The Media bias project

Graduation Project: The Media Bias project

A project submitted to Department of Fashion Communication NIFT-Bengaluru

In partial fulfillment of the degree of Bachelor’s of design in Fashion Communication

Guided By Mr. Sanjeev CM, Associate Professor Submitted by Swarna Manjari C Fashion Communication VII BD/17/89

Department of Fashion Communication National Institute of Fashion Technology Bengaluru - 560102

Print publication of student document For private circulation only. Fashion Communication Department 2021 National Institute of Fashion Technology Bengaluru, India All rights are reserved. No part of this book, either text or illustration, may be used or reproduced in any form without prior written permission from the publisher. This document is for educational purpose only and is a part of NIFT Curriculum

Guided by Mr. Sanjeev CM Associate Professor

Documentation by Swarna Manjari C BD/17/89

Declaration

I, Swarna Manjari C, hereby declare that the report titled “The Media Bias Project” is the result of my own research work based on my internship at Memesys Cultural Lab from January 16th, 2021 to April 30th 2021. Credit is given to all the sources that were looked into for the completion of this project. Furthermore, this report has not been submitted to any other Institution for award of any degree/diploma.

PLACE: Madurai DATE : 14/06/21

Under the Guidance Mr. Sanjeev CM Associate Professor

Department Of Fashion Communication National Institute of Fashion Technology Bengaluru - 560102.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORSHIP AND ORIGINALITY

I, Swarna Manjari, Daughter of Mr.Chellapandi, a bonafide graduating student with Roll No BD/17/89 of NIFT Bengaluru campus degree in B.Des.(FashionCommunication) Batch 2021, has neither previously submitted for a degree nor has it been submitted as a part of requirements for a degree by self or anyone else, except as fully acknowledged within the text of this report.

I also certify that the report has been originally and completely authored by me under the supervision/guidance of my project guide/mentors allotted by theInstitute/Industry. Any help that I have received in my research project and the preparation of the same has been acknowledged.

In addition, I certify that all the creative and research works / intellectual content presented in this document are original and all information/data sourcestextual,numerical and visual nature, other literature used are indicated and due credit has been given in the report.

Certified by: Swarna Manjari C

Date: 14/06/2021 Place: Madurai

Verified by:

Mr. Sanjeev C.M. Associate Professor Department of Fashion Communication

Date: 14/06/2021 Place: Bengaluru

Acknowledgement

The time that I spent at Memesys Cultural Lab was a wonderful learning experience. I am really thankful to Zain for giving me this incredible opportunity and supporting me through every step of the project. His invaluable mentorship and feedback has helped me push myself and produce truly creative results.

My faculty mentor Sanjeev CM who has helped me explore my potential in design ever since the first year of college. Thanks for helping me grow into the designer I have become.

I’d like to thank Naomi Shah for her ability to bring clarity to my thoughts whenever I was confused about how to take a concept further. Her guidance helped me refine my work into a thoughtful and simple outcome.

To Kriti, Stuti, Abishek, Aayush and Samvit who were always there to lift my spirits, both personally and professionally. They made Memesys feel like home and I couldn’t have been luckier to have such great first time work colleagues.

To Shreya, for all the endless conversations that gave rise to multiple amazing ideas that I will take forward even after the project. Thanks for the friendship and mentorship, I really look up to you.

To my parents who have showed their unwavering support throughout college and have been there through all my ups and downs.

To my friends, who have had my back since day one and continue to do so. I owe you guys everything!

And finally, to Sultan and Barrister for being the friendliest office cats ever and my first pets.

Phases of Research

Phase 1: Explore

Phase 2: Reframe

Phase 3: Create

Phase 4: Catalyse

Process and Workflow

4.0/ Explore phase: Research and analysis

Research questions

Secondary Research

Manufacturing Consent by Noam Chomsky

The five filters of the mass media machine

Media ownership monitor Information as a fundamental unit

Networks and systems Collective movements

Freedom of information Social media as a tool Evolution of power

Qualitative Analysis

Stakeholder mapping Stakeholder relationship

Epistemology and Journalism

Factors that shape social epistemologies Factors that shape personal epistemologies

Personal epistemological framework

Mediums and methods of perceiving

Project Inspirations

Case Studies

and quizzes

experiences

and conferences

Preface

This project was an exploration into one of the most challenging questions of our times, “fake news”. The zeitgeist of recent years revolving around the terms ‘post truth’, ‘alternate facts’ and the ‘infodemic’, have gained the eye of many researchers worldwide giving rise to a new field called digital humanities.

As a communication design student, my aspiration in delving into this complex issue arose from my keeness on using design as a lens of inquiry into social problems that have implications in the possible future. As we tackle various narratives in the Information age that we live in, it has become increasingly important for designers to be the agents who bridge the gap between public understanding and the issue at hand. To act on solving such issues requires the participation of multiple stakeholders from various disciplines - however the responsibility of spreading the messaging and facilitating discourse largely stays in the realm of communication designers.

The research project also aims to be a culmination of the cumulative understanding that I have gained in the last four years; from subjects in design research, visual design, systems thinking, exhibition design and electives like media studies, critical thinking and sociology. Being at the Fashion Communication department at NIFT, has given me a large umbrella to explore under and helped me discover the space I want to create for myself as a designer. The faculty and mentors have pushed me far beyond what was prescribed and played a major part in guiding me to pursue multiple domains, helping me evolve into a competent learner.

Finally, I have been also incredibly lucky to have gotten the opportunity to work in this context within the industry and to have the guidance and support to carry this forward. I hope that this documentation serves as a useful resource for further research and inquiry in this area.

I ask of you, the reader to go through this with an open mind and broader vision of the questions at hand. Let this be an effective argument that you can engage with and ponder about after.

Name of Figure Fig No.

Memesys logo

Systemic design framework diagram

Relationship between system, user and designer

Media ownership chart in the Indian media ecosystem (Data by RSF and MOM)

A data visualisation showing the connections between individual users (Facebook Research)

A printed cover of ‘The Whole Earth Catalog’ by Stewart Brand

Screengrabs from the 1984 superbowl ad by Apple revealing the first macintosh

Screengrab from the Epic ad (2019)

Stakeholder map showing interrelationships

Mind map depicting factors influencing the information interface

Brainstorming maps showing factors influencing personal epistemologies

Game depicting how to spot fake news

Be Internet Awesome, an internet safety game developed by Google

Screengrabs from the game BBC iReporter

Tactical Tech’s ‘The Glass Room: Misinformation Edition’ exhibition space

Events and projects showcased at Mozilla internet fest 2021

Rough sketches during the concept ideation process

Rough sketches during the brainstorming process (2)

Eclectic cloud - Branding project by Ilya Shapko

Visions/ Perceptions - an experimental storybook by Le Lin

Typo Berlin(2013) - Identity Design by Stephanie J Kim

Name of Figure Fig No.

Politics of Design (2012) by Gry Reistad

Absolut Campaign branding

The Optics of God - illustrated book by Art Studio AGRAFKA

Learn to see differently - Zagreb University fair 2012

Prototyping to test out concept

A pair of filter glasses as the tool to interact with the content

Scaleability of idea

Prototyping concept drafts to show how the meaning of a message can be distorted using multiple filters

The Magic Square zine by Shishir Bommakanti

El Duende + Sony PlayStation 4 by IS Creative studio

Typeface by

Vietnam war picture showing media bias in blue and red

Text overlay using blue and red

Prototype showing meat consumption and private restaurant chains

Text overlay using CMYK colours

Hong Kong protest imagery redrawn using blue and red to show two distinct views

Text overlay using CMYK colours (2)

Images depicting the consequences of meat consumption on deforestation and forest fires

Sketch of the moon landing and usage of the crop and filter technique to show both sides

Idea to show two words that merge into a third word

Stick figure drawing showing two sides of a story

Research mapping for the Israel Palestine conflict

List of Tables

Name of

Organization Flow chart (Memesys)

Shannon Weaver Communication model

Workflow chart

List of direct and indirect stakeholders

Resources exchange chart (Corporate)

Resources exchange chart (Governments)

Resources exchange chart (Mainstream media)

Resources exchange chart (Alternate media organisations)

Resources exchange chart (Independent journalists)

Resources exchange chart (Social media)

Resources exchange chart (Citizens)

Personal epistemological framework chart

Consumption channels and epistemologies description chart

About the sponsor

COMPANY PROFILE

Memesys Culture Lab is a cinema and new media studio at the intersection of science, philosophy and culture.

The studio will actively participate in cinema, literature, pedagogy, technology, art, scientific and philosophical research, and actions of significant social impact.

It is the largest Virtual Reality and new media studio out of India, using the most cutting edge technology solutions to craft the biggest and most exciting Virtual Reality experiences, and evangelizing VR in mainstream media.

The vision at Memesys is to initiate dialogue, engage with the greatest ideas of past and present, and interpret and demystify current breakthroughs in our understanding of the self and the universe.

Fig. 1 Memesys logo

STRUCTURE

ANAND GANDHI CEO

Anand Gandhi is a filmmaker and entrepreneur, deeply interested in philosophy, evolutionary psychology, innovation and the future. “Ship of Theseus”, his first feature premiered at TIFF ’12 and has since been recognized as “the most significant film to come out of India in decades” by critics and audiences alike. It was presented the National Award in 2014. Anand is also the writer, creative director and executive producer of “Tumbbad”, an acclaimed horror-fantasy film.

