Girl Scouts Now Promoting Media Matters As Reliable Site To Clear Up "Misinformation"

The long march through the institutions.

Media Matters? Honestly?

In 2010, the Girl Scouts of the USA published a book called “MEdia.” The publication, designed for girls in grades six through eight, is a guide that apparently offers insight into how young people should process and understand the media messages surrounding them.

And if you read something that strikes you as dubious, don't just accept it uncritically; make sure you check out an unbiased, straight-shooting source. From the book itself:

The Internet is a breeding ground for “urban legends,” which are false stories told as if true. Next time you receive a txt or e-mail about something that seems unbelievable, confirm it before you spread it.

The fact-checking site snopes.com investigates everything from urban legends to “news” articles and posts its findings. Media Matters for America (http://mediamatters.org/) gets the word out about media misinformation.

The Girl Scouts are aware of this odd inclusion, but are apparently re-printing the book for further distribution -- Media Matters still cited as a legitimate source.

You know, Snopes itself is biased as all get out, but at least it pretends to be non-ideological. And Snopes is mostly concerned with the stuff a kid would be interested in (urban legends, oddball "facts," etc.).

posted by Ace at 05:25 PM

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