Welcome to Litsy!

“Information spreads from one person to another, just like a virus, until myths and hoaxes and lies and facts and conspiracies have crept far and wide, taking on new shapes and mutations. Your snowball of information, layered with myth and misremembered history, was spread to you by others, and you spread it to someone else, who shared it with someone else, who keeps the chain of information contagion going and going...“ Spectacular introduction.

As an assignment, students could choose a current news story and analyze how it‘s reported across three different sources. Using concepts from the book, (like misinformation, malinformation, and bias) they would write a short reflection on how the story is framed, what might be misleading, and how media literacy tools helped them think critically about the coverage.

This book is a great tool for teaching media literacy in the classroom. It can spark discussions about how information spreads, who controls narratives, and why critical thinking matters; especially online. With real-world examples, clear definitions, and practical strategies, it‘s perfect for lessons on current events, digital citizenship, or argumentative writing.

Dr. Seema Yasmin breaks down the types of false info: misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation. She uses real examples, like Covid-19 coverage and media spin during the Iraq War, to show how the truth can be distorted. You‘ll also learn how satire can be mistaken for fact, how news gets made, and how to handle tough conversations. With clear tips and tools, this book makes media literacy easy, and even fun. A smart, friendly guide.

Dr. Seema Yasmin's book is a great tool for educating ourselves and students about all types of information across different platforms. She unravels the long history of the media that shows us how we got from Pony Express news to ludicrous Instagram posts and reels (that are actually quite politicized). She breaks down terminology in an easily understandable way, supported by many sources and real-world examples.

I really liked how Yasmin emphasizes the importance of media literacy in today‘s quickly-paced digital world. She highlights realistic ways/ strategies for identifying and dealing with misinformation such as checking sources, understanding bias, and recognizing deception. The book shows that being informed isn‘t just about knowing facts, it‘s also about knowing how to actually find and determine if those facts are credible.

This novel was a little tough for me to get through and fully digest, as the chapters were a little lengthy. However, the information was very rich, and her suggestions/ ideas will definitely be taken into account. For example, I liked how she gave specific examples for each idea such as how to deal with people who have been misled by misinformation and biases. Its length and verbiage, however, don't seem very appealing to YA.

Dr. Yasmin has so many sources in her book, which I find interesting and helpful. I think students will benefit from her explanation of various terminology, accompanied by concrete and real-world examples. I know it helped me! I also think that the wording of the book is catered to YA readers with understandable language and relevant topics such as social media.

In What the Fact?, Yasmin illustrates how misinformation can be created by taking statements out of context. Her example she uses states, “I just became a master of disinformation” to show how easy it is to mislead others by quoting someone without full context. This excerpt in the book shows how misinformation isn‘t always about outright lies. It can be something as subtle as removing key details or twisting meaning.

Media-literacy and knowing how to be informed while on the internet is important. This book throws out vocabulary words that we see around everywhere on media but don‘t know the real meaning, and gives new more detailed words to use about fact checking. With how fast paced the world is and how much technology plays a part in our lives this book teaching how to discern misinformation or disinformation is so so important.

“‘I realize I still have some unanswered questions. Let me go do some research and then I‘ll get back to you‘” (p 91).
We aren‘t meant to know everything about every topic that people (students) might throw our way so instead of making a quick guess, take the time and let them know you‘re not certain but will research it and come back to them. It shows them you‘re human too and you too are still learning as they are.

“Stories hold the power to shift our beliefs and influence our behaviors” (pg 70).
It was super interesting to see how much cognitive work goes into play when we read stories or news articles. Most of chapter two kept me so hooked because it was so cool to see how our brain works with reading and then making decisions.

An aspect I really enjoyed about this book is how all the skills the author discusses connect with one another in each chapter. I like how they build off one another and scaffold into useful media literacy and research tools. Especially when discussing news stations!

I think that this book is very interesting and would be particularly good for readers who enjoy non-fiction. It was not my particular cup of tea, but it was fascinating! I think it is very important for youths (and let‘s be real adults), to learn the inner workings of the media we‘re consuming and this book does just that!

While the chapters were quite long, and honestly, hard for me to get through, I really liked the side bars. I found they were a nice break that connected really well with what the author was trying to say. I think it would be a great way for students to see formatting in nonfiction works!

Science has been weaponized to justify racial categories, slavery, and systems of oppression. Yasmin reminds us that scientists aren't robots; their biases shape their work. Recognizing this helps us engage critically with science and fields like law, medicine, and politics, all of which are full of mistakes and biases. Chapter 5's subsection, “Ten Steps for Effective Disagreements,“ offers further caution on using scientific arguments.

