What is the critical thinking needed in the age of fake news?

 

This series commemorates the release of " Media Literacy: Cultivating Critical Thinking, " considered the definitive work on media literacy at this time.

In this "Part 2" installment, we spoke with editor Takeshi Yamawaki, Director of the SmartNews Media Research Institute, about the meaning behind the book's title and the concepts of "media literacy" and "critical thinking."

<Table of Contents>
▼Does Criticizing the Media Actually Boost Approval Ratings? The Shock of the Trump Phenomenon Seen in America
▼Real and Fake Cannot Be Clearly Distinguished. Recognizing the "Grey Zone" is Also Media Literacy
▼Why We Translated "Critical Thinking" as "Scrutinizing Thinking"

Media Literacy: Cultivating Critical Thinking (Ginmi Shikō) Jiji Press, 396 pages, ¥2,750 (tax included), ISBN: 9784788717978

Does Criticizing the Media Boost Approval Ratings? The Shock of the Trump Phenomenon Seen in America

I've taken the baton from Akira Amano, Senior Researcher at Dentsu Inc. Media Innovation Lab, for this two-part series prompted by the publication of "Media Literacy: Cultivating Critical Thinking." First, I'd like to explain why I decided to edit this book.

Book publishing generally falls into two categories: cases where publishers commission authors, and cases where authors propose projects to publishers that are then accepted. In commercial publishing, the former is far more common than the latter, but this book belongs to the latter category. I pitched the idea to the publisher, and fortunately, it was accepted.

Looking back at the motivation for editing and writing this book, it stems from my time covering the 2016 U.S. presidential election on the ground in America while working for the Asahi Shimbun.

I have lived in the United States twice.

The first time was from 2000 to 2003, as a Washington correspondent covering primarily economics. This coincided with the 9/11 attacks and the Iraq War.

The second time was from 2013 to 2017, this time as the Washington bureau chief, stationed in the same city.

During the ten years I spent in Japan from 2003 to 2013, I had almost no opportunity to travel to the U.S. on assignment. That's precisely why, when I returned for my second posting and lived there again, I was struck by how much America had changed, especially the widening divide between conservatives and liberals, the growing social fragmentation.

When Mr. Trump became the Republican presidential candidate in 2015, he began categorically labeling the major media outlets themselves as "fake news." Trust in mass media among Republican supporters, already lower than among Democrats, plummeted further. A structure emerged where the more Mr. Trump criticized the media, the more his approval ratings rose.

Based on this firsthand experience, I had been interested in American education since my time in the U.S. I looked into the relationship between division and education, the state of media literacy education, and journalists' involvement in media literacy.

However, caught up in busyness, I couldn't delve deeply enough into these themes. After returning to Japan, I read literature related to media literacy and traveled to the U.S. for business, compiling my findings into articles and think tank papers.

What I encountered were fundamental questions: Where exactly does fake news begin? Can facts and falsehoods be clearly distinguished? I also began reading literature in cognitive psychology, social psychology, and behavioral economics.

Real and fake cannot be clearly distinguished. Recognizing this "gray zone" is also part of media literacy.

In 2019, I interviewed Yuval Noah Harari, the renowned historian known for works like Homo Deus, in Israel.

In his book, Harari states:

Humans conquered the world thanks to their ability to create and believe in fictional stories. Consequently, we are extremely poor at distinguishing fiction from reality.

Even after meeting him in person and hearing his views, he maintained that religion and fake news are essentially indistinguishable.

How should we interpret Harari's words?

Discussions frequently revolve around the conduct of those spreading fake news and the platform operators enabling it. However, if distinguishing falsehood from fact is inherently difficult, then fundamental countermeasures against fake news are also challenging.

I've come to believe that while measures by media and platform operators are important, it's equally, if not more, crucial for information recipients—citizens—to develop "media literacy." Moreover, in the SNS era, citizens are also "content creators."

