News Literacy Lesson 6: News and Social Media
　　新闻素养第六课：新闻与社会媒体

　　Today anyone with a smartphone or a laptop can spread information and video around the world immediately.
　　如今，任何拥有智能手机或笔记本电脑的人都可以在世界各地即时传播信息和视频。
　　This new-found power can play a vital role in our understanding of events in places that have been cut off from traditional journalism.
　　这种新发现的力量可以在我们理解与传统新闻隔绝的地方的事件中发挥至关重要的作用。

( ~- B# U; R$ ]/ I9 S- ]) |( ~　　As in Syria where the effects of the violent civil war are captured by citizens who are often trapped behind the firing line. In this digital age, it is nearly impossible for tyrants to mask their cruelty and anyone can speak about oppression to a global audience.
6 E4 \& y6 I% C% I: w　　就像在叙利亚，暴力内战影响了那些经常被困在火线后面的公民。在这个数字时代，专制者几乎不可能掩盖他们的残忍，任何人都可以向全球观众谈论压迫。

　　But digitalization has a dark side. Social media, like Twitter and Facebook, often release information to the public that has not been verified, or long before a legitimate news organization would release it. So, it is possible for erroneous information to spread quickly.
　　但数字化有其阴暗面。像twitter和facebook这样的社交媒体经常向公众发布未经证实的信息，或者抢在合法的新闻机构之前发布信息。因此，错误信息有可能迅速传播。

　　Take the case of Veerender Jubbal. Several European news outlets named the Canadian Sikh as a possible suspect for the November 2015 Paris terror attack. They even published a photo of him wearing a suicide bomber vest.
　　以维伦德·朱巴尔为例，一些欧洲的新闻媒体认定这位加拿大锡克人可能是2015年11月巴黎恐怖袭击的嫌疑人，他们甚至公布了他身穿自杀炸弹背心的照片。

8 q7 J4 E7 g" j　　But Mr. Jubbal was completely innocent. Someone had manipulated a photo on his Facebook page and posted it on social media as a joke. It quickly spread, causing Mr. Jubbal to suffer extreme damage to his reputation and a lot of emotional distress.
( f0 y7 R  ]# `& P9 d7 y　　但是，朱巴尔先生完全是无辜的，某个人在他的脸书主页上合成了一张照片，然后当做玩笑似的发到了社交媒体上。信息很快传播开来，致使朱巴尔先生遭受了严重的名誉伤害和巨大的精神压力。
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1 R4 P; b% m2 t8 m8 O6 T　　This is a dramatic example but think about it. How many times have you fallen for click bait -- those deceptive ads that lure you to click with gossip or untrue information? For example, those ads that imply a famous celebrity has died or suffered a terrible tragedy?
- _7 I; s1 K" @( A. w　　这虽是一个戏剧性的例子，但也值得我们思考。你有多少次陷入了点击诱饵，即利用谣言或虚假信息吸引你点击的欺诈性广告。例如，一些暗示某个名人已经死亡或遭受严重悲剧的广告。
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+ A! I& g, G/ a　　Unlike traditional journalism, social media does not have an obligation to the truth. Its users are its reporters, and they are accountable to no one.
　　不同于传统媒体，社交媒体不用为事实负责，它的用户就是报告者，他们不用对任何人负责。

　　A smart news consumer is always aware of this discrepancy between traditional media and social media.
1 F9 B9 B; ?. Y; ^, z1 [! X# \　　一个明智的消费者总能意识到传统媒体和现代社交媒体的矛盾。

9 n1 w5 Y" Y% n. Z0 e0 R　　Exercising news literacy is a skill like any other skill. It requires thoughtful concentration and consideration. A literate news consumer uses the tools we have outlined to evaluate the mounds of information we encounter every minute of every day.
6 o1 y9 t' C* H6 X$ e  o　　与其他技能一样，新闻素养的锻炼也是一项技能。它需要超强的专注力和周全的考虑。有素质的新闻消费者使用我们重点标出的工具去评估我们每天、每分钟看到的大量的信息。

　　Words in this story
, C, X+ g3 @4 t  w/ ?　　tyrant – n. a ruler who has complete power over a country and who is cruel and unfair
　　cruelty – n. a desire to cause others to suffer : the quality or state of being cruel
　　legitimate – adj. allowed according to rules or laws
　　erroneous – adj. not correct
　　manipulate – v. to deal with or control (someone or something) in a clever and usually unfair or selfish way
, k1 {4 ?  ~2 W+ \. C　　reputation – n. the common opinion that people have about someone or something
　　distress – n. suffering that affects the mind or body
$ N; g9 ?, ^. j1 U3 W( T/ i　　lure – v. to cause or persuade (a person or an animal) to go somewhere or to do something by offering some pleasure or gain
　　gossip – n. information about the behavior and personal lives of other people
0 |  ^" b! E& I6 W; n3 `　　obligation – n. something that you must do because of a law, rule, promise, etc.
/ d0 e, ]& U) D* z* M3 O　　discrepancy – n. a difference especially between things that should be the same