ZAIN MEMON CTO/COO

Zain Memon is a ludologist, storyteller, media-tech specialist, media producer and co-founder of Memesys Culture Lab. He functions as the CTO-COO, playing a pivotal role in the virtual reality ecosystem out of the Indian subcontinent, and has designed state-of-the-art workflows and immersive grammatical tools for Mixed Reality. Zain is the creator of SHASN, a highly-anticipated political strategy game that examines our democratic systems and the nature of power.

KHUSHBOO RANKA Creative Director

Khushboo has had experience in the fields of journalism, graphic design and writing for a number of years, before she moved to filmmaking. “Continuum,” a short film she wrote and directed at the age of 20, won the best short film at the Hannover Film Festival. She next co-wrote the internationally acclaimed fiction feature film “Ship of Theseus.” Her versatility gave rise to her latest projects, “An Insignificant Man,” her first feature documentary film, and ‘Right to Pray’, a unique virtual reality experience, the first of its kind from India.

VINAY SHUKLA Co-Founder

Vinay Shukla is a filmmaker, producer and actor. His persisting fascination with the Indian politics has shaped two acclaimed narrative projects for him: “Bureaucracy Sonata”, a short film he wrote and directed in 2011, which premiered at the 42nd International Film Festival of India and won the HBO Best Short Film Award in New York at SAIFF 2012; and “An Insignificant Man,” a feature documentary film he shot, and co-directed, which travelled to over 50 international film festivals and had the largest theatrical release ever of an Indian documentary.

POOJA SHETTY Head of Design

Pooja Shetty is an architect and designer. She has previously worked for UN Habitat’s low cost housing project in Iraq. She has been the production designer for “Ship of Theseus”, and “Tumbbad”. Pooja is also an illustrator and is working on an illustrated guide to astounding animal species. For the past few years she has been working independently in architecture and design. Pooja’s prolific nature and knack for high-concept thinking helps her dabble in writing, research, and technology.

NEIL PAGEDAR Head of Content

Neil Pagedar is a writer and filmmaker. Neil has formerly worked on documentaries for Films Division. He is currently working on his first novel. Neil comes from a strong storytelling tradition, and is easily excited by ideas. He is deeply interested in history, culture, and music, and is a natural at drawing narrative out of concepts and tech ideas.

FLOW CHART

Anand Zain Vinay

Asst. Director Game Designer Design Consultant Head writer Communications manager Marketing assistant

Design Team

Art Director

Graphic Designer

Table 1. Organization Flow chart (Memesys)

MENTORS

Zain Memon- Game Designer, Media Producer

Naomi Shah - Researcher, Filmmaker

Editors Cinematographer Researcher

Role of research intern (Swarna)

Editing Team

Editor and Animator Post production assistant

PROJECTS

Their work spans across films, to games and Virtual reality.

Ship of Theseus

Ship of Theseus is a 2012 Indian drama film written and directed by Anand Gandhi, and produced by actor Sohum Shah. The film explores “questions of identity, justice, beauty, meaning and death through the stories of an experimental photographer, an ailing monk and an enterprising stockbroker”, played by Aida El-Kashef, Neeraj Kabi and Sohum Shah.

Tumbbad

An Insignificant Man

An Insignificant Man is a 2016 Hindi/English Indian socio-political documentary co-produced and directed by Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla and also co-produced by filmmaker Anand Gandhi and is about the rise of anti-corruption protests in India and the formation and rise to power of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).The film received a standing ovation at its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and has gone on to have sold out screenings at major festival across the world including the BFI London Film Festival & Busan International Film Festival.

Shasn

Shasn is a multiplayer political strategy board game created by Zain Memon, and published by Memesys Culture Lab, where each player takes on the role of a politician contesting elections and is required to take a stand on various political and ethical issues.

OK Computer

OK Computer is an Indian science fiction comedy-drama television series on Disney+ Hotstar created and directed by Pooja Shetty and Neil Pagedar, who also wrote the script along with Anand Gandhi. Gandhi and his team also produced the series through the studio Memesys Culture Lab.

The information ecosystem is formed by the active interaction between multiple stakeholders that include governments, corporations, the press and citizens. On analysis, it is visible that certain actors hold more power over the other, since their sphere of influence is significantly larger. The information that passes through this system is therefore shaped by these powerful actors through tools that allow for manipulation. Citizens who are responsible for holding them accountable receive the distorted information unaware of the influences, hence failing to make informed choices in the democratic process.

For a well functioning democracy to exist, it is imperative that citizens understand the points of data contamination and manipulation.

This project aims to create a tool that helps individuals experience distorted information from both ends of the spectrum and provides them with a way to identify the truth through a physical interface. The experience would be catered to highlight the importance of critical thinking skills in the vastly complex information environment that we exist in today. Further scope of this project would involve showing results relating to the shift in perception to the participants themselves, to prove that it is indeed these channels that are used to polarize the public using methods of distortion. Finally, it hopes to create conversation amongst individuals that it is possible as a society to reach a ‘rough consensus’ of truth based on sound evidence to make better policy decisions for the future.

Keywords

Information ecosystem, stakeholder relationships, media bias, critical thinking, complex truth

Introduction 2.0/

2.1. Executive Summary

The information landscape has evolved over time through inventions such as language, writing, coding and the internet. 21st century digital technologies have created a new dimension of shared reality in the form of the digital cyberspace; and humankind’s ability to communicate, cooperate and control have exponentially multiplied. The tools and networks that were pioneered in search of liberation have turned into the ones that manipulate the flow of knowledge. When social media gives us the power to express, a search engine gives us the power to know and the network gives us the power to connect; what makes the argument for a more radicalizing and increasingly polarizing world dominated by post truth narratives?

Behind the façade of the democratization of information, there exist hidden algorithmic monopolies. Behind every piece of liberal journalism, there lies a piece of manufactured information; And even though technology evolves, the seat of power manages to manifest itself in more nuanced and discrete ways - making those with the ability to exercise control more accurate, fast and impactful.

Thus, how might we make citizens understand these power structures and influences outlining the overall system and the way it informs their beliefs in a simulated environment? How might we hack the exact same heuristics that have fallen prey to believing the news that is fed to us to help us realize the invisible hand that facilitates it?

1 Dalal, A., Besplemennova, Y., Dubova, M., & Cugusi, L. (2020, May 13). Anatomy of a Trojan Horse. Strelka Mag. https://strelkamag.com/en/article/anatomy-of-a-trojan-horse.

“The first global pandemic in the age of social media reveals the role of information in regulating planetary metabolism.”1

2.2. Areas of Inquiry

2.2.1.

Misinformation

and Fake news

Knowledge of evidence based fact checked information is crucial to the functioning of any democratic society. However, this fundamental aspect has been challenged during the recent decade with the rise of misinformation, social polarization and content manipulation. To study the various causes and systems behind this widespread phenomenon has been an area of interest to researchers worldwide.

“This is an apple. Some people might try to tell you this is a banana. They might scream banana, banana, banana, over and over and over again. They might put banana in all caps. You might even start to believe that this is a banana. But it’s not. This is an apple.”2

- Diana Owen, The New Media’s role in politics

2.2.2.

2.2.3. Epistemology

Epistemologies of information become more important when approaching the issue of credibility of news and perception towards it. Journalistic and personal epistemologies along with social epistemologies form a crucial part of the study around misinformation. To comprehend the real-life consequences of public fake news narratives for the composition of news and media repertoires (e.g. resort to alternative news sources, be warier of the veracity of news), it is crucial to explore whether media users perceive fake news as a problem and whether their media practices are thereby affected.3

2. Owen, Diana (2017) The Age of Perplexity: Rethinking the World we Knew. Radically Reassessing “The Economic”. Madrid, BBVA, OpenMind, Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial.

3. Schwarzenegger C. Personal epistemologies of the media: Selective criticality, pragmatic trust, and competence–confidence in navigating media repertoires in the digital age. New Media & Society. 2020;22(2):361-377. doi:10.1177/1461444819856919

How does one know what they know? How does one know their truths?

2.3. Context of Research

Ever since 2016, when the OED declared “post-truth” as the word of the year following the Trump era, researchers, technologists, anthropologists and social scientists have been grappling with and trying to understand the phenomenon of alternative facts and fake news. The situation has only accelerated further with the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic. With Twitter wars surrounding conspiracy theories and the spread of health related misinformation, the need for fact checking and proof of evidence has increased.

This led to my curiosity in exploring the issue across scales to understand the underlying loopholes. As a student who is passionate about the application of design principles to create real world change it became all the more important to critically examine the problem and analyse it from various perspectives.

Furthermore, in modern economies and societies, the availability of information is central to better decision making by voters, consumers, and investors and consensus of truth is of highest importance in a participatory democracy.4 When we cannot even agree to facts about climate change, how is it possible to take action towards solving it?

Information is a primary funnel towards our understanding of the world around us, and in order to cooperate as a civilisation it is necessary to be on the same page based on scientific rigour and rationalist thinking. Thus, in order to work towards this, it is evident that it requires investigation and mediums to communicate it to the public as well as amongst the academic community.

4 Henry Simons, Economic Policy of a Free Society (1948); and George J. Stigler, The Economics of Information, 69 J. Pol. Econ. 213 (1961).

2.4. Challenges

The initial challenges facing this research included identifying the specific points of intervention for the maximum impact that could make use of the skill set of communication design. Since the areas of inquiry were quite broad, it required a lot of secondary research and readings of previous papers to identify the focal points that needed attention.

