QUESTION ON FOUCAULT AND DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS OF POWER
In recent years, we have seen a growing spread of so-called ‘fake news’, especially through social
media. Fake news present untrue information as ‘news’, as discussed in the following article by
Ciara Greene in “The Conversation”. Please read the following extracts from the article carefully
and then answer the subsequent questions A and B.
COVID-19: the first study to look at whether fake news actually changes people’s behavior
Ciara Greene, The Conversation, 29 June 2021
“The spread of COVID-19 is linked to 5G mobile networks.” “Place a halved onion in the corner of
your room to catch the COVID-19 germs.” “Sunny weather protects you from COVID-19.”
These fake news stories and others like them spread rapidly on social media during the early
stages of the pandemic. The wave of misinformation was so great that the authorities coined a
word for it: “infodemic”.
Fake news isn’t new. But interest in it has increased sharply in recent years, corresponding with
the rise of social media. Attention spiked in 2016, amid concerns that the Brexit referendum and
the US presidential election may have been influenced by misinformation spread by other
countries.
It’s assumed that fake news has a negative effect on people’s behavior. For example, it has been
claimed that fake news might affect people’s willingness to wear a mask, get a vaccine or comply
with other public health guidelines. Yet, surprisingly, virtually no research has directly tested this
assumption, so my colleagues and I took on the challenge of measuring what effect fake news
actually has on people’s behavior.
In May 2020, we recruited over 4,500 participants to an online study via an article on the Irish
news website TheJournal.ie. Participants were told that the purpose of the study was to
“investigate reactions to a range of public health messages and news stories relating to the novel
coronavirus outbreak”. […]
We found that fake stories did seem to change people’s behavior, but not dramatically so. For
example, people who were shown the fake story about privacy concerns with the contact-tracing
app were 5% less willing to download the contact-tracing app than those who hadn’t read this
story. […] Such effects were small and they didn’t happen with every fake story. But even small
effects can produce big changes. Unfounded concerns about a link between the MMR vaccine
and autism led to a relatively small drop in childhood vaccination rates in the early 2000s – about
10% – which in turn led to a significant spike in measles cases. So it’s possible that the small
effects of fake news we saw in our study could have bigger effects on people’s health.
A. According to Foucault, as mentioned in the article by Collinson (2003) and discussed during
Lecture 6, the dimensions of discourse, power and knowledge are inextricably linked. Briefly
describe this link and explain why it provides a useful perspective for better understanding power
implications in the production and circulation of (fake) news. Also reflect upon the question, in
whose interest it could be to circulate fake news and to what end? (10 points)
B. Drawing on the article by Fleming and Spicer (2014), the circulation of fake news could be
interpreted as an example of “manipulation” (second dimension of power) or “domination” (third
dimension of power). Briefly describe the two dimensions of power and explain which one you
find more suitable for explaining the underlying power dynamics in the construction and
circulation of fake news and why. (There might not be a “right” or “wrong” answer to it. We are
more interested in your line of argumentation). (10 points)
, A. Power, discourse and knowledge is inextricably linked threw identity, what is
the interest of one? Discourse produces the knowledge that is interest laden, it produces a
certain knowledge as 'truth'. So Knowledge is never neutral but interest-laden. Power is
linked through dominant, also interest-laden discourse. Since the fake-news area we have
much more of an understanding that also the knowledge/the media/what we get
prestented as facts, is interest-laden. There is much more doubt now about what is true
and what isn't.
B. Manipulation gaat over agenda-setting, het vormen van issues die als relevant of
belangrijk worden gezien. Als voorbeeld: de informatiestroom of bronnen binnen een
organisatie om het besluitvormingsproces te beïnvloeden.
Domination gaat over het vormen van onze voorkeuren, percepties en houdingen
waardoor we accepteren hoe het binnen een organisatie eraan toe gaat (we zien het als
onveranderbaar of we kunnen niet voorstellen dat er alternatieven zijn). Hierbij gaat het
over
ideologieën die ook over time kunnen veranderen (historisch).
Ik denk dat fake news onder 'domination' valt omdat de kennis die je vergaard gebaseerd
is op je interesse. Dus hoe je door je eigen identiteit bepaalde informatie verwerkt als
'waarheid' op basis van je eigen voorkeuren, percepties en houdingen.
VRAAG 2
QUESTION ON RESOURCE DEPENDENCE AND DIMENSIONS OF THE ENVIRONMENT
Below you find an article from CNNMoney (August 22, 2011) by Chris Isidore on two automobile
manufacturers that work together to develop hybrid cars. Please read the article carefully and
then answer the subsequent questions A and B.
Ford, Toyota team up to build big hybrids
Rivals Ford Motor and Toyota Motor announced an agreement Monday to work together to
develop a new hybrid system for use in light trucks.
The agreement is expected to produce hybrid rear-wheel drive pickups and SUVs sometime later
this decade. The agreement brings together Toyota (TM), which has been a leader in hybrid
technology, with Ford (F, Fortune 500), which still has a leading position in the pickup and SUV
portion of the market, where hybrids are still less common.
"Our collaboration with Ford is a move to make hybrid technology more widely available in sports
utility vehicles and trucks," said Takeshi Uchiyamada, Toyota executive vice president of research
and development. The companies will separately integrate the new hybrid system in their future
vehicles. "Clearly Ford and Toyota will still be competitors," said Derrick Kuzak, Ford group vice
president of global product development. But he said by sharing research and development
costs, the companies can both make more rapid advances in hybrid technology.
The entire auto industry faces tough new U.S. mileage standards that could require cars to get as
much as 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. And Americans seem to be responding positively to
