Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project

Logan Humphrey

lh129720@ohio.edu 

Via Tapahe Photograpy

During the 2022 Schuneman Symposium, presented by the E.W Scripps School of Journalism, freelance photojournalist Eugene Tapahe and journalist Erin Tapahe spoke about their empowering project, "Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project." As Native Americans, they use their platform to empower their native heritage and prove that they are more than the usual stereotypes. 

A dream inspired their project that Eugene had, where he was at Yellowstone National Park where a few bison had been grazing, and women with jingle dresses were dancing. The dream felt so healing to him, and it inspired him to create this project to allow others to feel what he felt. So he started photographing four younger Native American women, two of which are his daughters. They wore Ojibwe jingle dresses with several metal cones that would make a sound when performing a ritual dance. 

Starting, they visited the spiritual lands that their ancestors once inhabited to bring unity and hope to people across the world. Then, they traveled to several national and state parks for their project and several major cities, bringing attention and sharing hope and positivity everywhere they went. 

When several social issues are being placed at the forefront, their project is more critical now than ever. The two mentioned that their project took off because of the many social differences in the world. Through their project, they embrace female empowerment, their Native American heritage, and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement. Overall, it was a significant learning experience for all who worked with the project and a very touching and emotional one. 

Erin helped bring this project to TikTok, where some videos got thousands of views, while one video got up to almost a million views. Creating videos on this platform allows their project to be spread further, reaching younger and more impressionable audiences. 

Eugene gave a metaphor for his project, saying, "One jingle doesn't make a sound but together they have the power to heal," comparing his project to the importance of working with others for healing. The two were unsure why they were speaking at the symposium, feeling as if their story was not as important. Still, in reality, their story was essential to be shared, especially with young and inspiring journalists. Through art, dance, and culture, they help heal others in the purest forms available, making them genuinely inspiring journalists with a beautiful story.  

A Beautiful Yet Necessary Documentary: "Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project"

Image Source: West Seattle Blog

Racism is defined as "prejudiced against or antagonistic toward a person or people based on their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized." It is a reprehensible yet actual fact that the United States is racist. Not just toward people of color, but anybody and everybody who is not a white, straight male. Among more than I can count on my two hands, this racism found in the United States includes the indigenous peoples. 

Just today, I got the privilege of being able to sit in on a presentation by Eugene and his daughter Erin Tapas. The Tapas is a part of the Navajo tribe of America. Last year, they and three other women traveled around the country, visiting places where their ancestors walked to spread hope, healing, and awareness. They did this through dancing and pictures and called their objective the Jingle Dress Project. Jingle dresses are essential to the Native people and symbolize healing within their tradition(s). By bringing these dresses and the dances that accompanied them across the country, constantly to state/national parks, they spread this healing across the land, uplifting the communities they visited. However, they did not just do this to spread healing and hope; they also did this to spread awareness about the world's missing and murdered indigenous women. Eugene Tapahe has worked for a few news stations/newspapers and has a Bachelor's of Fine Arts in Graphic Design. They followed along with the dancers, taking pictures of them to help spread this awareness even further.

I listened to these two phenomenal people speak as they presented their pictures, explained the meaning, and emphasized their reasoning. They then played the documentary that was done for their project by PBS. If you have the time, I would highly recommend watching it. Before attending this presentation, I knew that racism was rampant in the United States. I just did not know just how detrimental it was. The United States needs to change, and it needs to change fast. People are people, no matter how they look, speak, act, or what they believe in. The Tapahe's left the audience with a message that I have often told myself and others when the situation requires, and it was: treat other people how you would wish to be treated. 

I couldn't agree more.

Fake News Implications in the Media Today

Danielle Smith

ds006019@ohio.edu

News has always played a vital role in the functionality of society, but its relevance has become increasingly more apparent in today's world due to the use of social media. Social media allows news to spread rapidly and extensively; so far, more people can receive information. Along with the accessibility of modern media, recent events in history have caused many individuals to start engaging with the news. Serious events, such as the worldwide pandemic and high-stakes election, often cause people who do not typically engage with the news to begin, giving even more power to the media. With even greater power, the media has a far broader range of people that they could deceive. 