Secondly, since it is a relatively new growing field of inquiry, with various points of contention, it was okay to have a primitive understanding of the thesis area without a need to necessarily solve the issue but rather look at it through a lens of inquiry with an aim to understand it better.

Lastly, it was challenging to recruit participants during the ongoing pandemic and user interviews through online mediums proved to have their own limitations.

Methodology 3.0/

The methodology of the project followed a reframed double diamond framework proposed by the design council called the systemic design framework.

3.1. Systemic Design Framework

Fig 2a. Systemic design framework diagram

The Systemic Design Framework, launched by Design Council in 2021, has been developed to help designers working on major complex challenges that involve people across different disciplines and sectors. It places our people and our planet at the heart of design.

3.1.1. Role of a designer

In this framework, a designer has to play certain unconventional roles and also navigate between them at different stages of the process. It looks beyond the standard role of a designer as a problem solver and widens the scope of activity and skills needed.

SYSTEM THINKER:

Someone who has the ability to see how everything is interconnected in a bigger picture and zoom between the micro and the macro and across silos.

LEADER AND STORYTELLER:

Someone who can tell a great story about what might be possible and why this is important, get buy-in from all levels and have the tenacity to see the work through.

DESIGNER AND MAKER:

Someone who understands the power of design and innovation tools, has the technical and creative skills to make things happen, and makes sure they are used early on in the work.

CONNECTOR AND CONVENER:

Someone with good relationships, is able to create spaces where people from different backgrounds come together, and joins the dots to create a bigger movement.5

5 Design Council. (2021). Beyond Net Zero: A systemic design approach. London, UK; Design Council.

3.1.2. Potential of design to achieve real change

Design has a critical role to play when dealing with macro problems of the future. While designers may not need to actively participate in solving them, it is imperative that they play a role in bridging the gap between complex systems and the public perception of it. As communication designers it has been of growing importance to explain these complex issues as consumable bits of information that not only spread awareness but also serve as a call to action.

“There needs to be a shift in conversation among designers about the social, political, technological and ethical implications of what we design. They need to be asking themselves ‘futuring’ questions about global scenarios that they could possibly make an impact on. They will need to interact and actively work with sociologists, authors, scientists, policy makers, activists, artists, businessmen and lawyers to work on solutions and scenarios. They need to be at the forefront of creating for the global future; the people and the planet.” 6

3.1.3. Bridging the gap

Fig 2b. Relationship between system, user and designer

6 Chellapandi, S. M. (2020, May 5). Notes from a design journal [web log]. https://medium.com/@ swarnamanjaric/notes-from-a-design-journal-2efc4a8172c0.

3.2. Phases of research

Explore Phase

Throughout the design process, we need to explore deeply and widely what is happening, determine the root cause of the issue, consider what ideas and resources exist already that we can re-use and build from, and develop a bold and hopeful vision of what the future might look like.

Reframe Phase

Remap the system with a new goal or purpose at its heart, with new organisations in it and with different types of relationships. Ask ‘if this is the case, then what other ideas are there…?’ and ‘if this is the case, what has happened to get us here…?’

Create Phase

Creating a series of different actions and ideas that can connect with other interventions and help designers move towards a bigger goal.

Catalyse Phase

Thinking systemically can often feel overwhelming, so making things helps move you forward. It shows people what a new vision looks and feels like in a tangible way, so they can get behind it or add their ideas to it.7

7 Design Council. (2021). Beyond Net Zero: A systemic design approach. London, UK; Design Council.

3.3. Process and workflow

PROJECT PITCH

RESEARCH

FUNDING CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT PROTOTYPING EXECUTION POST PRODUCTION

4.0/

3.1. Research Questions

How have power dynamics in the information ecosystem shifted alongside the development of technology and digital infrastructure?

What are the emerging patterns of monopolistic vs democratized narratives that are being served by those in power vs the public?

How does public perception towards news vary depending on the channel of consumption?

Can collective awareness about media literacy and filter bubbles help shape public opinion in shifting the levers of power?

Can we establish alternative frameworks for civic discourse followed by mobilized action for future building?

3.2. Secondary Research

3.2.1. Manufacturing Consent by Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman:

A foundation for understanding the propaganda model of mass media

The book Manufacturing Consent stands as a hallmark study into how the media ecosystem works. Written in 1949, it is surprising that the propaganda model that was prescribed appears to be true even today after the advent of the digital information infrastructure that has changed the way news is produced, aggregated and distributed.

This new digital media environment can be looked at the following way; a link economy through which content is ranked, a like economy through which engagement is defined and measured, and a tracker economy through which attention is commoditized.9

“The mass media serve as a system for communicating messages and symbols to the general populace. It is their function to amuse, entertain, and inform, and to inculcate individuals with the values, beliefs, and codes of behavior that will integrate them into the institutional structures of the larger society. In a world of concentrated wealth and major conflicts of class interest, to fulfil this role requires systematic propaganda.”8

― Noam Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media

3.2.2. The five filters of mass media

According to the propaganda model, the five filters that regulate mass media distribution are:

Media Ownership

The size, concentrated ownership, owner wealth, and profit orientation of the dominant mass-media firms.

Advertising

Advertising as the primary income source of the mass media;

Sourcing of news

The reliance of the media on information provided by government, business, and ‘experts’ funded and approved by these primary sources and agents of power;

Flak

‘Flak’ as a means of disciplining the media;

Ideology

‘Anticommunism’ as a national religion and control mechanism. These elements interact with and reinforce one another. The raw material of news must pass through successive filters, leaving only the cleansed residue fit to print. They fix the premises of discourse and interpretation, and the definition of what is newsworthy in the first place, and they explain the basis and operations of what amount to propaganda campaigns.10

8,9 Fuchs, C. 2018. Propaganda 2.0: Herman and Chomsky’s Propaganda Model in the Age of the Internet, Big Data and Social Media. In: Pedro-Carañana, J., Broudy, D. and Klaehn, J. (eds.). The Propaganda Model Today: Filtering Perception and Awareness. Pp. 71–92. London: University of Westminster Press. DOI: https:// doi.org/10.16997/book27.f. License: CC‐BY‐NC‐ND 4.0

10 Herman, E. S. (2017). Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. Createspace Independent Publishing Platform.

3.2.3. Media Ownership Monitor

Fig 3. Media ownership chart in the Indian media ecosystem. (Data by RSF, Dataleads and MOM)

Ownership bestows control11

“Within the sample of this study, as many as ten media owners have direct or indirect links with politics while some of them even represent a political party. There are countless others however, who have refused to declare their political affiliations, but yet own media companies. Between them, media owners with political links control a sizeable share of viewership/readership.”12

- Politics and Media - a delicate handshake

11 Sanford J. Grossman & Oliver D. Hart, The Costs and Benefits of Ownership: A Theory of Vertical and Lateral Integration, 94 J. Pol. Econ. 691 (1986).

12.. Nazakat, S. (2019). Media and Political affiliation in India: Media Monitor India. Media Ownership Monitor. http://india.mom-rsf.org/en/findings/politicalaffiliations/.

3.2.4. Information as a fundamental unit

“What lies at the heart of every living thing is not a fire, not warm breath, not a “spark of life.” It is information, words, instructions. If you want a metaphor, don’t think of fires and sparks and breath. Think, instead, of a billion discrete, digital characters carved in tablets of crystal.” 14

- Richard Dawkins

In his legendary book, “The Selfish Gene” Dawkins coins the term ‘memes’ in the last chapter. Memes- as the fundamental units of culture carrying bits and packets of information raning from a tune, to a catchphrase, to an ideology.

Ideas have “spreading power,” he noted—“infectivity, as it were”—and some more than others. An example of an infectious idea might be a religious ideology that gains sway over a large group of people.13

The information ecosystem that we live in can be envisioned as a living web of such sparks or ideas- each replicating itself through the complex network of stakeholders. In order to understand this, it is not only mportant to find out the actors in the network but laso the modes and

channels of communication. The primary packet on information has been known to be quantifiable as ‘bits’ as coined by Shannon in his thesis about information theory.14 Dawkins spoke about memes as the abstract counterpart of the same entity.

To look at information as a whole, it is important to take into account both- one, the semantic meaning of what is conveyed and the other, the mathematical equivalent of the quantity.

Exploring how information travels through this system forms an important part of the thesis and paves way for further inquiry into the subject matter.

13

14. Levinson, M. (Director). (2018). The Bit Player [Film]. https://thebitplayer.com/

Gleick, J. (2011). The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood. Pantheon Books.

3.2.5. Networks and Systems

The rise of this network of all networks was inspiring new theoretical work on the topology of interconnectedness in very large systems. The science of networks had many origins and evolved along many paths, from pure mathematics to sociology, but it crystallized in the summer of 1998, with the publication of a letter to Nature from Duncan Watts and Steven Strogatz. 15

I read somewhere that everybody on this planet is separated by only six other people. Six degrees of separation. Between us and everyone else on this planet. The President of the United States. A gondolier in Venice. Fill in the names.

- SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION

Fig 4. A data visualisation showing the connections between individual users (Facebook Research)

“Our collective “degrees of separation” have shrunk over the past five years. In 2011, researchers at Cornell, the Università degli Studi di Milano, and Facebook computed the average across the 721 million people using the site then, and found that it was 3.74 [4,5]. Now, with twice as many people using the site, we’ve grown more interconnected, thus shortening the distance between any two people in the world.” 16

FACEBOOK RESEARCH

15 Gleick, J. (2011). The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood. Pantheon Books.

16. Edunov, S., Diuk, C. G., Filiz, s. O., Bhagat, S., & Burke, M. (2016). Three and a half degrees of separation. Facebook Research. https://research.fb.com/blog/2016/02/three-and-a-half-degrees-of-separation/

3.2.6. Collective movements

Fig 5. A printed cover of ‘The Whole Earth Catalog’ by Stewart Brand 17 (n.d.). https://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2011/AccesstoTools/

In 1968, Stewart Brand founded the Whole Earth Catalog. Brand’s goals were to make a variety of tools accessible to newly dispersed counterculture communities, back-to-the-land households, and innovators in the fields of technology, design, and architecture, and to create a community meeting-place in print. The catalogue quickly developed into a wide-ranging reference for new living spaces, sustainable design, and experimental media and community practices. After only a few years of publication it exploded in popularity, becoming a formidable cultural phenomenon.17

RISE OF THE COUNTERCULTURE MOVEMENT

3.2.7. Freedom of information

“Information is power. But like all power, there are those who want to keep it for themselves. The world’s entire scientific and cultural heritage, published over centuries in books and journals, is increasingly being digitized and locked up by a handful of private corporations. Want to read the papers featuring the most famous results of the sciences? You’ll need to send enormous amounts to publishers like Reed Elsevier.

There are those struggling to change this. The Open Access Movement has fought valiantly to ensure that scientists do not sign their copyrights away but instead ensure their work is published on the Internet, under terms that allow anyone to access it. But even under the best scenarios, their work will only apply to things published in the future. Everything up until now will have been lost.

That is too high a price to pay. Forcing academics to pay money to read the work of their colleagues? Scanning entire libraries but only allowing the folks at Google to read them? Providing scientific articles to those at elite universities in the First World, but not to children in the Global South? It’s outrageous and unacceptable.

“I agree,” many say, “but what can we do? The companies hold the copyrights, they make enormous amounts of money by charging for access, and it’s perfectly legal — there’s nothing we can do to stop them.” But there is something we can, something that’s already being done: we can fight back.

Those with access to these resources — students, librarians, scientists — you have been given a privilege. You get to feed at this banquet of knowledge while the rest of the world is locked out. But you need not — indeed, morally, you cannot — keep this privilege for yourselves. You have a duty to share it with the world. And you have: trading passwords with colleagues, filling download requests for friends.

Meanwhile, those who have been locked out are not standing idly by. You have been sneaking through holes and climbing over fences, liberating the information locked up by the publishers and sharing them with your friends.

But all of this action goes on in the dark, hidden underground. It’s called stealing or piracy, as if sharing a wealth of knowledge were the moral equivalent of plundering a ship and murdering its crew. But sharing isn’t immoral — it’s a moral imperative. Only those blinded by greed would refuse to let a friend make a copy.

Large corporations, of course, are blinded by greed. The laws under which they operate require it — their shareholders would revolt at anything less. And the politicians they have bought off back them, passing laws giving them the exclusive power to decide who can make copies.

There is no justice in following unjust laws. It’s time to come into the light and, in the grand tradition of civil disobedience, declare our opposition to this private theft of public culture.

We need to take information, wherever it is stored, make our copies and share them with the world. We need to take stuff that’s out of copyright and add it to the archive. We need to buy secret databases and put them on the Web. We need to download scientific journals and upload them to file sharing networks. We need to fight for Guerilla Open Access.

With enough of us, around the world, we’ll not just send a strong message opposing the privatization of knowledge — we’ll make it a thing of the past. Will you join us?”18

Aaron Swartz

July 2008, Eremo, Italy

18 Schwartz, A. (n.d.). Guerilla Open Access Manifesto. Guerilla Open Access Manifesto. https:// openaccessmanifesto.wordpress.com/guerilla-open-access-manifesto/

3.2.8. Internet as a tool for liberation

The popular uprisings in the middle east and north Africa have invigorated arguments about the power of new information and communication technologies (ICT), even their potential to usher in the new world of democracy, sustainable development and good governance that progressives wish to see. A celebration of the emancipatory potential of these new technologies, the social-network sites Facebook and Twitter in particular, is now a regular current in their discourse.

Most “cyber-utopians” or “liberation technologists” (as some refer to themselves) recognise the obstacles in their way: in particular, that authoritarian regimes are adept at using internet censorship, surveillance and monitoring to blunt the emancipatory momentum. But they go on to argue that further technological advances can help circumvent the “the great firewall of China” and its equivalents.

The new tools and technologies certainly provide unprecedented means of connecting and coordinating. But there should be caution about reproducing technologically determinist and normative arguments which are often unsupported by strong empirical evidence or rigorous research. The danger is that such determinism combines with the eager expectation among politicians, policy makers, and development practitioners that the technologies can deliver immediate and dramatic results.19

19 Ishkanian, A. (2011, April). Liberation technology: dreams, politics, history. Open Democracy net. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/liberation-technology-dreams-politics-history/

3.2.9. Evolution of Power

The famous Macintosh commercial of 1984

One of the most famous superbowl ads of all time, Apple’s 1984 served as a platform to introduce their first ever personal macintosh. Little is it talked about that it was a strong message also calling for a particular ideology and the rise of techno utopianism and a call for the balancing of political power.20

The ad that shows the protagonist slinging a sledge hammer at a screen of ‘big brother’ indicated the resistance of growing technological startup to corporates and state actors who enjoyed vast amounts of power. It echoed a growing sentiment in the internet community at the time.

Fig 6. Screengrabs from the 1984 superbowl ad by Apple revealing the first macintosh

Silicon Valley and the Hippies have more than a few in common

The founder of one of the most famous tech companies spent his early adult years in an Oregonian commune surrounded by hippies.21 Sounds surprising, isn’t it?

The relationship between the quest for liberation and the advent of personalised technology has been closely tied in. Coders and software programmers believed that technology could replace politics and could result in a more open, free and just world.

Epic vs Apple: A serious case of deja vu?

Come the year 2019 and it looks like the roles have been reversed. In a recent viral ad, the gaming company Epic took a stand against Apple’s gatekeeping practices in the arcade section.22 It has been proved time and again as the four biggest tech companies have one of the largest market shares. Cases of market monopolisation and debates to breaking them up have risen in the walls of Congress.

Fig 7. Screengrab from the Epic ad (2019)

What has happened in the last 20 years? Why have the ones that resisted against the stronghold of power turned into the powerful themselves? Is technology an apt solution?

21 Rothstein, E. (2006). https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/25/arts/a-crunchygranola-path-frommacrame-and-lsd-to-wikipedia-and-google.html

22 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_(advertisement)

3.3. Qualitative analysis

List of stakeholders

Direct Indirect

Whistleblowers

Activists

Mass movements

Influencer/ Celebrity Corporates

Scientific organisations

Independent journalists

Politicians

Advertisers

Social Media platforms

Governments

Alternative media orgs

Mainstream media

Legal structures

Consumer/ Citizen Executives

Extremists

Hackers

Researchers NGOs

Academic institutions

Theorists/ Scholars Bots Online discussion forums

Community Family Big Tech Troll farms Religious Organisations

3.3.2 Stakeholder relationships

Campaign funding

Corporates

Politicians

Levers to shift Lobbying Friendly laws, tax cuts

Donations and funding

Workforce

Research funding Research outcome

Governments

Academic institutions

Theorists and Scholars

Research funding

Patents and inventions Ownership

Choice of narrative Revenue Visibility

Ownership and funding

Social Goodwill Revenue Endorsements

Scientific organisations

Mainstream media

Advertisers

NGOs Celebrities and Influencers

Mainstream media

News, information

Viewership revenue Flak Competition Screentime Revenue

Citizens

Alt news organisations

Advertisers

Governments

Religious organisations

Table 5c. Resources exchange chart (Mainstream media)

Alt media orgs

Support/ Resistance Narrative Coverage Following Platform News stories Information Subscription Coverage, platform, momentum

Stories and sources

Users, data, revenue

Platform, visibility

Table 5d. Resources exchange chart (Alt media orgs)

Independent journalists

Consumer Mass movements

Social media platforms

Independent journalists

News, information

Viewership revenue Flak Competition

Social media platforms Alt news organisations

Screentime Revenue Support/ Resistance Narrative Coverage Following Platform News stories

Theorists Researchers Whistleblowers

Activists

Social media

Power

Ownership Platform Audience Platform Engagement Mobilising power Engagement revenue Public opinion Audience Platform Users Revenue Ownership Targeting strategy Revenue Platform Engagement

Corporates

Independent journalists Activists

Mass movements Influencers

Community forums Big Tech Advertisers

Alt media orgs

Viewership

Narrative Buying Influence

Subscriptions

Narratives Engagement revenue Platform Support Influence Ideas

MSM Advertisers

Argument, discussion Following Codes and beliefs Consent Regulations Votes Manifesto

Alt media orgs Social media Influencers

Community forums Religious organisations Executives Politicians

3.4. Epistemology and journalism

3.4.1.

Factors that shape social epistemologies

Social epistemology can serve as an effective new knowledge paradigm for journalistic fact-finding and as a mutual philosophical and normative agenda that both scholars and journalists can agree on. Social epistemology offers the best of both worlds: a thorough familiarity with biases and failures of obtaining knowledge, and a strong orientation toward best practices in the realm of knowledge-acquisition and truth seeking. 23

Fig 9. Mind map depicting factors influencing the information interface

Parallels

The information ecosystem and the personal epistemological framework seem to strongly correlate. On analysis, the patterns of producing, aggregating and distributing that has been followed by social media has been reduced to a smaller scale and is now reproduced within our social media apps and digital news infrastructure.

