Question

Suppose you get the following passage from a member of some chat group you subscribe: Recent vaccine testing results published in January 2017 revealed that ALL of them are contaminated with heavy metals not declared on the ingredients list or in the product leaflets. In another round of vaccine testing conducted in Germany, the vaccines were found to be contaminated with the following: ALL vaccines tested contained mercury in small amounts (even the ones that were supposedly "mercury free"). Half the vaccines contained toxic, carcinogenic nickel in small amounts. Slightly over 1/3 of the tested vaccines contained small amounts of arsenic. Over 90% of the tested vaccines contained uranium (yes, the stuff used to make nuclear bombs). ALL tested vaccines contain minor traces of aluminum, even if not labeled. Gardasil, Gardasil 9 and Synflorix contain TWICE as much aluminum as indicated. The aluminum content in the so-called attenuated vaccines is around 1000-6000X times above the safe limits for drinking water! And these vaccines are supposedly "safer"? By the way, aluminum adjuvants commonly used in vaccines have been identified by immunologists as a trigger for later development of food allergies in children 1. 2. 3. 5. 6. Can you imagine injecting this cocktail of poison directly into your child's tissues? Anyone who thinks that these contaminants even in small amounts are safe especially for a growing child is just plain out of his/her mind. At least if you ate these ingredients, your body would have a chance to detoxify and eliminate them before any permanent damage could be done. But, to inject them deep into the body 's tissues where the toxins are absorbed directly into the blood is the most damaging and lethal approach imaginable 1. Explain your first reaction after reading the passage. 2. Write 4 criteria to tell whether some news are true or false. ach of your criteria to make a judgment whether the above passage convey true Apply e information or just a hoax Why some people believe in unbelievable ne 4.

Answer 1

1.

It presents a horrific picture about the vaccination. Presence of poisonous and carcinogenic elements in something which is meant to protect a baby from ailments is something which needs fact-checking and mind boggling. It says that a results were obtained in a recent study but the same being published in the year 2017 seems suspicious. Most vaccines are certified by credible medical associations and this claiming that these vaccines contain elements which are not mentioned in the product leaflets seems impossible. After reading the passage, it immediately forces me to do a fact check about this study and research about the claims being done here.

2.

The four criteria which can be used to evaluate if a news is true or not are as follows:

a) Publisher credibility: If the news has a source link attached, then one can vet the credibility of the news. Just because a news site is popular does not imply it's content is accurate. A credible publishing website will adhere to academic citation standards, it will have a well known top level domain, and the author would have a background related to the subject of the news.

b) Quality and Timeliness: Reputable sources have high proofreading, grammatical standards and have recent context. Use of dramatic terms, bad punctuation and spelling errors signal to a false news.

c) Source and citation: If there is dearth of quotes and contributing sources, particularly on a complex issue, then it definitely signals a lack of fact-based news. Credible journalism is fed by fact-gathering. Valid news can be reported by numerous publishers and it is not the case it is just available on a single publishing site. One can check the cited sources and images if present, and perform reverse searches and confirm if the information is accurately applied and it is not altered just to meet the author's point of view.

d) Fact-check Validation: There are numerous fact-check websites available to validate if the news is true or not. One can also try searching other known credible resources and find out if the news is true or not.

3.

1. The passage does not contain any link to the source website due to which we can not ascertain the credibility of the original publisher of this passage. This signals that it is not a true news

2. The passage does not seems to be proofread and is also referring a very old testing research held in the year 2017. All caps words such as 'ALL' and 'TWICE' does not give a sign of adherence of grammatical standards. Usage of terms like 'bomb' and 'cocktail' do not signal to a true news.

3. The actual organization which conducted and funded this research/testing has also not been mentioned which could have been further validated which means it is high chance this is mere a hoax.

4. Doing a fact-check about this piece and unavailability of such reporting by credible publishers provides a cogent proof that this is a false news.

4.

Some people do not try to comprehend the news posed before them and do not try to reason the logicality of the opinion shared. Some false news plays around the emotions and forces the reader to impulsively believe that. Some false news might corroborate the individual hopes, dreams and aspirations resulting them to believe them. Belief in alternative medicine and quick cures may simply be desperation. When told something that no scientific medical treatment can accomplish, the desperate person may seek out anything that gives them the glimmer of hope. Even the perfectly rational and intelligent ones can be susceptible to false news. Most people are not familiar with the standards of critical thinking and objective evidence, and so they tend to be ruled by emotion. There is even societal pressure to the effect that your gut reaction is more likely to be correct than a rational examination of a question.