While I wrote that it is important for citizens to acquire "media literacy," the goal is not to "detect fake news."

Rather, it is about not simply labeling things as fake or real,

• that the world is complex
• that many questions have no definitive answers
• that we need to moderately question our own abilities and judgments
• that there exists a vast "gray zone" of ambiguous information between falsehood and fact
• and that the same facts can appear completely different depending on how they are presented.

I've come to believe we need to start with these fundamental understandings. Recognizing such "gray zones" is also a crucial element of media literacy.

It's also important to be aware of "human tendencies" early on. For example, in school education,

we should teach the universal human tendency that information sent by someone close to us tends to be believed, even if it is false.

If students are taught this universal human tendency, they might pause and think, "Wait a minute," before spreading false information themselves on social media.

Fundamentally, "media literacy" has various definitions and is used differently by different commentators.

Some use it to mean discerning the truthfulness of information, while others focus on the conscious use of ICT devices. In short, the definition is confusing.

Therefore, I wanted to create an introductory book that would allow readers to understand media literacy—from theory to practice—to a considerable degree after reading just one volume. I also wanted to bridge the previously fragmented worlds of academia, journalism, and the educational field.

The primary target audience for this book is educators, such as school teachers. Furthermore, I believe it will also be of interest to parents concerned about their children's exposure to social media, journalists and media professionals, researchers and students, as well as general business professionals.

Reason for Translating "Critical Thinking" as "Discerning Thinking"

Finally, I'd like to address the subtitle of this book, "Scrutinizing Thinking."

The term I wanted to include in the subtitle this time was "critical thinking." As mentioned earlier, the definition of media literacy is confusing, but it is a common understanding overseas that "critical thinking" is central to media literacy.

I wanted to include it in the subtitle because I believe Japanese schools should incorporate more critical thinking into their education.

The challenge, however, lies in the translation. In Japan, "critical thinking" has traditionally been translated as "批判的思考" (hakihiki shikō). Yet, there is a significant difference in nuance between the English "critical" and the Japanese "批判的" (hakihiki).

In Japanese, "批判" (hakihai) carries a nuance that includes negating or condemning what someone else says.

Looking up "critical" in an English-Japanese dictionary, you will indeed find "批判的な" as a translation. However, the "critical" in critical thinking carries the implication of adopting diverse perspectives when evaluating. Even when I ask my American friends, they say it carries little negative connotation and is used in a constructive sense.

Fundamentally, the origin of "critical" is said to be the Greek word "kritikos." Kritikos means "to discern or judge." Professor Natsumi Ikoma of International Christian University (ICU), which makes "cultivating critical thinking" one of the pillars of its university education, states, "Critical thinking involves not only negating but also affirming as a result of one's own thinking."

This point—that affirmation is also critical thinking—is perhaps not easily evoked by the Japanese term "批判的思考" (hakuhanteki shikō).

Professor Takashi Kusumi of Kyoto University, one of the authors of this book, defines critical thinking as follows:

1. Reflective and deliberate thinking that consciously examines one's own thought processes
2. Evidence-based, logical, and unbiased thinking
3. Goal-oriented thinking executed according to objectives and context to achieve better outcomes

After much deliberation, I chose to translate "critical thinking" not as the standard "批判的思考" (hakuhatei shikō), but as "吟味思考" (ginmishikō).

The reasoning behind this choice is detailed in the article linked below. If you are interested, please take a look.

https://globe.asahi.com/article/14544227

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has also highlighted the spread of misinformation and fake news. Whether it's fact-based news or misinformation, anyone anywhere in the world can access it on their smartphone. Precisely because we live in such an era, it seems increasingly necessary for each individual to improve their media literacy skills.

Fortunately, the book "Media Literacy: Cultivating Critical Thinking" has been scheduled for a reprint in May 2022. As the editor, I would be delighted if many educators, working professionals interested in media, and students continue to pick up this book.