23 Godler, Y., Reich, Z., & Miller, B. (2020). Social epistemology as a new paradigm for journalism and media studies. New Media & Society, 22(2), 213–229. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444819856922

3.4.2. Factors that shape personal epistemologies

In an emerged era of fake news and post truth narrative it is crucial to look at the way that individuals navigate their personal media repertoires and assess what is true or false. Looking beyond the binary, what are the factors that make a piece of information believable and the level of falseness, ambiguity and truthness measurable?

Personal epistemologies influence users’ navigation of media and news repertoires, as these epistemologies comprise their conceptions of knowledge of media and news sources. 24

24 Schwarzenegger, C. (2020). Personal epistemologies of the media: Selective criticality, pragmatic trust, and competence–confidence in navigating media repertoires in the digital age. New Media & Society, 22(2), 361–377. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444819856919

Fig 10. Brainstorming maps showing factors influencing personal epistemologies

3.4.3

PERSONAL EPISTEMOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK

3.4.4. Mediums and methods of perceiving

3.5. Project inspiration

3.5.1. Case studies

To seek for inspirations and explore the past work in this space, I collected references from projects that ranged from games to interactive installatons. It was helpful in determining the most effective medium of intervention and analysing the pros and cons of each.

3.5.2. Games and quizzes

How to spot fake news

This quiz strips down to the most essential talking points around misinformation and places the viewer in a point of judgement.

The simple illustration proved to be an inspiration for my final concept art.

Fig 11. Game depicting how to spot fake news https://fakey.osome.iu.edu/

Be Internet Awesome by Google

This is a fun interactive game about data privacy and internet safety aimed at children around the ages of 8 to 14. It followed the rules of levelling up and scaffolding learning to teach young children about complex content. Each idea has been converted into a gamified concept and added with motion to make it feel like a adventure.

BBC iReporter

This was one of the best games I came across, but it had a slight twist. Here, instead of being the viewer, you are the journalist yourself, trying to manage the ecosystem by posting stories and conducting interviews.

Fig 12. Be Internet Awesome, an internet safety game developed by Google

Fig 13. Screengrabs from the game BBC iReporter

3.5.3. Interactive experiences

Tactical Tech ‘The Glass Room’

The Glass room is an interactive installation as part of an exhibition about misinformation. It deals with issues around the personal data that is public, journey of a data point and much more.

Fig 14. Tactical Tech’s ‘The Glass Room: Misinformation Edition’ exhibition (Left to right - Logo, Mockup, live exhibition)

3.5.4. Events and conferences

Mozilla Fest

It was an exciting virtual conference where multiple projects centering around the themes of civic tech, tech and activism, decentralization of power, open source technology and shifting power in tech were showcased. Many of the project resonated with my research questions, and the event proved to be very resourceful and a fun learning experience.

Fig 15. List of events and projects showcased at Mozilla internet fest 2021

3.6. Primary research

3.6.1.

Assumptions

Friends and family play a major role in one’s beliefs.

Young adults consume news more through digital means.

Being woke is a trendy aspect of Gen Z, hence they might be more informed.

People tend to believe fake news on social media more than through legacy media such as TV and paper.

The digital gap makes older audience more prone to fake news than younger ones.

3.6.2. Questions

How do I assess credibility of information?

How do I access information?

How do I verify source/fact check?

What are the logical steps/ pathways that my mind takes to confirm if what I’m reading is reliable/ true?

On what basis do I evaluate shareability of information?

What do I consider as alternative media sources?

Does the mode of information transmission/ channel influence credibility of information for me as a person?

Does my trust in information and journalistic evidence vary across legacy media vs digital media vs viral Tiktok videos?

3.6.3. Mode of data collection

Typeform and Excel (N = 25)

Phone calls (N = 10)

Online video interviews (Zoom) (N=5)

3.6.4. Observations

Most Gen Z believe that legacy media is more credible than social media.

The primary source of news is social media, the secondary source being family and friends.

They love receiving and sharing information on social media as it requires lesser effort than to have discussions in real life.

Hashtags and reshares help show concern without requiring too much effort.

They choose to follow political opinions from influencers and independent citizen journalists.

The ‘being woke’ trend is highly appreciated but has also given rise to cancel culture on social media.

Even though they tend to be digitally literate, many of them are not media literate.

3.6.5. Expert interviews

The interviews that were conducted were very enlightening and provided a great deal of clarity in the particular research area:

Ayushman Kaul (Digital Forensic Research labs)

Takeaways:

The conversation with Ayushman, put into perspective the scope of the problem. He provided various references and case studies that would serve as the basis of the project. DFRLabs is a subsidiary of Facebook, and hence, the relationship between media ownership, corporate funding and research was keenly hghlighted here. He spoke of how all the research done in the field had to go through legal gatekeeping measures and keep in with the regulations of the owner. The other key takeaways were his constant reassurances to tell that it was completely fine if the outcome of this project was not a solution and rather a creative art project; the reason being, researchers at the best universities and corporations in the world are still pondering about it.

Ms. Deepa Kumar (Ex writer- journalist)

Takeaways:

The conversation with Ms. Deepa was very helpful in understanding the organisational structure of any media organisation and the process workflow of the entire journalistic method. It helped bring clarity to the processes, methodology and mediums involved in bringing a news story from the point of data collection to the point of production.

Divya Binu (Visual research intern - The Caravan)

Takeaways:

Divya had worked on The Media Issue at The Caravan as a visual research intern - and since the outcomes of this project were primarily visual, it brought a sense of understanding as to how image databases are collected and selected. She also explained the working of the digital counterpart of the magazine and illustrated the differences between the print and digital workflows that were followed.

3.7. Limitations and scope

The limitation of ths primary research was the relatively small sample size and the margin of error. However, since the outcome of this thesis is in itself a social experiment, the aim of creating it is to serve as an effective tool for further research into this space to determine confirmation bias and studies about personal perception of media.

5.0/

5.1. How might we

How might we use visualization and participatory methods to engage the public about how news is manufactured and amplified in a certain direction?

How might we provide alternate frameworks for users to subvert echochambers and see a piece of information from different perspectives that are opposed to their personal beliefs?

How might we create intuitive experiences that involve the public in spirited discourse around contentious issues and make them realize the distortion of information that they consume?

How might we equip the younger generation to use these tools to critically engage in pressing questions about the future?

5.2. Ideas and concepts

After brainstorming, there were two sets of ideas that I looked at;

A. Virtual panopticon, powerplay, shifting focal points of power/ influences, simulation of power structures, making the unseen seen, showcasing echochambers, allow for interaction between echochambers, point of awareness/ realization, streams of data, data exchanges, stakeholder relationships (systemic awareness/ structural understanding.

1. Understanding power structures

2. From counterculture to cyberculture : A Crunchy-Granola Path From Macramé and LSD to Wikipedia and Google (Simulation) – How the hippie movement and Silicon valley boom have more than a few in common

3. Story of Aaron Swartz: Collective action vs independent hactivism. (Understanding Power by Noam Chomsky) What are the lessons learnt?

4. How much does Google know about you? How the most common search engine regulates what you know.

5. Futures Project: Speculation of power in decentralized technology – How can you become a virtual real estate billionaire?

6. Brave New World vs Orwell’s 1984: How power can be invisible and how you come to love your own slavery.

7. Simulation of Foucalt’s panopticon; Can we reveal the watch tower and who’s watching us? Or can we break free from our cells and revolt?

8. The Digital Caste system: Speculating information hierarchies and technological discrimination.

9. The Whole Earth Manifesto: A case

for development for global networking till 2040 – a timelapse.

10. Uneven algorithmic geographies; Mapping internet and press freedoms across the globe.

11. Deep sea colonialism: How Facebook is buying an audience in the third world?

B. New media theory, restructuring digital societies, role of citizens/press/ govt/corporations/policy structure, misinformation/disinformation, designing better models/platforms or information environments, crowd sourcing opinions, future of journalism and new media, rough consensus, highlighting similarities rather than differences, creating prototypes, futurecasting.

1. How do stories travel through cyberspace over time?

2. Morphosis of a news story. (Tracking how a piece of information moves through time and space through multiple stakeholders and how it evolves) Data visualization.

3. Digital Chinese Whisper Generator (Simulating a case study in the context of a new piece of information that the user can input and choose parameters)

4.Memetic virality enhanced by the internet. Parallels between epidemiology and information. (Into the meme pool, the ‘soup’ of human culture)

5.Chain mail analogy. Evolution of the chain mail phenomenon.

5.3. Final idea

Representing the distortion of information

KEY ELEMENTS

1. Flow of information

The transfer of information from one stakeholder to the other. Some stakeholders have greater power than the other allowing the them to see a bigger part of the picture and also giving them ability to manipulate it.

2. Channel of communication

The mode or interface through which communication happens. Different channels have different levels of perception. More intuitive the channel is, more effective the communication happens.

3. Distortion of meaning

The way the meaning is distorted from sender to receiver. This distortion heavily depends on the first two elements.

4. Actual meaning

The original meaning of the message before it enters the communication model. The actual incident or the truth of what happened in the first place.

16. Rough sketches during the concept ideation process

5.4. Objectives and goals

5.4.1. Target Audience

The target audience for the project was aimed at young adults from the age of 18 - 25 years of age. However, with different stories, the target audience could also be shifted to younger middle schoolers and teenagers as part of a school curriculum.