Photo Courtesy of The Conversation

Fake news can come from anywhere and anyone. There are many different motives for spreading fake news, such as financial, political, and sometimes just comedy. Because social media allows easy access for posting and re-sharing information, news, regardless of fake or real, can spread faster than wildfire now. Tactics for spreading fake news include creating websites that look precisely like trusted news sites and then editing pictures to an unbelievable nature. Companies with money can use it to have their fake news look very real so that it fools many of the non-suspecting victims who see it.

Adverse effects can also come from the aftermath experienced by victims of fake news, discussed in the article "The Victims of Fake News" from the Columbia Journalism Review. For example, the article discussed David Wheeler, a child's father killed in the Sandy Hook Shooting. Conspiracy theorists have gone as far as publicly accusing him of making up his child's life and the shooting. They use personal details, such as his job, as "evidence" that it is all a conspiracy theory and set up fake accounts pretending to be him. They would then make statements on these accounts that the child was falsified and did this as a job. 

Another negative impact of the large amounts of fake news is that the public has grown increasingly more skeptical of the media to the point where some don't trust it at all. I attached an article called "Americans' distrust in the media at alarming levels, polls reveal" from The Washington Times. This article discusses the mistrust faced by the media. Also, it discusses percentages of a poll taken in 2020 that states, "51% of Americans get their news online, 35% from television, 9% from radio and 5% from magazine and newspapers". Seeing that most of society obtains their information from online sources, it means there need to be foolproof methods to determine if statements are factual. We can't trust or mistrust too much, or we as a whole will never really understand what is going on in the world. The media is a beautiful tool that is actively being taken advantage of, so for it to be helpful, people must learn how to distinguish truthful statements from fake news.

           

In the article "10 Ways To Spot Fake News", Dr. Christopher Dwyer teaches people tips to help distinguish if a piece of news is fact or fiction. He understands the struggle people experience when they have not been trained to determine if something is accurate, and he wants to help. He provides ten very effective questions to help someone narrow down the truth. 

Source: Fox News

Ethic Among Journalism

 By Mackenzie Phalen 

mp309018@ohio.edu

Journalism covers a wide range of professions and responsibilities, but all journalists provide people with information in some fashion. Social media is everywhere in today's society; journalists and public relations professionals engage with it very frequently on a professional level. While journalists have personal social media accounts and opinions outside of their professional opinion, journalists need caution. An article posted by Bryan Guerrero on Medium highlighted that though journalists may think that their Twitter Feed, Facebook, Instagram, Snap Chat, or other social media account may be private to the outside world, that is not the case. Whatever you post as a journalist will affect yourself and others regarding who you work for.

                                                       Photo By Medium

However, Social media is essential and practical for journalists to express messages and engage with their audience. Without social media, most journalism work would not occur or be as successful. According to Medium, "Social media has given us access to more information sources than ever."

Several journalists work on the politician side; The Washington Post stated that 78 percent of journalists align with a specific political ideology/party and that political journalists in the United States are mainly liberal. With this statistic, journalists mustn't create bias based upon their personal beliefs to be ethical to whom they work.

                                          Photo By Medium

Journalists are people too and want to express their beliefs to others through social media as other people do. The Medium stated that "As journalists continue to create increasing amounts of augmenting content for social media, guidelines are starting to become implemented for reporters and social media influencers alike. "

The organization has different regulations regarding ethics with journalists. New York Times has a set of guidelines; according to them, if a journalist employee engages in opinion-based content on social media, it can negatively affect the credibility of the whole newsroom. The SPJ Code of Ethics mentioned that it is essential that journalists take responsibility for the correctness of their work before relating it to the public. They also stated, "Expose unethical conduct in journalism, including within their organizations." The SPJ Code of Ethics made it evident that as a journalist, if you find content that does not align with the truth, it needs to be exposed, even within the organization, to try and decrease fake news and bias among information in the media. 

The Defamation of Mainstream Media Comes from Two Words, "Fake News"

Since the beginning of journalism, misinformation and fake news have been problems for journalists. More recently, with the COVID-19 pandemic and the controversial 2020 Presidential Election, the fake news crowd is more significant than ever.      

