important in the process of history.
 As mentioned above, fake news or fake information have spread throughout the world,

especially across the internet like wildfire. Let us be aware that fake news, misinformation and

disinformation can confuse, alarm and eventually shape public opinion. So let us not be fooled! There

are a lot of ways in which we can distinguish and separate a fact from fake information. However, in my

own opinion, we only need few of these ways or strategies that can be utilized as a guide for us to spot

fake information. One way is, primarily, to be critical. Let us be critical in all aspects, especially online

where fake information often begins. Once we’re already critical enough, then it’s the time for us now to

look for the author and question the sources of a particular information. So far, prior to what I have

learned from the module, these strategies are the fundamental basis in distinguishing, spotting and

eventually separating the real information from what is fake or unreliable.