5.4.2. Purpose

The purpose of the project was to reveal the thesis that the information that we consume as individuals in distorted and biased. It was also to spread awareness and serve as a moment of realisation. To package this into a fun and exciting experience that makes participants question the fundamental issue.

5.4.3. Medium

The reason to use a physical and tangible medium over a digital interface; is that information is often intangible and associated with the internet and digital infrastructure. To represent it in a way that people can interact with and understand the limitations of invisible communication channels,the medium had to be suited to take on the literal meaning of filters and levers.

5.5. Project Brief

5.5.1. Deliverables

An experential project that provides a wholesome intuitive experience to help individuals realise media bias and the distortion of information through various communication channels. The deliverables were;

Concept art piece

Public art installation that serves as a social experiment

5.5.2.Scope

The strength of this particular issue lies in its relevance to current day society. The scope for the ideas was immense - it had many applications in determining future policy and research centred around the area of misinformation. As a designer, personal scope for multiple projects lies in this domain as an art piece, an exhibition, an interactive experience, AR art, games and many more.

6.0/

KEY POINTS

1. Physical filters

The filters were aimed at replicating the communication pathway/channel of consumption. Various filters ranging from liquid, sound and light were ideated upon.

2. Bias and distortion

It was essential to figure out a medium that is capable of distorting and defiltering the source message and transforming it into something else. Physical phenomenon like reflection, filtration, and chemical reactions were looked into.

3. Visual elements

The key to having the experience intuitive was to reduce the cognitive load that it had on the user. Visual imagery appeared to be a better solution than heavily text based options.

4. Sensorium

Finally, it was important to involve the senses of the user during the entire experience. It may include having real lfe conversations that integrated the personal experience with a series of social and object interactions.

6.1. Ideas and Concepts

6.1.1.

Sketches

Fig 17. Rough sketches during the brainstorming process (2)

6.2. Chosen idea

6.2.1 Image Database

References found during market research:

Clockwise: (From top left)

Fig 18. Eclectic cloud - Branding project by Ilya Shapko

Fig 19. Visions/ Perceptions - an experimental storybook by Le Lin

Fig 20. Typo Berlin(2013) - Identity Design by Stephanie J Kim

Fig 21. Politics of Design (2012) by Gry Reistad

Fig 22. Absolut Campaign branding

Fig 23. The Optics of God - illustrated book by Art Studio AGRAFKA

Fig 24. Learn to see differently - Zagreb University fair 2012

6.2.2.Technique

The technique followed is the RGB filter technique with red and blue filters. Using this technique it is possible to hide parts of the information while viewing through different filters.

For example, take an image that has red and blue content overlapping. While viewing through the red filter, you will only see the blue content and while viewing through the blue filter, you will see the red content.

Fig 25. Prototyping to test out concept

Conservative

Bias meter

Liberal

Fig 26 A pair of filter glasses as the tool to interact with the content - red signifying conservative and blue liberal

Replacing the idea of the red filter as the conservative filter and the blue filter as the liberal filter it is possible for the social experiment to be conducted with the aim of placing the user in two echochambers from distinct political spectrums.

6.2.3.Possibilities

Thinking across scales, these might be the possible outcomes:

A comic book/ zine

A card game

An art installation

An experential learning toolkit

A jigsaw puzzle

A social deduction board game

Fig 27. Scaleability of idea

The possibilities of this concept vary across scale. Through the idea of two distinct filters describing opposing views of the same story, it becomes easy to intuitively illustrate the media bias that dominates journalism today. By developing the concept further to include elements of magnification, blockage and destruction, it is also possible to explore the ideas of algorithmic amplification, censorship and deplatforming.

6.3.Prototyping

6.3.1. Challenges

The challenges faced in executing the concept were mainly about simplifying complex issues into easily understandable sketches. It was often like trying to create a jigsaw puzzle in which the pieces fit together to arrive at the complex truth. Due to the output being illustrations, it was also challenging to bring out the concept using minimal line patterns and maximum meaning.

a. Image A + Image B = Noise (Undecipherable)

b. Image A+ Image B = Complex truth (Understandable)

It took the longest time to transform the illustration from (a) to (b).

6.3.2.Concept drafts

Fig 28. Prototyping concept drafts to show how the meaning of a message can be distorted using multiple filters

6.3.3. Visual references

Fig 31. Typeface by

Fig 29. The Magic Square zine by Shishir Bommakanti

Fig 30. El Duende + Sony PlayStation 4 by IS Creative studio

6.3.4. Visual Experiments

These were visual experiments using imagery and text that were created to explore the possibilities of the concept.

Fig 32. Vietnam war picture showing media bias in blue and red

Fig 33. Text overlay using blue and red

Fig 34. Prototype showing meat consumption and private restaurant chains

Fig 35. Text overlay using CMYK colours

call! worl dhello catss crazall!y c

Fig 36. Hong Kong protest imagery redrawn using blue and red to show two distinct views

Fig 37. Text overlay using CMYK colours (2)

6.3.5. Process sketches

Fig 38. Top - Images depicting the consequences of meat consumption on deforestation and forest fires

Fig 39. Bottom (Clockwise) - a. Sketch of the moon landing and usage of the crop and filter technique to show both sides

b. Idea to show two words that merge into a third word

c. Stick figure drawing showing two sides of a story

d. Research mapping for the Israel Palestine conflict

6.4. Final sketches

Image A - Militants aggressively fire against defending army Image B - Occupying Army launches multiple airstrikes killing innocent civilians and destroying homes

Actual Image and story: Land owners organise to fight the illegal occupying nation while its army conducts a targeted violent operation against them damaging many settlements.

Image A - Isolated tribe kill an explorer part of expedition in search of new flora and fauna

Image B - Deforestation in restricted areas in the name of geographic expedition found

Actual Image and story: Deforestation in restricted areas in the name of geographical expedition found

Image A - Street dogs cause nuisance in a prime neighbourhood

Image B - Dog owners take out their adorable pets for a walk in a primary neighbourhood

Actual Image and story:

Undernourished street dogs chase down owners who walk their pets everyday in a prime neighbourhood

Image A - Thousands move in near the holy land in search of primehousing available at cheaper rate

Image B - Rowdy locals cause scue using mob behaviour with newly moved in house owners

Actual Image and story:

Real estate companies inaugrate new buildings with shiny incentives on encroached land sparking protests by rightful land owners

Catalyse phase

7.1. CONTEXT IN PUBLIC SPHERE

The designed social experiment serves the purpose of understanding personal and social epistemologies in the area of news consumption. With the awareness about fake news and misinformation growing, it aims to be a medium for large groups of participants to engage and question the reasons and driving elements behind it.

The goal is to be able to carry out the experiment in real spaces after the pandemic to observe results and iterate various other modified scenarios.

7.2.Designing the user experience

7.2.1. User Personas

The primary user persona for this experiment is:

Age - 18- 25 years old (+- 5years )

This experiment is to cater to anyone above the age of 18, up till the age of 30. It has been made a point to keep age as the primary factor, because as secondary research suggests, it determines many levels of cognitive understanding and media literacy.

The experiment would be succesful under a varied demographic and interest rate, as there is a need to bring in people with as many varied viewpoints and plot the results on a map based on those parameters.

7.2.2.User journey map

7.2.3. Guidelines for the experiment

SCENARIOS

1. A versus B

Audience A views through filter A and B through filter B. They aren’t aware of the opposing view and hence are confined to a single echochamber. Then, they are brought out to discuss with the opposite person about what they saw and play a game of sorts to guess the truth.

2. A and B

Scenario 1 is carried out in the beginning. Then, the audience are asked to switch filters and see the opposing view. Then, they are asked opininons and the change in views are recorded in an audience poll. They also have a conversation about it with the opposite group.

3. A and B (Individual)

This is not conducted as a group experiment. Before the beginning of the experiment, participants’ individual views on the particular topics are recorded. It has individuals go through the entire experience based on scenario 2 rules. Firstly A filter, then shifted filters to B. After the experiment, their personal views are recorded again as they are asked the same question as before the experiment. The results are then displayed live on a nearby screen.

7.3.Final mockups

7.5.Evaluation parameters

7.5.1.

Further research possibilities

The evaluation of the research lies in the results of the social experiment. Due to the pandemic it was not possible to conduct it in a live open space. Efforts are being taken to help translate it into a virtual experience. This experiment also aims to serve as a toolit for future research around this area.

7.5.Scope of

project

Execution of this project across the different scales mentioned is a huge possibilty. The plan is to run a crowdfunding campaign for the development of a card game based on the results of the social experiment, to pitch the idea to hosts of multiple exhibitions and send forward the proposal to events and conferences.

Discourse is critical to any free society, and paves way for individuals to come together and address the problems of the future. A healthy discourse is the precursor towards any further steps of collective world building and problem solving. It helps connect multiple parties and brings them on the same table, to discuss various viewpoints.

The Media Bias project is an apt representation that embodies the same spirit; in its literal sense of showing different viewpoints and requiring poeple to have a face to face conversation about it. It aims to be presented to multiple audiences who are spread across a varied demographic, akin to the myriad of people who form the information ecosystem.

8.1. Learning outcomes

The various learning outcomes of this project were:

Entrepreneurship - The importance of having the perfect elevator pitch to my various ideas. I also learnt the workings of a small studio and the workflow of a non hierarchal environment.

Game Design - The various mechanics of game design and the basics of game theory. It was also interesting to play over twenty games and analyse each one of them based on core elements and themes.

