Although fake news, alternative facts, and junk science are not a new phenomenon, how are they particularly dire today (what has changed)? ? Youve heard the clich, seeing is believing; in a post-truth era, how might it be more accurate to say believing is seeing? ? What role do electronic communications technologies (including social media, tracking/privacy practices, and/or search engines/algorithms) have in creating, exacerbating, and/or helping to solve the problems of fake news, alternative facts, and junk science? ? What are the connections and differences between creating and spreading fake news vs. declaring real news fake (what motivates these activities)? ? To what extent are you a rhetor (speaker/writer, as opposed to an audience member or listener/reader) when you repost/retweet something? ? How are you yourself, online and offline, implicated in the spreading of information (false and otherwise) and to what extent do you counter post-truth discourse/mentalities? ? What happens when we accept opinions as arguments, reactions as facts, myths as science ? What is the relationship between promoting alternative facts, junk science, and fake news and attacking mainstream media (who loses and who gains, in what ways)? ? What effect does the presence of fake news and accusations of real news being fake have on actual news? ? What effect does the presence of junk science and accusations of real science being junk have on actual science? ? What effect does the presence of alternative facts and accusations of real facts being alternative have on actual facts? ? What are the implications of being able to conceptualize so easily the lies of alternative facts (which are not facts), junk science (which is not science), and fake news (which is not news)