One of the problems with the fake news crowd is that whenever someone disagrees with something or sees something they do not want to see, they call it fake news and move on. That practice is a dangerous rabbit hole when supported by those in power, like politicians. Politicians are influential public figures that their fans look up to and follow their every move and blindly agree with anything they say, believe them without reading the article or tweet, and will not do any research to see if the story or source is credible. Another dangerous way is parents discrediting the media in front of their children from a young age, so the children have that distrust instilled in them since they were young. The kids then grow up not believing the media, and it is an entirely new generation of fake news. We saw a spike in this fake news problem with former President Trump. Whenever a media organization came out with a report or an article and did not like it, he just called it fake news. His followers would then not read it and go right along with him in discrediting the article when it could have very reputable sources behind it, making the report very accurate. Here is a video was done by BBC talking about how

Trump has used Fake News. But, unfortunately, we can also see this on the other side of the aisle when it comes to people just brushing off any lousy publicity for democrats but just discrediting the article or report.

Another problem with fake news is when people intentionally fake the news. Some people like to just fake reports and fake content in articles and pretend that it is true. For example, some people will make a Twitter account and pretend it is a real reporter or breaking real news and completely misinform people about real issues. We see this type of fake news most prevalent during the black lives matter movement and protest when people fake what was going on during the protests. You also can see it when it comes to people breaking sports news on Twitter. People will replicate their Twitter account to look like someone with credibility and break sports news that is entirely false and get people to like and retweet it. That is not as damaging as some other fake news but another great example. Bleacher Report did an article explaining fake sports, Twitter, and the best ones.

News Literacy is more important in the age of misinformation

 

Photo courtesy of: Caroline University 

Molly Wilson

mw542219@ohio.edu 

Social media has quickly become one of the most critical aspects of our daily lives. People are constantly tuned into Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, and TikTok for updates on their friends' lives and to stay connected with the rest of the world. 

As a result of the growing interest in social media and technology, journalism has moved online. Journalists are familiar with online software, and they need to have a presence on social media to promote content. Twitter can be a vital resource for journalists in breaking news situations. In some cases, Tweeting about a natural disaster or significant event can reach the target audience before a quick brief or follow-up story. Social media is a critical way to gain information for the target audience. Users who follow their favorite journalists and news organizations may consume most of their news via social media. However, social media has blurred the line between journalism and other professions. 

Who is a journalist? 

Influencers and bloggers may consider themselves journalists. In a court case cited in an article from the reporters' committee, an appeal court stated that "new media should not be confused with news media." Journalists intend to gather and distribute information, whereas bloggers and influencers may not diligently research and gather sources for their topics. Furthermore, as discussed last week in class, journalists are bound by ethics codes. Journalists must adhere to codes that outline the importance of truth, fact-checking, diligent reporting, and editing. Bloggers, influencers, and everyday social media users are not tied to such codes. As a result, they do not face the punishments when they break such ethical standards, and they may be more willing to spread misinformation, disinformation, or fake news. 

That is not to say that journalists do not spread misinformation by mistake at times; however, journalists have methods to correct such errors and make sure readers understand the fault. Those codes ensure that journalists are transparent. Unfortunately, while quite clear and distinct, the definition of journalism may result in some people considering themselves journalists without adopting the same standards. That is dangerous when news is so easily accessible on social media. In the age of misinformation and confusion regarding who should be trusted, news literacy is more critical now than ever. 

News Literacy 

Just as journalists have a code of ethics to report, readers should adopt the code they engage in news media. News literacy is the knowledge needed to thoughtfully and critically engage in journalism. According to a Pew Research Center study into facts and democracy, 26% of adults could classify five factual statements as factual while 35% correctly classified five opinion statements as opinion. Those numbers are pretty low, and people who engage in the media need to be aware of differences and opinions. 

Readers can become more news literate by carefully analyzing the source of the news they are consuming, determining if the story is an opinion, and reading the entire story. Readers should ask questions. Who is the journalist? What is their background? Any conflicts of interest? What is the news organization? Are they politically affiliated? Does the writer editorialize within a news story? 

Mindlessly consuming and sharing news contributes significantly to the spread of misinformation. As reported in the weekly reading, fake news is more likely to be retweeted and shared on social media because it is more eye-catching. Misinformation is shocking and may cause more profound emotional reactions from readers. Before sharing, readers need to assess what they are sharing. Trusting journalists is critical, but to trust a new source, readers need to understand how to think critically about the media they consume. 

