To prepare for our unit about “misinformation,” I’d like for you to find an example of misinformation printed in a textbook and create a post about it. This will take a little bit of research. I’d like you to post the bibliographic information for the textbook. Then, tell us what fact was printed in the book that is untrue; if possible, quote it directly. Then, tell us what was wrong, or why this should be considered misinformation. Finally, give me the source of your correct (or corrected) information, and provide full bibliographic information.
Here are some guidelines:
1. The misinformation should be a genuine factual error. I’m not looking for simple grammar or spelling mistakes. Also, please avoid giving examples of “misinformation” that amount to: opinions, bad takes about factual events, or religious interpretations of factual events.
2. The textbook that you post about should be an English-language textbook (not just a nonfiction book).
3. The textbook should be something that was published during your lifetime. (We’re not looking for errors in 1890s books.)
4. You may not include an example, or a textbook, that has already been posted. This means that there is an incentive to do this assignment sooner rather than later. It also means that if you are late to the table, you’ll want to read through the existing posts.
Here is an example:
Vivian, John. “Sound Media.” The Media of Mass Communication. 11th ed. Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, 2013. 126. Print.
Error: The book states “The recording industry does well from big-name performers. Kesha’s “OK to ToK” sold $12.8 million in downloads alone in 2010.”
Why this is misinformation: Kesha, or Ke$ha, has never released a song or an album called “OK to Tok.” In 2010 she did have a huge hit single called “Tik Tok.” Perhaps John Vivian typed this edition on his phone.
Source for correct information: “Ke$ha: Chart History.” Billboard. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.
also
“List of Songs by Ke$ha.” Songfacts. Songfacts LLC. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.
(I listed two sources because I’m trying to prove a negative, i.e., that Ke$ha never released anything with that title. Because it’s difficult to establish a negative claim, I felt additional evidence was warranted.)
