Category: students

My key takeaway from this weeks reading is that the law impacts the media, A LOT. From copyright, censorship, privacy laws, and so many more, it would be impossible for the law not to have an impact on the media.

A lot of this stuff does concern me, I would have to be crazy for it not to concern me. There are so many things that people (especially the government) can legally get away with.

One of the most interesting things to me was the article “9th Circuit: It’s a federal crime to visit a website after being told not to visit it.”  This article walks through a court case that, essentially, ruled if someone visits a website after the owner told them not to, it is a federal crime. There was a lot more that went into it, but that was the gist of it. It is concerning because a minor mistake can be a federal crime.

Another issue that stood out as very concerning to me was copyright laws. On the surface, copyright laws seem pretty good. People cannot steal your work without getting in legal trouble, that sounds good.

However, these laws also have some loopholes in them, mainly for big corporations. In our reading this week, we read about the John Deere case. Because John Deere legally owns the software, people cannot fix their own tractors.

This law can be used for almost any kind of technology, because software is in everything. Meaning, people cannot fix their own stuff. However, as we also read, these laws are starting to be lifted, but not all the way, which is highly concerning.  If we own the product, we should be able to fix it, no matter what.

Privacy laws also bring up some concern. Before this reading, I knew the government was collecting information about citizens through the internet. But I never knew the extent of it.

There are so many ways the government is legally taking our information. Through laws and acts such as The Patriot Act and PRISM, the government is legally spying on citizens. They can see and track everything we do.

This is a major violation of privacy to me. I know social media is not private, and anyone can see my social media, but I expect my private chats and my emails to at least stay private.

After reading and watching the content this week, I definitely feel like I need to change the way I use media. Honestly, stuff like this makes me want to use it less. I don’t like being spied on. I tend to be a very private person, and I want my stuff to stay private.

I just don’t think it’s fair how much legal trouble ordinary citizens can get in for simple mistakes. People should be able to visit websites they want, fix broken items which they bought, and have the right to want to keep their online presence private.

At the start of the assignment, I had intentions to create a new page for the Kettle Moraine School District.  There is a Wikipedia page for Kettle Moraine High School, and it contains a red link to the Kettle Moraine School District Page.  A red link indicates a link rot where the links to information have become dead links or disappeared.  I thought that was strange and had begun looking into creating a new page.  I learned that I needed to have a minimum of 10 edits before taking on a new page.  I searched to find another topic I know, so that I could reach 10 edits.

I have lived in Wisconsin for mostly my entire life.  I am very familiar with the area, and appreciate the landscape surrounding me.  I know the trails and had been specifically looking at adding information to Lapham Peak or to Waukesha County.  I was not able to find information to add to either of those pages.  I eventually landed on the Waukesha County Park System page, saw an opportunity and prepared edits.  The article is currently a stub, and hasn’t had edits since 2018.

I know from personal experience that the parks have and are continuing to implement dog exercise areas to the parks, which will contribute to the activities for members of the community.  As a dog owner, I seek this information out when I visit new towns.  Making these edits is extremely exciting because it could potentially help new and visiting dog owners in finding pet friendly activities.  I also know what it is like to be kicked out of Retzer Nature Center, mentioned in my edits, for bringing a dog into the nature area.

I have posted about my plans in the talks, but I think I might be doing them wrong.  I posted about my ideas for the Kettle Moraine School District page on my own talk, which didn’t get a response.  For the dog exercise edits, I posted it on the talk page even though there was no other conversation happening.  I did not receive a response.

I began my search for sources supporting the dog exercise areas.  I was able to find three sources and use a definition link to another Wikipedia page.  My first source supported the first sentence and related to the experience I had at Retzer Nature Center.  This is important because it warns dog owners to stay away, and also notifies the public that this is a dog free area for those with safety concerns against dogs.  The second sentence has references to Patch and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and includes a definition link to “dog parks.”  These sources were important because Wikipedia requires citations for all information added.

After checking back in on the article, I found that no one made changes to my edits; I wonder if that is because it is labeled a stub.  However, I noticed that I made a grammatical error in my edits.  I had a lowercase “p” on Nashotah Park.  I went back in to edit mode and made the edit.  For this experience, I was able to make a minor edit that would not change the meaning of the text.

Finding the Waukesha County Parks page excited me because Wikipedia could have educated me on not bringing my dog to Retzer Nature Center, and could have encouraged me to try another park that does allow dogs.  Even after some of the training, I was a bit scared to make edits on the pages.  That changed when I realized that certain types of information could improve a person’s experience, and I felt it was my responsibility to try.  At the end of my edits, I was notified that I had made 10 edits.  I am now able to take on the task of creating a page for Kettle Moraine School District!  Overall, this was an enjoyable experience and I will be attempting more edits.

