1.This discussion board is about analyzing news media reporting and testing your fact-checking skills. Discuss ONE current event or major ongoing issue in the news and how it is covered by TWO different major news sources. The issue can be about any topic of major global political importance such as the pandemic, prevalent conspiracy theories, climate emergencies, US politics or international/global politics (choose ONE topic). How do the two media sources cover and frame this topic? Which claims are difficult for you to believe? What do you learn when you fact-checked those claims? Is this surprising to you? Why or why not?

Guide: Re-read the section in the Syllabus entitled Media Analysis. Use those resources – media bias fact check and the fact-checking sites – as references. Points will be taken off for using social media posts or news aggregators as sources – these are not valid news monitoring sources and algorithms confirm one’s own bias. You must select sources (websites) and navigate directly to those sites daily when you check the news. Again, points will be taken off for using social media posts and news aggregators (Apple News, Google News, email lists, etc.)

( MEDIA ANALYSIS: Students are expected to read the news daily (minimum of 2 sources) and be informed about current global events. Research selected news stories and current events from diverse sources and relate to concepts/issues from the course. Students will conduct fact-checking work (& media bias fact check) a range of political and global news stories and messages. Distinguish between news that is reliably sourced and opinion/commentary. Whereas news ought to be accurate, comment is biased & possibly inaccurate (or exaggerated). The First Amendment of the US Constitution guarantees the right to free speech and especially a free press in the public interest, which is like a “fourth branch” of government, checking the three branches of government. Pay attention to financing and sponsorship of media organizations. You should refer to more than one source of news, especially if you reference broadcast cable news. Get in habit of saying, “according to X, Y, or Z publication”.

Fact-checking resources: FactCheck.org; Snopes.com; Politifact.com. These are reputable fact checking sites to be used to verify stories or claims made by public personalities. There are many conspiracies circulating in public discourse, made more difficult by unchecked, unverified social media posts or self-publishing.

Media Bias check: MediaBiasFactcheck.com – search for media names only (not issues)
Online/print News sources to check daily; check two sources for single story or issue:
Agencies and Wire services (neutral global news): Reuters (reuters.com); Associated Press (https://apnews.com/)

2.Select a democratic (not autocratic, oligarchic, dictatorship) country other than the US or the UK in the world and discuss whether it is a parliamentary or presidential system and describe its state features. Describe the electoral system and party system with insight into its disadvantages and advantages. For extra credit, you can select another country with a contrasting system: if you chose a parliamentary state system for your first case, then select a presidential system for your second case. If another student selected the same country as you, engage with that student and reference their posting.

3.Referring to the videos provided in announcement email, what is globalization, and what does that mean? What are the consequences of globalization? Is globalization a good thing (or bad or both good and bad)? Why or why NOT? Give some examples of countries, regions, and themes.

Videos:

Crash Course: Globalization I

Crash Course: Globalization II

Crash Course Economics: Globalization and Trade and Poverty