Fake News and the Implication on a Pandemic

 Dylan Westmeyer 

dw330019@ohio.ed 

News has always been essential for people who have been going through pandemics. People need reassurance and a sense of safety when situations get out of hand. Many journalists want to help these people get the correct information on fighting the pandemic or staying safe in one's own home. But, unfortunately, some people are more concerned about getting clicks than spreading the correct information in our day and age.

Photo Curtest of Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University

Fake news is scariest when no one truly knows what is true. Large corporations want to be the first ones to cover the big news, which can lead to them being tripped up by fake news and not getting the proper information out in the name of being first. That is extremely dangerous as uncertainty fuels people to do whatever they hear will help them. 

In the first few months of the pandemic, it was highly evident as people, the media, and the government was scrambling to keep their countries safe. People took advantage of this chaos, making videos or posting on social media about how to stay safe from the virus or ways to fight off the virus that later was found out not to do anything to help. These fake news stories spread like wildfires for a time until the public started making better decisions of what news to trust and what websites to trust media to trust during the pandemic. 

So what should people in the public look for in the future if another pandemic arises and they want to make sure they are not getting caught up in the fake news? 

The obvious answers are choosing credible news sources and even fact-checking across credible sources to see if possibly one source managed to pick up misinformation in hopes of being first. These are the apparent solutions though there are multiple subtle ways to see misinformation in media coverage.

These include doomsday narratives that don't allow for any coverage on recovery. It also brought in political views as to why to shut down the country of even state, taking what officials say but only using bits and pieces throughout their work and not the whole produce, not getting their news from the community that is being affected. Still, an official talks about the community and suggests a more comprehensive picture of people staying safe during the pandemic. 

Use these methods and others to stay safe during a pandemic because people will always want clicks on their stories and will sometimes do whatever it takes to get these clicks. 

Fake news and its rise in popularity

When the term "fake news" is thrown around generously, it may be difficult to define what is and isn't fake news. False information cleverly disguised flows through social media hiding amongst real news. Journalists already must earn the public's trust and prove they are providing unbias and accurate information. However, with fake news receiving more attention than real news stories, they must work even harder, as the majority of the public sees it as journalists' responsibility to dispel false news. 

Aside from the negative impact, that fake news has on journalists, the public constantly being exposed to false stories leads to confusion and misinformation. That gives people the wrong information and could also defame the subjects. If a phony story is written about an individual, it could damage their reputation with false facts. Additionally, if someone reads a fake story, they may be less inclined to seek out information again out of fear of false information. Widening the divide between journalists and the public.

Image from NSTA

According to The Atlantic, fake news is shared far more frequently than legitimate news up to 70 percent. In the article The Grim Conclusions of the Largest-Ever Study of Fake News, The Atlantic discusses the potential reasoning behind the surge of false news instead of real news. The large amounts of sharing fake news stories can not be pinned on robots, as they amplify false news stories as much as true ones. As a political scientist quoted, one explanation for the imbalance of post sharing is the evoking of strong emotions. People seem to be drawn to the novel aspect of the fake stories with more room for excitement. Therefore, the fake news stories are more exciting and juicy, eliciting shares and retweets. What does this mean for the truth, the facts? Fake news can do more than damper the reputation of journalism; the spread of false information can be misleading to unknowing readers.

Today journalism is critical in bringing coverage and new information about the COVID-19 pandemic. An article by Santa Clara University brings up five subtle ways that misinformation is presented in journalism during the pandemic. Journalists must be careful how they word and present information in articles about COVID-19. Stories must be careful not to frame advancements as final resolutions or negate successes. Journalists must also accurately quote and not edit to make statements to have different effects than intended. 

Spotting Fake News in Social Media

Sam Spinale

ss730219@ohio.edu

As recently discussed, society's trust within the media is at an all-time low. That lack of trust could quickly be based upon the challenge each reader is faced with when deciphering if any given story is filled with fake information. Now that social media is more accessible than ever before, it's pretty easy for someone to share a piece of information that may or may not be accurate. Readers are left with the task of figuring out who is a reliable source and pretending to be one.

