Background and Purpose
Fake news is a major controversy around the world, especially in the United States. Conversations
about fake news have raised fundamental questions about how we define facts, how we use information to support our arguments, and how we determine what is true.
For this paper, we’ll step back and look at fake news as part of a broader spectrum of news credibility.
This paper’s primary purpose is to further develop critical thinking and information literacy skills by evaluating news credibility and analyzing the other rhetorical elements of news sources. Another purpose is to reflect on the broader significance and relevance of news and credibility in the scientific world today.
Assignment Overview
You will choose one of the websites attached to this handout. Each of the websites fails CRAAP test in at least one area and exemplifies one or more of Zimdars’ classifications
Your task is to analyze the rhetoric on the website you select. Focus on evaluating the website’s credibility (ethos), but also consider analyzing the article’s logic (logos) and emotional appeals
(pathos).
MLA format is required for this assignment. Your final draft should be 4-5 pages.
Start by contextualizing the website’s rhetorical situation and providing a brief summary of the website’s content. In the body of your essay, you should use textual evidence from your website and at least two secondary sources from Criss Library and/or the Internet to explain the website’s ethical, logical, and/or emotional fallacies. Your sources should not be about rhetorical appeals; they should be about the claims made on the website. Next, discuss why the website is likely persuasive for some
viewers even though the content is inaccurate, unethical, and/or misleading by describing the rhetorical strategies the author(s) used to make their argument convincing. Conclude you essay by reflecting on the damage the website you selected is causing or the damage disinformation/misinformation causes in general.
Write your paper to an academic audience with a diverse range of political perspectives.
Tools for Evaluating Credibility and Analyzing Rhetoric
Use whichever of the provided resources and concepts that help you develop the most effective rhetorical analysis of your article:
– “Zimdar’s Classifications” for classifying the type of news
– “CRAAP Test” for evaluating the credibility of online sources
– “Ten Questions for Fake News Detection” for identifying red flags about the credibility of
sources
– “Recognizing Logical Fallacies” for identifying logical fallacies
– Ethos Logos Pathos Handout for evaluating rhetoric in general
Questions for Rhetorical Analysis
Use the following questions to help you get started rhetorically analyzing your article:
How would you classify the article in relation to Zimdars’ classifications? Why?
Who wrote the article? What is its purpose? Who is its intended audience?
What problems do you see with the article’s credibility ? Why does it fail the
CRAAP test? What appeals to emotion or logical fallacies does the article use?
How do these appeals impact the article’s credibility?