Dr. Seema Yasmin presents us with a scenario of a picture taken out of context. Once context is provided, in contrast to the fictitious narrative, we see how manipulative malinformation can be a possible activity for classrooms to spread awareness of the issue. She also provides readers with other online games, such as the Bad News Game and Go Viral, that can be used in an educational yet fun way!

Dr. Seema Yasmin shares vocabulary crucial to defining the problems we face. After all, if something is amiss, we must first identify it. Using precise language to address issues creates a clearer path to resolution. (misinformation p.34) (disinformation p.35) (malinformation p.36). The book is filled with clarifications like these, which I found highly informative and enjoyable to learn through the author‘s playful tone.

I really appreciated Yasmin's background in journalism as it pertains to this book. I think that her expertise in this area gives her an advantage when writing about false narratives. she has experienced it herself and it shows with the way she conveys herself. Allowing students to read the words of an expert in the field is going to let them recognize how important it is and the credibility she has. I can already form assignments using this book

Okay step-by-step applicable instructions!! - this book gives students access to deciphering truth from fiction in such a cool and engaging way. My favorite part was the context of social media being used. Younger students have so much social media exposure and it can be difficult to navigate alone. the emphasis on media literacy by Yasmin really teaches readers how to deal with theories, fake news, and rumors in the digital space.

I prefer non-fiction over fiction (I know sue me) and I really enjoyed this book. It is definitely something I would keep accessible to students. I wasn't super sure what I was about to read when I got into it but I thought it was very readable and concepts were explained well for students. I think the real-world examples provided by Yasmin that all kids can relate to and understand were key in accomplishing this.

I was lowkey dreading this book because nonfiction has to be really catered to my interests to make me want to read it. It was a struggle to get through. I was definitely not the target audience, but I have to give props when it's due. For younger readers, this is a great book to introduce concepts of truth, facts, bias, and general media literacy—such crucial skills for today! I'd definitely consider using passages for lessons on related topics.

Storytelling is how we communicate. Everyone has their own perspective of everything they see, so we all have our own stories to tell. This was one of my favorite parts of Dr. Yasmin‘s book because she recognizes the facts of a story, but also the FEELINGS. Students could work with this, perhaps creating stories of their own to make us feel one way but have another meaning. It‘d be fun to experiment with this deeply human element of information!

Something I loved was Dr. Yasmin's use of comparison and examples. The virus analogy with “contagious information“ makes it easier for students to understand how information spreads, catches on, and impacts us. She also almost constantly has real examples of the phenomena she describes, from the “Great Moon Hoax“ to the Sidebars scattered in the book. This really helps cater to young audiences and center us in reality!

It's called “media LITERACY“ for a reason: this foundational skill can be applied to ANY information we may absorb, from nonfiction news articles to fictional character dynamics. For example, Dr. Yasmin's discussions of bias throughout the book are important for understanding facts presented to you, but talks of bias can be further expanded to encompass biases based on identity, too. The lessons from this book overall can be used in so many ways!

Overall, I thought this book was a solid book. Initially, I was worried because hearing “nonfiction“ makes me immediately have my guard up (a bias of mine?). However, the formatting of this book made it very digestible, and when thinking practically, I think a book like this is useful in showing students that reading nonfiction does not have to be boring. This book was relevant and informative, and it can help us navigate information in the year.

Ahh, the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary. What a hilarious example of how misinformation can spread like wildfire - even if it is ridiculous! I think misinformation and fake news is even more “lethal“ in our society because of things like A.I.. Nowadays, A.I. has become so advanced that it is hard to tell sometimes what is true and what is not. I wonder what the implications of this are especially as A.I. only continues to advance further and further.

I think this book is very eye opening for students who come from a homogeneous culture. Often, we believe what we believe because that is the way it has always been. This book really challenges readers to critically think of how they came to believe what they believe, and when thinking about creating productive citizens in society, this is important. To seek out the origin of our beliefs can be a scary thing, but it is our role as a teacher.

“Some of the data stored in your brain is not accurate...“

I remember learning in psychology how we create false memories of certain events. We think we are completely factual, but our brains have created an unreal narrative of what actually went down. It's actually super important for instances in court and such. I think this is important for both students and teachers though. we need to be critically thinking and not trusting only ourselves.

