Lesson 5.

1 
Global Media – A World of Ideas 
Disinformation and the Internet 
 
Do NOT research these headlines before the class! 
The following have all been headlines in Newspapers or in Online News Sites, which are fake? 
1. Lottery Winner arrested for dumping $2,000 of manure on ex-boss’s garden - FALSE
2. Two altar boys arrested for putting marijuana in censes-burner in church - FALSE
3. World’s first hotdog ATM opens in Malaysia - FALSE
4. Wombat grounds flight in Sydney - FALSE
5. North Korean cats rounded up and sent south - FALSE
6. Cebu-based parish priest impregnates daughters of his associate pastor - FALSE
7. Queen Elizabeth said, “Who would have thought that one day Philippines would get a
brave man like Duterte.”  - FALSE
8. Weatherman trapped by avalanche mid-report - FALSE
9. Pope Francis endorses Donald Trump for President - FALSE
10. Scientists create a plant that cannot die - FALSE
 
Video 1: What is Media Culture? 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KziW-hKozyE 
 
Questions: What is Media Culture? 
What does Media Culture refer to? 
- Refers to the current Western capitalist society that emerged and developed from the
20th century
What three things does mass media influence? 

- TV, the press, radio and cinema

What does it mean that the media is “dumbing down” culture? 

- newspapers that once ran foreign news now feature celebrity gossip pictures of scantily
dressed young ladies
What has been happening since the end of the Second World War? 

- led to the concentration of mass-culture power in ever larger global media

conglomerates
What did the popular press replace news/information with? 

- replaced it with entertainment or to dilation that reinforces fears prejudice scapegoating

processes paranoia and aggression

What are movies now seen as emphasizing? 

- shock value and superficial thrill and the use of special effect with themes that focus on
the basic instincts of aggression, revenge, violence, and greed
 
Reading 1: Addressing the Global Media Effect 
https://link.las.iastate.edu/2017/08/28/addressing-the-global-media-effect/ 
 
Questions: Addressing the Global Media Effect 
Before he began his research what did Douglas Gentile believe about video game
addiction? 
- he was skeptical of the claim that children were suffering from true videogame addiction
-a negative effect of media.
What are the traditional signs of addiction? 
- damaging their social, familial, psychological, emotional and academic functioning
What was the result of his collaboration with other researchers? 
- Most media effects are based on learning – you get better at whatever you see and practice the
most 
What was the cross-cultural discovery by Gentile? 
- the effect of media on children is the same. The concerns from parents are the same, too.
What are the benefits media can have on children? 
- the effect of media on children is the same. 
What are the negative effect media can have on children? 
- suffering from true videogame addiction, they spent a lot of time in front of the screen
What cultural differences were found as regards violent media content? 
- there are almost no cultural differences. People are people, all over the world, and
human psychology is similar all over the world. If you see something repeatedly, you
learn from it.”
What were the cultural effects of children watching pro-social media content? 
- Research shows that children who watch more pro-social media gain
empathy and show more helpful and cooperative behavior.
-
What are the effects of screen over use on children? 
- The more you watch something the better you learn it. The better you learn
it, the more likely it is to show up in your behavior. 
What affect can parents have when they set limits on the content their children
watch? 
- research shows that children of parents who set more limits on the amount of time their
kids watch media and the content of what they watch get more sleep, better grades, are
rated as less aggressive by teachers and are more pro-social.

Assessment for this week -

Post your two results on the group Facebook page!
Remember to post your results with your real name and class!

Important – only play these games after the second class meeting.

Game 1: Spot the Troll

https://spotthetroll.org/start

(Read the Instructions – Click Profile 1)

Take a note of your score at the end of the game.

Game 2: About Bad News

https://getbadnews.com/#intro
(Click on the Link: Play the Game)

Take a note of the number of followers you have at the end of the game.