An informative, insightful, and helpful overview of a prominent and serious societal problem.
This timely look at the rise and spread of fake news examines how the internet has changed the way news is reported and consumed and how social media is used to discredit people and policies, most often in the realm of politics.
Currie opens with an especially infamous fake-news example, “Pizzagate,” a widely disseminated and completely discredited rumor linking the Hillary Clinton campaign to a child-prostitution ring allegedly run out of a pizzeria, which incited a man to enter the restaurant and fire a rifle. Currie defines fake news as “deliberately false”; it “must be presented and designed to look like an actual news story…[and] must be distributed on the Internet in order to qualify.” The text distinguishes fake news from other types of misinformation, such as government propaganda, political rhetoric, and satire or parody sites such as the Onion. Importantly, Currie notes that fake news “is a modern development with clear parallels in history.” One historical example cited is Randolph Hearst’s use of his newspapers to sway public opinion in favor of war with Spain. In addition to providing historical context and citing numerous examples, Currie discusses practical steps information consumers can take to distinguish between fake and legitimate news, such as consulting fact-checking websites such as Snopes and PolitiFact. He notes the essential role of librarians in educating information consumers how to discern the legitimacy of what they see.
An informative, insightful, and helpful overview of a prominent and serious societal problem. (photos, source notes, further research, index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68282-297-5
Page Count: 80
Publisher: ReferencePoint Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Best enjoyed by preexisting fans of the author.
Deaf, trans artist Man meditates on his journey and identity in this brief memoir.
Growing up in conservative central Pennsylvania was tough for the 21-year-old Deaf, genderqueer, pansexual, and biracial (Chinese/White Jewish) author. He describes his gender and sexual identity, his experiences of racism and ableism, and his desire to use his visibility as a YouTube personality, model, and actor to help other young people like him. He is open and vulnerable throughout, even choosing to reveal his birth name. Man shares his experiences of becoming deaf as a small child and at times feeling ostracized from the Deaf community but not how he arrived at his current Deaf identity. His description of his gender-identity development occasionally slips into a well-worn pink-and-blue binary. The text is accompanied and transcended by the author’s own intriguing, expressionistic line drawings. However, Man ultimately falls short of truly insightful reflection or analysis, offering a mostly surface-level account of his life that will likely not be compelling to readers who are not already fans. While his visibility and success as someone whose life represents multiple marginalized identities are valuable in themselves, this heartfelt personal chronicle would have benefited from deeper introspection.
Best enjoyed by preexisting fans of the author. (Memoir. 12-18)Pub Date: June 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-22348-2
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
Like many grammar books, this starts with parts of speech and goes on to sentence structure, punctuation, usage and style....
As she does in previous volumes—Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing (2008) and The Grammar Devotional (2009)—Fogarty affects an earnest and upbeat tone to dissuade those who think a grammar book has to be “annoying, boring, and confusing” and takes on the role of “grammar guide, intent on demystifying grammar.”
Like many grammar books, this starts with parts of speech and goes on to sentence structure, punctuation, usage and style. Fogarty works hard to find amusing, even cheeky examples to illustrate the many faux pas she discusses: "Squiggly presumed that Grammar Girl would flinch when she saw the word misspelled as alot." Young readers may well look beyond the cheery tone and friendly cover, though, and find a 300+-page text that looks suspiciously schoolish and isn't really that different from the grammar texts they have known for years (and from which they have still not learned a lot of grammar). As William Strunk said in his introduction to the first edition of the little The Elements of Style, the most useful grammar guide concentrates attention “on a few essentials, the rules of usage and principles of composition most commonly violated.” After that, “Students profit most by individual instruction based on the problems of their own work.” By being exhaustive, Fogarty may well have created just the kind of volume she hoped to avoid.Pub Date: July 5, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8050-8943-1
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2011
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