Source: ABC News

Why does fake news spread on social media?

Many people are beginning to use social media for their regular news, so social media users need to determine authenticity from fake online. Peter Suciu from Forbes explained that "According to a Pew Research Service study from January, more than eight in ten U.S. adults (86 percent) said they get their news from a smartphone." With this, it's easy to see why fake news spreads so rapidly on social media. However, without these adults knowing what is real from fake, the false news will always continue to spread.

Another issue that Suciu says adds to the fake news problem on social media is that misinformation acts like clickbait and gets some of the most clicks online. Social media platforms have no desire to remove the fake news to add to the issue. Instead, they tend to profit more from the misinformation online. The engagement rates with outrageous information are some of the highest, which means that fake news will continue to spread very rapidly.

Why is spotting fake news better than stopping it?

Unfortunately, fake information online isn't going anywhere. According to Suciu, social media platforms will never remove it in an attempt to make a profit, and users will continue to create it "in an attempt to influence outcomes" online and in life. Because of this, it's essential to understand how to spot fake information on social media.

How do you spot fake news on social media?

Spotting fake news online can be easy, but sometimes, it's a little harder to point out. So it's important, first, to know the types of fake news online. According to the American Press Institute, "Some of it is spread without malicious intent, which is generally called misinformation. Some of it is designed to mislead or disrupt, known as disinformation. And some is aimed at swaying public opinion or beliefs by distorting the facts, which is a classic definition of propaganda."

While it may seem overwhelming to determine what the absolute truth is online, always remember that if the content you are reading is "triggering an emotional response," according to ABC News, it might not be the most reliable.

ABC News also provided five tips to help prevent and find fake information online. First, search online for the information or claim. Next, check if other reputable news sources write about this exact topic. Next, look at who posted the content by looking at their profile, seeing what other information they tend to post, and seeing how long they have been active. Then, check the account's profile image to see if it is authentic or a stock photo, or an image of a celebrity. Later, search for other social media accounts from this person. Find out if they have any religious or political affiliation that might sway them to post the possible fake information. Finally, inspect the content the account posted. If the information stated looks too good to be true, it most likely is.

Source: ABC Action News

Fake News and Social Media

Lindsay Wielonski

lw293117@ohio.edu

Today, it's easier than ever to spread misinformation online quickly. Social media influencers with thousands of followers have platforms that allow them to share their points of view within a matter of minutes. To journalists, this instantaneous nature of social media is both a blessing and a curse for informing the public about pressing and time-sensitive issues. 

Anyone, regardless of credibility, can post whatever they want with few restrictions on social networks. That practice makes for an online environment where rumors can spread like wildfire. People who lack education but have many followers have the power to convince people to adopt harmful lifestyles. For example, many influencers who spread health-related content have a large platform, but in reality, they lack credentials and science-based research to make their information trustworthy. 

A recent study published in the "Science" journal revealed that fake news spreads substantially faster than real news on Twitter, even when removing bot accounts. Why would false information travel faster? The study's researchers suggest that fake news spreads faster because of its novelty. I agree – fake news can be more eye-catching and emotionally provocative than real news. 

People have different motives for posting fake news. Some want to sway public opinion, while others unknowingly post false information without knowing its long-term effects. Regardless of intent, fake news has lasting implications. For instance, false information about COVID-19 led to increased accidental poisonings after former president Donald Trump suggested that bleach injections could help kill the COVID-19 virus. A study conducted by the CDC revealed that in January, February, and March of 2020, bleach poisonings rose 7%, 1%, and 59%. 

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock 

In addition to affecting physical health, fake news can also scar people emotionally. For example, David Wheeler, parent of school shooting victim Benjamin Wheeler, had rumors started about him on social media that impersonated him and accused him of fraud. Some parents of victims even received death threats. 

Fake news has the power to divide, drastically affect people's health and security, turn people against each other, sway political campaigns, and ruin reputations. Yet, so much is acceptable under the umbrella of free speech. In my opinion, social media networks should take on more of a responsibility of fact-checking content. Users have the freedom to say whatever they want, but platforms as private companies also can ban accounts that spread misinformation. Social networks must implement a better way of establishing credibility and fact-checking before misinformation goes viral.