IMAGE BACKTRACKING
The Purpose
The purpose of this project was to find an image and figure out if the information that the image provided was true or false. The images or infographics were all found on the lowest quality of sources and there were no sources cited as to where the information came from, so it was our job to figure out what the original source of information was and if the information was true or false. The project was part of a larger unit called "Calling BS", inspired by a class taught at the University of Washington of the same name. The point of this project and the unit as a whole was to teach us how to spot sensational information and backtrack their claims to determine if it is reliable.
Background Work
Before beginning the project, we started by creating a "source pyramid". This gave us a foundation of sources that are generally more reliable and those that should not be trusted all of the time. The goal of the project was to find a piece of information from a source on the bottom row of the pyramid and backtrack the information to a source on the top of the pyramid.
The Process
The assignment was to find an image from a source towards the bottom of the pyramid with an out of context claim. I started out with an image that I had found on a vegan Instagram account called @vegancommunity. The image claimed that since the 1950s, chickens have quadrupled in size due to genetic manipulation, but had no sources sited as to where that information came from. On the bottom of the image, there was a watermark that said Simple Happy Kitchen, so I did a search of that on the internet and it led me to a website created by Miki Mottes, a vegan man who is passionate about promoting his vegan beliefs and lifestyle. I did some research on Mottes, but I learned that he had no credentials that would qualify him as knowledgeable in the poultry field. I then looked up the original information from the infographic to see if I could find it on other websites and I found it on so many other sites. The articles I had found were from lower quality sources such as the dodo.com and huffingtonpost.com. All of the articles that I read did claim that chickens had quadrupled in size, but none of them mentioned "genetic manipulation". Luckily, all of the lower quality articles that I had read cited Poultry Science as their source. Upon further research, I found out that Poultry Science is a very highly revered, peer-reviewed poultry journal. This journal had published a study from the University of Alberta that confirmed that chickens have in fact quadrupled in size, but it is all natural. The study was actually done to combat rumors that chickens were being pumped with hormones. After doing all of my research, I concluded that the infographic was not completely wrong, but was probably created to bash the meat industry and to scare people into thinking their food was "genetically manipulated". Half of the information provided was actually true so I decided to correct the rest of it. I recreated the infographic with all correct information. To do this, I used the original infographic I had found but removed the incorrect text and covered it with correct information. Below is the original infographic and the one I recreated using Keynote on my computer.
This is the source pyramid. It outlines which sources are the best to use and which ones are less reliable. The lowest level of sources are all editable by the general public and the information is not necessarily validated before it is posted. As the levels rise, the sources are more reliable. On the top of the pyramid, there are sources that are peer-reviewed, non-biased, and think-tanks. Theses are the best sources to use because the information is checked many times before it is posted on one of these sites.
Reflection
This project taught me a lot about how I should conduct research in the future, but it also made me think about my typical browsing and research habits. From this project I learned that the first place you find information may not always be the best place and if something sounds too good to be true (or too bad), it probably is. Headlines from popular media outlets are usually over simplified or over exaggerated, with crucial information left out, to make the story sound more sensational. This is because many organizations who are publishing news articles want to entertain people and want to make money, aside from informing the public. From doing this project and watching my peers' presentations, I learned that often, the headline that we are reading from an easily accessible news source, like CNN or FOX, has twisted the information so much that it is often nowhere near the original piece of information that came from a reliable scientific study or peer-reviewed journal. Before doing this project, I was always skeptical of information that I had seen on social media, however now I am more skeptical of information that I am seeing on other news sources.
After completing this project, we were able to use what we learned to create an infographic about how to validate information and confirm that sources are reliable. The purpose of creating this infographic was to inform younger students and those who have not gone through this backtracking process that we have. I helped to create the infographic to the right which lays out a step by step process of how to find a reliable source and confirm that information you have found is true. To view a PDF version, click on the image.
The original infographic from @vegancommunity
My recreation