User research - The difference between conducting user research as a designer versus a filmmaker. The research conducted was more in the format of open ended documentary style questions.

Working style - The working pattern followed a hybrid pattern of team work and individual work which i learned to balance; it was crucial to listen to others suggestions while also finding your own voice and sense of authorship over the project.

Language - The ability to effectively communicate ideas through writing, using simple word and apt technical terms at required spaces.

8.2. Experience

The four months that I spent at the studio were of great learning and fun. I was able to have conversations with everyone ranging from politics to philosophy over a matter of lunch and dinner. The team was extremely open to ideas and the sense of non hierarchy promoted even more health exchanges between individual over contentious issues. The group brainstorming sessions were the most interesting. Overall, I have evolved as an individual and a design thinker during the time that I spent here.

Bibliography 9.0/

Footnotes

1 Dalal, A., Besplemennova, Y., Dubova, M., & Cugusi, L. (2020, May 13). Anatomy of a Trojan Horse. Strelka Mag. https://strelkamag.com/en/ article/anatomy-of-a-trojan-horse.

2 Owen, Diana (2017) The Age of Perplexity: Rethinking the World we Knew. Radically Reassessing “The Economic”. Madrid, BBVA, OpenMind, Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial.

3 Schwarzenegger C. Personal epistemologies of the media: Selective criticality, pragmatic trust, and competence–confidence in navigating media repertoires in the digital age. New Media & Society. 2020;22(2):361-377. doi:10.1177/1461444819856919

4 Henry Simons, Economic Policy of a Free Society (1948); and George J. Stigler, The Economics of Information, 69 J. Pol. Econ. 213 (1961).

5 Design Council. (2021). Beyond Net Zero: A systemic design approach. London, UK; Design Council.

6 Chellapandi, S. M. (2020, May 5). Notes from a design journal [web log]. https://medium. com/@swarnamanjaric/notes-from-a-designjournal-2efc4a8172c0.

7 Design Council. (2021). Beyond Net Zero: A systemic design approach. London, UK; Design Council.

8,9 Fuchs, C. 2018. Propaganda 2.0: Herman and Chomsky’s Propaganda Model in the Age of the Internet, Big Data and Social Media. In: Pedro-Carañana, J., Broudy, D. and Klaehn, J. (eds.). The Propaganda Model Today: Filtering Perception and Awareness. Pp. 71–92. London: University of Westminster Press. DOI: https:// doi.org/10.16997/book27.f. License: CC‐BY‐NC‐ND 4.0

10 Herman, E. S. (2017). Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. Createspace Independent Publishing Platform.

11 Sanford J. Grossman & Oliver D. Hart, The Costs and Benefits of Ownership: A Theory of Vertical and Lateral Integration, 94 J. Pol. Econ. 691 (1986).

12. Nazakat, S. (2019). Media and Political affiliation in India: Media Monitor India. Media Ownership Monitor. http://india.mom-rsf.org/en/ findings/politicalaffiliations/.

13. Dawkins, R. (1986). The Selfish Gene. libgen.

14. Gleick, J. (2011). The_Information_ A_History, A Theory, A Flood. Pantheon Books.

15. Levinson, M. (Director). (2018). The Bit Player [Film]. https://thebitplayer.com/

16. Gleick, J. (2011). The_Information_ A_History, A Theory, A Flood. Pantheon Books.

17. Edunov, S., Diuk, C. G., Filiz, s. O., Bhagat, S., & Burke, M. (2016). Three and a half degrees of separation. Facebook Research. https:// research.fb.com/blog/2016/02/three-and-ahalf-degrees-of-separation/

18. (n.d.). https://www.moma.org/interactives/ exhibitions/2011/AccesstoTools/

19. Schwartz, A. (n.d.). Guerilla Open Access Manifesto. Guerilla Open Access Manifesto. https://openaccessmanifesto.wordpress.com/ guerilla-open-access-manifesto/

20. Ishkanian, A. (2011, April). Liberation technology: dreams, politics, history. Open Democracy net. https://www.opendemocracy. net/en/liberation-technology-dreams-politicshistory/

21. 1984(Apple Superbowl ad). (n.d.). https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_(advertisement)

22. Rothstein, E. (2006). https://www.nytimes. com/2006/09/25/arts/a-crunchygranola-pathfrom-macrame-and-lsd-to-wikipedia-andgoogle.html

23. Recheinberg, D. (2021, June). The Apple/ Epic Games App Store Saga: Who Do You Trust? Forbes.https://www.forbes.com/sites/ davidreichenberg/2021/06/06/the-appleepicgames-app-store-saga-who-do-youtrust/?sh=39d0e7547df1

24 . Godler, Y., Reich, Z., & Miller, B. (2020). Social epistemology as a new paradigm for journalism and media studies. New Media & Society, 22(2), 213–229. https://doi. org/10.1177/1461444819856922

References

1. Noam Chomsky - The 5 Filters of the Mass Media Machine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34LGPIXvU5M

2. Media Ownership Monitor India - by Reporters without Borders and DataLeads http://india.mom-rsf.org/en/

3. Tattle Civic Technology https://tattle.co.in/report/2019-report/

4. Two heartbeats a Minute https://www.npr.org/programs/invisibilia/812703083/two-heartbeats-a-minute

5. The Bit Player https://thebitplayer.com/

6. Carlson M. Journalistic epistemology and digital news circulation: Infrastructure, circulation practices, and epistemic contests. New Media & Society. 2020;22(2):230-246. doi:10.1177/1461444819856921

7. Rich Ling (2020): Confirmation Bias in the Era of Mobile News Consumption: The Social and Psychological Dimensions, Digital Journalism, DOI: 10.1080/21670811.2020.1766987

8. Ekström M, Lewis SC, Westlund O. Epistemologies of digital journalism and the study of misinformation. New Media & Society. 2020;22(2):205-212. doi:10.1177/1461444819856914

9. Spencer-Scarr, D. (2016). Cybernetics of digital-engagement: Optimizing the self for social networking. Platform: Journal of Media and Communication, Volume 7(ANZCA Special Issue (2016)), 35–43.

10. R. Torres, R., Gerhart, N., & Negahban, A. (2018). Epistemology in the Era of Fake News: An Exploration of Information Verification Behaviors among Social Networking Site Users. The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems, Volume 49(Number 3).

11. DFRlabs open source toolkit

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nBcmbW_Iink_7wi1la7Tq-CclBb0ZGVWdTl_V-Mf5ZA/ edit#heading=h.w9rsfl8u1mkq

12. Arroyo, N. F. (2020, February). The Beauty Of Thresholds. Medium. https://nicnaar.medium.com/the-beauty-of-thresholds-26c491965812

13. The Macedonian Teens Who Mastered Fake News https://www.wired.com/2017/02/veles-macedonia-fake-news/

14. The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vz06QO3UkQ

15. Aaron Swartz (Monologue Interview) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUt5gjqNI1w

16. Noam Chomsky on Aaron Swartz and Freedom of Information https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF9wWiIJ9zU

17. PowerPlay :India’s first privacy card game https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoL7C6bpJPg

18. PowerPlay UI/UX Process https://ishitabegani.com/ui-ux/powerplay

19. These 15 Billionaires Own America’s News Media Companies https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2016/06/01/these-15-billionaires-ownamericas-news-media-companies/?sh=3ffff325660a

20. Five reasons why we don’t have a free and independent press in the UK and what we can do about it https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/five-reasons-why-we-don-thave-free-and-independent-press-in-uk-and-what-we-can-do-about/

21. Statistics Source https://datareportal.com/ 22. https://guides.lib.umich.edu/c.php?g=637508&p=4462444

23. http://graphics.wsj.com/blue-feed-red-feed/#/guns 24. https://towardsdatascience.com/how-statistically-biased-is-our-news-f28f0fab3cb3 25. http://umich.edu/~newsbias/wordchoice.html

26. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-8760dd58-84f9-4c98 ade2-590562670096 27. https://schedule.mozillafestival.org/art-and-media 28. https://www.designkit.org/methods#filter 29. https://servicedesigntools.org/tools 30. https://diytoolkit.org/tools-and-methods-for-co-creation/ 31. https://medium.designit.com/business-as-unusual-how-to-design-and-lead-a-remoteco-creation-workshop-4968fb2e99fe 32. https://www.getbadnews.com/#next 33. https://this.deakin.edu.au/society/quiz-can-you-spot-the-fake-news-headline 34. https://libguides.tru.ca/fakenews/quiz 35. Hyper Island Toolbox 36. https://beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en_be/interland/kind-kingdom 37. https://www.wmm.com/virtual-screening-room/coded-bias-watch-page-mozfest2021/ 38. https://schedule.mozillafestival.org/session/MM7UZJ-1 39. https://datasociety.net/ 40. https://mediamanipulation.org/case-studies 41. https://www.adfontesmedia.com/interactive-media-bias-chart/ 42. https://www.allsides.com/unbiased-balanced-news 43. http://www.spectrym.news/?utm_source=quora#!/

Glossary 10.0/

Algorithmic amplification

Algorithmic amplification is when some online content becomes popular at the expense of other viewpoints through likes, reshares and comments that favour the particular algorithmic models of the information sharing platform.

Alternative facts

Alternative facts was a phrase used by U.S. Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway during a Meet the Press interview on January 22, 2017. Alternative facts is to talk about the opposite of reality (which is delusion), or the opposite of truth (which is untruth).

Anticommunism

Anti-communism is a political and ideological opposition to communism.