Law and media really can be a very touchy combination. There is so much that can be confusing about the way media should be handled by the law. This can range from defamation, copyright, and more. There are so many ways to share media and trying to determine if certain media is against the law can be a bit tricky.

When it comes to the legality of media, I believe that major corporations should really be aware of what is posted. Companies and corporations seems to be more prone to anything that has to do with the legal system and breaking any laws. This can be from false advertising, sharing incorrect information on the internet, or even selling the wrong services or items. Employees who work in stores even have to be cautious because they are representing a company and they could get in trouble if they were to post something about the company and it damaged the company’s image.

When it comes to a personal account, people typically have the freedom to share information on different platforms. Media that is shared on Instagram and Facebook is considered free speech. The content that is posted is essentially owned by the companies who own those platforms but information that shared is typically freedom of speech. Now, when someone tries to post information that is defaming someone, this can cause some trouble. The victim in this particular situation can sue the “suspect” for either causing harm to their character. They can even sue the person for threats that are made on the internet. I am not concerned about the fact that certain laws may be changing for the content being placed on the internet because personally I do not post anything that can cause harm to anyone, however, the comments and posts that people can post on Instagram and Facebook could be a target for change. This is because people may not be able to say what they want to say or the stuff that is being said could potentially be used in court as evidence against someone.

Laws should be changed in the news industry when it comes to the sharing of information that can be very controversial. For example, the sharing of Kobe Bryant’s helicopter crash photos is such a huge media frenzy.  Information like this is really sensitive to people and should not be shared with the masses. Think about how Kobe’s family feels when they see this in the news and has to relive this unfortunate event. It is so sad to see and something should be done about this. No, it is not defaming but it is insensitive of someone to share this horrific information.  Whoever shared this information should be investigated because this person could have just done this for personal gains and not for educational purposes.

I am not entirely nervous about the laws changing the way we post media and the way we receive media but I do have concerns about how media can be controlled and what will be controlled. That is something that needs to be talked about on a daily basis.

What an interesting experiment. I actually tried to explain this and “correct” my supervisor at my current job. It was not as awkward as I thought it would be but it did seem a little like, “I know more than you”. My supervisor always talks about using the internet in order to retrieve information and to also post about things that he has heard on the news.

The topic was about lemons and what the genetic makeup of lemons were. I asked him where did he get this information from. He simply answered, “Google”. I then began to ask him why he thought that “Google” was the best source to retrieve this information and he stated, “Google has everything.” I asked him did he verify the website that he retrieved that information from and did he confirm that the statement that he said was truthful and factual. He stated that he, “knew it was because he uses Google all of the time.” I then began to explain how many people post information just to post information and it may not even be true. I expressed to him that being media literate is so important and that what you share with people can really have a huge impact on different people across the globe.

My supervisor then began to agree with me and tried to validate why he does his research a certain way. I explained again why the process of being media literate is so important and then he began to be more receptive to the concept. I do not think he will forget his coworker talking to him on how to be more media literate.

I have never been one to think about law too much. I live my life in a very safe “coloring inside the lines” mindset because having to deal with any legal issues is a very troubling thought to me. That said, with social media becoming practically an essential part of a professional and social life, it may be time for me to start taking law into consideration in a more active way.

The first piece of material that stood out to me in this module was the chapter of Mediactive titled “Privacy & Surveillance“. I am so very thankful for automatic updates that happen on my phone and computer, or else I wouldn’t give a second thought to it. I never realized how important keeping software up to date would help protect my privacy (the limited amount of privacy I feel that I have).

Besides entering my credit card information while purchasing textbooks or the plethora of unnecessary items I find on Amazon, I don’t have much information that I feel that I need to protect online. So when this chapter discusses the government creating an illegal surveillance system under the Bush administration, it doesn’t quite worry me much… Then again, I suppose you would expect to hear that from someone who has something to hide.

As someone who considers herself a “creative” and would like to pursue a career in an artistic field, learning about the takedown notice in the chapter titled “Copyrights and Takedowns” gives me some peace of mind. I am a painter and a writer. I have always been hesitant to sell my work or even post it. Among many other reasons (creative insecurities and whatnot), I am worried my work will be used online and there will be no way to prove it’s mine. I feel very protected by the law in this situation. Looking further into copyrighting if I make a career of the creative, I see the law as a very sturdy base to stand upon because of the ability to send a takedown notice.

https://giphy.com/gifs/painter-AXc58rS6nzQQ

The final piece that stood out to me in this module was an article by Electronic Frontier Foundation called “How to Blog Safely (About Work or Anything Else)”. While journalists who  are on payroll for major magazines like Time or Elle have clear protection when it comes to their work, I am delighted to find that there are people fighting to let bloggers have the same writes as these established journalists.

