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Transcript

What's a spin?

"Spin" is a polite word for deception. Spinners mislead by means that range from subtle omissions to outright lies. Spin paints a false picture of realityby bending facts, mischaracterizing the word of others, ignoring or denying crucial evidence or just 'spinning a yarn' - by making things up

rules

As even the most authoritative sources can deceive us and let us down, there are some rules we can apply to check if what we read is true or is not

Rule 1.

You can’t be completely certain

Rule 2.

You can be certain enough

Rule 3.

look 4 agreement among experts

Rule 4.

Check primary sources

Rule 6.

know who's talking

Rule 5.

know what counts

Rule 8.

Cross-check what matters

Rule 9.

Be skeptical but not cynical

Rule 7.

Seeing isn't believing

Deception is found everywhere

One of the most common ways of deception is the make-believe. And one of the best examples is cosmetic industry. Chemicals are almost the same for cosmetic product, what we buy is a brand, not necessarily a better product.

Tricks

The most common tricks of deception trade:

Frame it and claim it

Eye Candy

Misnomers

Weasel words

Images are more important than words. When words say a thing and pictures say another, the pictures are what count for our minds.

These are common on promotions and discounts and they are used to suck the meaning out of a phrase or a sentence and are usually written with smaller text.

Judging an issue or product by its name is as foolish as judging a book by its cover.

Sometimes a word is enough to make people think they have to choose sides,

Always ask what’s behind the name, if it really describes the thing they’re trying sell and what other name could be accurate

The Baseline Bluff

Literally True Falsehood

The ‘Average Bear'

The implied falsehood

Sometimes companies and people don’t come and say things straight, they imply it with words or images. What is implied is usually a lie, but as it’s not said out loud, they don’t consider it lying.

Always take into consideration what is the baseline of what a company or person is talking about. An increase compared to what? A cut compared to what?

Average doesn’t always mean average if we take into account the different economic levels in population. Maybe we can say $100 is average for a meal, but most people doesn’t earn as much in a day.

Watch out for things as “low fat” or “new and improved”. Those phrases are not necessarily a lie, but they might not be true. Sometimes products are low in fat but high in sodium or cholesterol, or they just changed one thing to try to make it better but the product is essentially the same.

useful tools

Warnings

When looking for information, keep eyes open for these warning signs:

A Story That's too good

if it's scary, be wary

The Dangling Comparative & The Superlative Swindle

Extravagant claims are easy to embrace if they match our biases. Some people use numbers or false information to make stories or sell products.

When reading "faster", "better", "smarter" look out to what are they comparing their product or service with. Same happens with words like "most", "smaller ever", "higher", etc...

FUD: Fear, uncertainty and doubt

Fear of not being pretty-enough, to have bad breath, to have not-shinny clothes, etc., is used by many companies to lead you to buy their products.

Glittering generalities

The Blame game

The "Pay you Tuesday" Con

Don't pay or send info in advance for things that seem great at the time. Usually, they are not true or they are just scams.

Attractive-sounding but vague terms are also a way of deception. Slogans are usually made up to sell not to let people know what are they really buying.

Always research who blames other rather the one who's being blamed. usually those who blame others are the ones who don't have arguments to support their own statements.

unSpun: Finding Facts in a world of Disinformation

By Brooks Jackson & Kathleen Hall Jamieson

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