Page 296 mentions the Harvard University Implicit Association Test, which aids users in understanding their own biases. Alongside personality, leadership style, and communication tests of a similar nature, results can be compiled by students early on in the year to understand how they can best work with others. Other sections of the book can be incorporated here, especially concerning the impact of biases on ourselves and others.

“'Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and righting, there is a field. I'll meet you there,'“ (277).

This quote lives within Yasmin's section about navigating disagreements. These ten steps focus on listening, understanding, and finding common ground. Used effectively and appropriately, these can certainly be used by teachers when approaching conflict with students, but even more importantly between students when disagreements arise.

Pages 198-206 focus on fact-checking news and “cultivating your media diet“. This section was super interesting, and combatted ideas I had about the overwhelming nature of news: what can I believe, and how do I find these sources? These guidelines provided ways to narrow the search. In the classroom, they could be used in research units, personal education on credible news, or in longer studies about news habits/intake of information.

This book was much more compelling than I thought it would be. I learned a lot, and it provoked deep thinking about the types of biases that I may be holding. Even though I'm not a huge lover of non-fiction or informational texts, the writing style and useful information within captivated my interest. Whether used for individual writing of selecting sections for use in the classroom, this book is multi-faceted and so insightful.

While I do think that Yasmin packs useful information in her book, I have struggled with her messaging. She reiterates that we are all free thinkers and to formulate our own thoughts; however, she seems a bit biased. Obviously, nothing is completely unbiased in totality; however, I would expect a book like this to be less biased in its approach. Regardless, I do like how she differentiates between confusing terms.

The section from pg. 45-58 is a tool I will bring into my class. It is an amazing resource that breaks down the different types of mis/disinformation and logical fallacies, which are hard to remember/distinguish between without concrete examples. I found the anecdotes to support the definitions so helpful, as a lot of this is new vocab for me as well. This graphic from pg. 45 is really cool and serves as a good reminder for me and my students!

“Using one catchall term, like “fake news” to speak to all these different types of false or misleading information oversimplifies the problem we‘re dealing with…” (Yasmin, 52)
This introductory quote summarizes the purpose of this book perfectly. In order to stop the spread of mis/mal/disinformation, we must be able to understand what it is, where it comes from, and why it spreads. Only then can we combat harmful information.

Something I really appreciate about this book is that its intent is truly to educate, not persuade. Dr. Yasmin does a great job of presenting readers with facts, supporting those facts with examples and evidence, and then encouraging readers to apply what they‘ve learned to their own thinking. While all work has some type of bias (as explained in Chapter 2), the author stays incredibly aware of her own, and addresses it.

I borrowed this book from the library, but I will absolutely be purchasing it and putting it in my classroom. While the entire book is a little long, there are so many good excerpts that can be used to teach students about how to recognize mal/dis/misinformation, which is important in life as well as in English class. I would love to use this as a reference text for a project on something like propaganda or ethos/logos/pathos.

So far in reading this book, I‘ve been surprised by how much I‘ve enjoyed it. The writing style is very approachable, and the author is covering so many important topics in such an engaging way. I loved how in Chapter 2 she demonstrated the idea that people remember stories better than facts by presenting readers with a story, then a fact, then repeatedly asking which one we remember better. So clever!

I LOVED this book! It furthered my knowledge on misinformation and history and even taught me argument styles. I liked how the writing style was very accessible and easy to understand even with all of the different scientific topics being presented throughout the book. I appreciated the advice Dr. Yasmin gives us too. Overall this would be a great book to teach and actually equip your student with knowledge they‘d use in this growing age of media.

I love how Dr. Yasmin brought up this piece of advice. I feel like it‘s so common to laugh at someone one who may not know something that might be “obvious” to most people. Especially in classrooms where it‘s suppose to be a place to learn, many students are scared to ask questions to further their understanding because they‘re afraid of being shamed for not knowing the topic as well as everyone else.

After reading, I can see myself using this text in my classroom with absolute certainty! While I do not typically partake in the nonfiction genre, I loved the witty information that Yasmin presented throughout the text. In my classroom, I could picture working with chapters in varying units, such as sources, which could focus on the news chapter and uses of journalism. I can also see using “The Social Dilemma“ documentary as a supplementary text!

I audibly gasped when @freeleethebananagirl was mentioned because I remembered falling victim to her raw diet that she was convincing people to do. I was in the 8th or 9th grade I think when she was blowing up on YouTube and I fell into very bad body image issues that I still deal with today. I loved how the author explained further about how young teen girls are the most susceptible to these kinds of influencers and lead to self esteem issues.