If I ever start a blog (if I don’t already have one), I plan on using a pseudonym. While professor Gillmor has been very clear (in Chapter 3 of Mediactive) about questioning sources that hide behind a pseudonym, I feel that I can be blatantly honest about my experiences with out backlash in my personal life. I won’t be reporting hard-hitting news that will affect the public’s well-being, so I don’t believe this will be a big deal. However, my stories may affect those around me, so I greatly appreciate the right to stay anonymous.

I realize I should change my actions based on the lessons I’ve learned and the rights that I have become more familiar with. However, because I am not a news reporter, I don’t have an affect on the general public’s well-being, and I don’t currently publish a public blog (as far as you know), I don’t see myself changing the way I use media. Because a lot of protection is automated in terms of computer and phone security, I don’t feel that I will put the effort into having an active role in protecting my information.

Citations

“9.1.1 Privacy and Surveillance.” Mediactive, by Dan Gillmor, Dan Gillmor, 2010, mediactive.com/9-1-1-privacy-and-surveillance/.

“9.1.5 Copyrights and Takedowns.” Mediactive, by Dan Gillmore, Dan Gillmore, 2010, http://mediactive.com/9-1-5-copyrights-and-takedowns/.

“3.5 Anonymous Versus Pseudonymous.” Mediactive, by Dan Gillmore, Dan Gillmore, 2010, http://mediactive.com/3-5-anonymous-versus-pseudonymous/.

I decided to help my mother and attempt to try and assist her in understanding the severity of sharing misinformation on her social media and how to improve her approach overall. As stated in my previous Module 6 post, the first step in this process, was to be honest and respectful, so I made sure that my chosen words were not demeaning or misunderstood in any way.

I then showed her multiple times where she had recently shared misinformed posts for her followers, and I explained why these posts she was sharing were not credible enough for her to even read, let alone to share on social media. Next, I described what has helped me and fellow journalists abide by a criteria to have credible sourcing through our social media, which are the SPJ Code of ethics that have been the pillars to journalism and what can help as a guide to follow for not just her, but all of us.

We then went through her social media following list, and eliminated double or triple pages of the same account. I explained to her there are verified pages that are credible enough with just that one page she follows, having too many duplicated pages of a news network or any form of media outlet can lead to confusion and sharing false information.

I reiterated to her how costly it can be to share misinformation, especially because social media is the place many people turn to for recent news. Just as much as she use to rely on Walter Cronkite every night for accurate news, people depend on social media daily for world news the same way. So it is essential to be accurate and verify more often before actually posting something.

Overall it was a productive talk, and it was civil between us. In the past, when social media was just starting, I remember getting impatient at times with trying to “teach her” how to use the different types of social media pages she wanted to be a part of. Now, as I have gotten older, I realize how much more effective it is to teach someone with a lot more patience initially. In the end, I left her knowing that this is all a learning process, and it would take us multiple times of repetition to make sure sharing accurately and effectively is more her style. I also mentioned to her, if she ever needed, she shouldn’t hesitate to call me and ask a simple credible source or verification question. I rather her do that than share another misinformed post.

In my previous post…

I provided a strategy to help stem a discussion to those in your social media network that need to become more aware “to share with care” on social media. In other words, before sharing content online it is critical that one checks the information is factual and holds credibility.

My mom’s boyfriend has struggled with quickly making assumptions that all articles he comes in contact with online are true, which is definitely not the case. So for the purpose of this extra credit assignment, I wanted to choose him to start this discussion with by showing an example of what can happen when you assume content online and fail to make sure it is true.

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I showed him the example analyzed in this Case Study from The New York Times regarding Eric Tucker and his “Fake News” tweet that went viral in less than 24 hours. I also made sure to emphasize the fact that Tucker felt he could never cause something at this scale due to his very small activity and following which is similar to the engagement of my mother’s boyfriend.

After letting him read the article and showing him how Tucker’s tweet had even reached Donald Trump, I think it helped put into perspective how important it is for him to start becoming more aware of the current media environment and how the spread of fake news can cause harmful effects at a national level.  He proceeded to ask for some strategies he can use to fact check the content he finds and gave him a few resources such as factcheck.org and also explained the process of simply googling the headline to see if other mainstream outlets are reporting on the same events.

I would argue that this conversation was successful in terms of spreading more awareness to “share with care” and what effects we may see caused by fake news if we do not start enforcing these types of strategies. I believe that my mother’s boyfriend now sees these ideas a lot more clearly and will continue to show more care when he now shares content. The conversation also remained civil and did not appear to offend him or his social media activity in any form.

