Anna Blow writes: "
When we comment on news stories, most of us hope to say something about the topic at hand — even (or maybe especially) if it’s that the author got it all wrong. But what do the comments we leave say about us — about our beliefs, our biases and how we act when the ordinary rules don’t apply? And how do our comments affect the beliefs of others?
This quote, referring to a study on comments a PSA about vaccines, made me gasp: "...many readers, especially those who are less Internet-savvy, assume commenters “know something about the subject, because otherwise they wouldn’t be commenting on it.” The mere act of commenting, then, can confer an unearned aura of credibility."
Another great opinion piece from The New York Times that would work well in middle or high school digital/media literacy discussions.