Attention economy

The term “attention economy” was coined by psychologist, economist, and Nobel Laureate Herbert A. Simon, who posited that attention was the “bottleneck of human thought” that limits both what we can perceive in stimulating environments and what we can do.

Bits

The bit is the most basic unit of information in computing and digital communications.

Censorship

Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information.

Cognitive

Relating to cognition.

Conservative

Views favouring free enterprise, private ownership, and socially traditional ideas.

Counterculture

A way of life and set of attitudes opposed to or at variance with the prevailing social norm.

Credibility

Credibility comprises the objective and subjective components of the believability of a source or message.

Critical thinking

Critical thinking is the analysis of facts to form a judgment.

Degrees of separation

A ‘degree of separation’ is a measure of social distance between people.

Democratization

The action of making something accessible to everyone.

Deplatforming

The action or practice of preventing someone holding views regarded as unacceptable or offensive from contributing to a forum or debate, especially by blocking them on a particular website.

Echochambers

An environment in which a person encounters only beliefs or opinions that coincide with their own, so that their existing views are reinforced and alternative ideas are not considered.

Epistemology

The theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope, and the distinction between justified belief and opinion.

Fake news

Fake news is false or misleading information presented as news. It often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person or entity, or making money through advertising revenue.

Filter bubbles

A situation in which an internet user encounters only information and opinions that conform to and reinforce their own beliefs, caused by algorithms that personalize an individual’s online experience.

Flak

Strong criticism.

Futuring

The act, art, or science of identifying and evaluating possible future events.

Heuristics

A heuristic or heuristic technique, is any approach to problem solving or self-discovery that employs a practical method that is not guaranteed to be optimal, perfect, or rational, but is nevertheless sufficient for reaching an immediate, short-term goal or approximation.

Infodemic

Infodemic is a portmanteau of “information” and “epidemic” that typically refers to a rapid and farreaching spread of both accurate and inaccurate information about something, such as a disease.

Information ecosystem

In the context of an evolving information society, the term information ecology marks a connection between ecological ideas with the dynamics and properties of the increasingly dense, complex and important digital informational environment and has been gaining acceptance in a growing number of disciplines.

Intuitive

Using or based on what one feels to be true even without conscious reasoning; instinctive.

Liberal

Relating to or denoting a political and social philosophy that promotes individual rights, civil liberties, democracy, and free enterprise.

Media bias

Media bias is the bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media in the selection of many events and stories that are reported and how they are covered.

Media literacy

Media literacy encompasses the practices that allow people to access, critically evaluate, and create or manipulate media.

Media repertoires

The collection of. communication channels and identifiable routines of. use for specific communication purposes within a defined community.

Memes

An element of a culture or system of behaviour passed from one individual to another by imitation or other non-genetic means.

New Media

New media are forms of media that are computational and rely on computers for redistribution. Some examples of new media are computer animations, computer games, human–computer interfaces, interactive computer installations, websites, and virtual worlds.

Open Access Movement

Open access is a set of principles and a range of practices through which research outputs are distributed online, free of cost or other access barriers.

Panopticon

The panopticon is a type of institutional building and a system of control designed by the English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham in the 18th century. The panopticon is a disciplinary concept brought to life in the form of a central observation tower placed within a circle of prison cells.

Personal epistemology

Views about the nature of knowledge and knowing but not views about the nature of learning.

Post truth

Relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.

Propaganda

Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view.

Rough consensus

Rough consensus is a term used in consensus decision-making to indicate the `sense of the group` concerning a particular matter under consideration.

Social epistemology

Social epistemology refers to a broad set of approaches that can be taken in epistemology that construes human knowledge as a collective achievement.

Social experiment

A social experiment is a kind of psychological or a sociological research for testing people’s reactions to certain situations or events. The experiment relies solely on a particular social approach when the main source of information is people with their knowledge and point of view.

Social polarization

Social polarization is associated with the segregation within a society that may emerge from income inequality, real-estate fluctuations, economic displacements etc. and result in such differentiation that would consist of various social groups.

Systems thinking

Systems thinking is a holistic approach to analysis that focuses on the way that a system’s constituent parts interrelate and how systems work over time and within the context of larger systems.

Techno utopianism

Technological utopianism is any ideology based on the premise that advances in science and technology could and should bring about a utopia, or at least help to fulfill one or another utopian ideal.

Viewership

The audience for a particular television programme or channel.

Whistleblowers

A whistleblower is a person, usually an employee, who exposes information or activity within a private, public, or government organization that is deemed illegal, illicit, unsafe, or a waste, fraud, or abuse of taxpayer funds.

Zeitgeist

The defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time.

Questions for Target Audience (Video Interview)

Gathering basic data:

Age

Living Circumstances

Interests

Access to different devices

Demographics

Gender

News consumption patterns:

Why do you ( or don’t you) watch/read the news? Why is it important?

Are you usually up to date about news- world/national?

Where do you usually read/watch/hear about what is happening in the country/world?

Do you think that getting your news from [source] has made you better undetsand current events or made you more confused about current affairs? Has it made a difference?

Do you think that news organisations get their facts straight, and if so, why do you think that?

How often do you check for the news and why?

When do you consume the information about current events the most?

What are you most interested to know about in the news? Give 5 topics ranked in order of preference

Do you read news from sources that have a differing view from yours?

What is the most difficult parts of reading the news?

Frequency of using certain sources, and why they are preferred.

Give 5 publications/pages/individuals that you get your news from and rank in order of preference

Name any journalists you follow and why?

Name any influencers you follow and why?

Do influencers have any opinions that you agree with?

What are the most important issues that you perceive in the news?

Where did you get your news from yesterday?

How do you define fake news?

Have you come across any news that later turned out to be fake news?

Have you shared something recently that turned out to be incorrect, incomplete or partly false information? Try to find out what the actual story might be?

What do you usually look for on youtube?

Why do you ( or don’t you) watch/read the news? Why is it important?

Are you usually up to date about news- world/national?

If answer is no:

Why not? Have you ever tried it?

How do you stay updated?

Entertainment news? Influencers

What is the source of your information? How much do you get from friends? How much do you get from family?

What do you like the most about social media?

What kind of films/tv shows/games do you watch?

Do you have any political leanings?

Social interactions and the news:

How do your parents consume information about current events?

What would you say is the greatest difference in the way you receive information vs how your parents receive information?

Do you discuss current events with your parents/friends/family? Do you share information with your family/friends when you come across something?

Youth representation in the news:

How relevant to you do you think the mainstream news that you watch/hear about is to you as a citizen?

What kind of issues do you think your generation is most concerned about knowing.

Meme culture and News

Do you ever get your news from memes? Do humorous memes have a place in the news, or should the two things be kept separate? Is it O.K. to laugh at serious news? Do you ever find that humor helps you to process scary or hurtful information? Is it ever not O.K. to use humor when talking about painful or tragic events? The article suggests that using humor in difficult moments can be a coping strategy. Do you agree or disagree with that statement? What are other ways that you process intense emotions or fears about the world?

Have you ever seen someone post a meme that you felt crossed a line? How did you know it had gone too far? Memes often try to make a point using very few words and mostly images. What are the advantages and possible dangers with that format? Do you ever see memes that use stereotypes or hurtful beliefs about an individual or groups to make a point?

Survey Data Total (N=25)

1. How important is it to you to follow current events in the news?

NET important 78%

Very important 25%

Somewhat important 53%

NET not important 22%

Not so important 17% Not important at all 5%

2. What do you find gives you the best understanding of major news events: reading or hearing the facts from whathappened or seeing pictures and video showing what happened?

Reading or hearing the facts about what happened 36% Seeing pictures and video showing what happened 64%

3. My knowledge of current events is primarily informed by:

People I know in the real world, such as friends, family, or teachers 33% Personalities/influencers/celebrities I follow on social media or YouTube 31% News organizations 31%

None of the above 5%

4. How often do you get news from digital news aggregators like Apple News or Google News, or from notifications on your phone?

Every day 23%

A few times a week 25%

Once a week 12%

Less than once a week 17% Never 22%

5. How often do you watch the news on television?

Every day 13%

A few times a week 24%

Once a week 12%

Less than once a week 28% Never 23%

6. How often do you get news by listening to podcasts?

Every day 4%

A few times a week 10%

Once a week 8%

Less than once a week 17% Never 60%

7. How often do you get news from YouTube?

Every day 23%

A few times a week 27%

Once a week 15%

Less than once a week 19%

Never 16%

8. How often do you get news from social media sites like Facebook or Twitter?

Every day 29%

A few times a week 25%

Once a week 10%

Less than once a week 13%

Never 22%

9. How often do you get news reported by news organizations in print or online?

Every day 15%

A few times a week 26%

Once a week 16%

Less than once a week 22% Never 22%

10. In general, do you believe that getting news from news organizations has made you better understand current events or made you more confused about current events, or has it not made much of a difference?

Better understand current events 65%

More confused about current events 13%

Not made much of a difference 21%

No answer 1%

11. When you get your news on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter, are you more likely to get it from celebrities, influencers, and personalities, or from news organizations?

Celebrities, influencers, and personalities 58%

News organizations 41%

No answer 1%

12. How often do you discuss political issues with people who have different views than you?

Every day 6%

A few times a week 18%

Once a week 11%

Several times a month 15%

Once a month 13%

Less than once a month 18%

Never 19%

Conversations

(Friends, Family, Workplace)

Apart from secondary and primary research there were multiple casual conversations that were conducted to get a sense of understanding. These varied from lunch dates to midnight calls to collectively brainstorm with fellow students.