The way law and media intertwine with each other and affect one another can be not only a confusing concept to grasp, but also an incredibly overwhelming one. Being a very “surface level” internet user myself, the role that the law plays in media is something that I have never given much thought to aside from clicking the “I Agree” box on whatever terms and conditions I need to accept.

I know I am agreeing to something, but is it really going to affect my daily life? Is anything I am doing on the internet so interesting or different from what anyone else is doing that I need to worry about the laws? Why would law and media be at all relevant to my personal life?

While working through module 7’s content, I first and foremost found myself a bit overwhelmed by the amount of gray areas between the media and law. In particular, the article published by The Washington Post pertaining to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act really made my head spiral a bit. It seems to me that the law’s place in media is something that is being defined and redefined quite often, and something that users, creators, and owners alike are all a bit unsure about.

The idea that Terms of Use and Cease-and-Desist letters are practically the same when it comes to legalities, and that it can be considered a crime to visit a public site just when told not to really surprised me – And in my opinion, shed a light on just how new this whole territory is in terms of the law. My biggest concern about law and media is that no one really understands where the lines need to be drawn, and that online platforms in particular have gotten too big for there to still be so much confusion and gray area.

In addition to The Washington Post’s article, the Medium article pertaining to the four kind of privacy also really caught my attention. Beginning with their mention of the 24-hour news cycle, this really brought to my attention just how much content we are trying to police. With the information turnover being practically lightening fast and the potential to reach millions in a matter of seconds being at the fingertips of all, it seems like it is impossible to enforce the law in all aspects and channels of the media.

In addition to this, there is blatantly no such thing as private on the internet. The author pointed out the crucial fact that in the United States, freedom of speech takes priority before the right to privacy does. Therefore, it is so important that individuals take the responsibility upon themselves to protect their own privacy (the law really isn’t going to do it for us).

The concept and issue of privacy really concerns me because of how young many of our internet users are today. Today we have school aged children having access to the internet, and while there are technically legalities protecting them online we still cannot guarantee that posts or content created while underaged will not have the potential to impact a child’s adult life future.

Personally, I plan to modify my media usage by seriously cutting down on the amount of personal information I choose to share online. While I can make changes now and delete some things from the past, I can’t say it doesn’t concern me when I think about some of the things I shared online when I was younger and more naive. While the likelihood is that all of that is buried deep in the depths of the internet where no one would ever find it (or even care to go looking for it), plenty information is still somewhere out there and there is really very little I can do about that.

I think moving forward it’s incredibly important that we teach about just how public (and permanent) our media usage really is and the gray areas that surround how it can be used for us and against us. Media is an incredibly powerful tool that we are still working to get a firm grasp on, and I think our law is definitely in a purgatory of “catch up” when it comes to getting ahold of it.

My Father is almost 70 years old and new to using the internet. I set him up with a new computer and an email address in December. Thankfully, he is finally maneuvering his way through the digital world and taking it slow. I called him this week, and I let him know that I wanted to share a few things with him that I had learned in my ASU Digital Media Literacy class.  I explained to him that fake news exists and that the internet has several different methods of how fake news spreads.

“Future Home Computer” by izenman is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

After explaining the definitions of trolls, bots, and what micro-targeting is, he had several questions. We then proceeded to spend quite a bit of time discussing how fake news is spread. He had a hard time understanding that robots are aiding in the spread of fake news.  Once he understood the different ways that false news spreads, I then explained the importance of him researching the news and the articles that he reads before he shares them on his social media accounts. I explained that Snopes was an excellent source to reference when fact-checking, and I also explained how to do a reverse image search as well. He had no idea that this existed, so this was very exciting to him.

I then explained that websites install “cookies” on your computer as a way of analyzing and collecting information about you to use for personalized advertising.  I had him read, “How to View Cookies in Your Computer.”  He had a hard time understanding how this worked, so I had him read the article, “What are cookies doing to your computer?” I then made sure that he understood how to delete cookies from his computer and had him read, “How to clear cookies in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and other browsers.” This information helped him understand what cookies were and how to remove them.

“160411-224” by waferboard is licensed under CC BY 2.0

After he understood all of the technological information, I then let him know that using common sense before he shared an article and taking the time to ask himself a few questions before sharing the information was necessary.  I let him know that he should always ask:  Where did this information come from? Is the source reputable and trustworthy? What is the timeline for this? Is it recent? I also had him read, “How to Spot Fake news.” This article was beneficial and made him understand how important it is not to spread false information.

At the end of our conversation, my Father was very appreciative that I had shared this information with him.  He was so excited that he started pulling up articles on Facebook and fact-checking them on Snopes and Factcheck.org. I am thankful that I completed this assignment with my Father, as it was a conversation that needed to be had. In the end, hopefully, this conversation will prevent one more person from spreading false information.