A few days ago, I received this message on WhatsApp:
“A loud thought: In 1945, USA attacked Japan with a nuclear bomb. Today, after 71 years USA cannot sell a needle in Japan. This is not due to trade policy. This is because the Japanese citizens do not buy anything which is made in the USA. This is called real patriotism and unity. We Indians can do it against China. We all need to unite. China is our number one enemy country. Do not purchase any Chinese product from today. Be Indian and buy Indian. Share this message with everyone.”
Out of curiosity, I shared this message with ten of my friends to know how they would react to it. Later, when I checked with them, I found that nine of them had shared the message with their friends. A similar experiment was carried out in a classroom in a college and the majority of students said that if they had received the message they would have just shared it. Many said that they accepted the message without questioning and analysing it; some said that they were carried away by the word ‘patriotism’ and a few said that China was a great threat to India.
When I received the message from a friend, a highly qualified academic, I sent these questions as my response: Is it an authentic message? Is it true that Japanese people do not buy products from the USA? Are those Japanese people who buy US-made products unpatriotic? What is patriotism? Is China really a number one enemy to India? Who is the author of the message? What is his/her real intention?
Fact-check
How accurate is the message? Three years ago, I attended an international conference in Ahmedabad. About ten delegates from Japan too attended the conference. Most of them had Apple iPhones/laptops. One of them had received his master’s degrees from a U.S. university. According to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI), the United States is the second largest export economy in the world and Japan is its third top export destination. What can be deduced from these facts is that Japanese people do use American products. It seems that the one who created the message has pathological hatred for China. This message can poison the minds of those who lack critical reading skills.
In the 21st century media mediated society, social media is flooded with such posts. Without checking the authenticity of the posts, many form opinions, generate views and share the same with everyone they know. What is the outcome? We create a society where post-truth dominates our political and social discourse. The fact that all news, messages and posts are constructed the way the authors want them to be constructed, invites us to be critical readers of such texts.
A month ago, the following message purportedly written by Google CEO Sundar Pichai was making the rounds on social media:
“I’m not interested in politics but I’m worried about India’s unemployment and millions of youngsters losing their jobs. India must concentrate on people’s welfare not on their food habits. Eating Beef or any food is purely personal freedom. No one has right to ban it. We don’t live in Dark Ages where King decides on People’s Freedom. Great Country like India must move towards Science and Technology but not Religions…” — Sundar Pitchai, CEO, Google
It came as a big surprise to me when I noticed that the quote was circulated even by academics. No wonder many Indians took to Twitter and hurled abuse at the Google CEO. If people had read the message critically, they would have realised that it was a fake quote. The misspelling of Sundar Pichai’s name, his background, his current position, and incorrect grammar and punctuation in the text should have helped them to dismiss it as a fake quote.
It is true that educational institutions in India have failed to promote critical reading among students. The myth that authorities, teachers and textbooks should not be questioned has been so firmly established in our consciousness and perpetuated for centuries that very few dare to puncture it. Developing learners’ critical reading skills is essential in the 21st century, and without this, education is incomplete.
Critical reading is an extension and application of critical thinking. It can be defined as a process of questioning, analysing, interpreting and evaluating a text. It is a deeper engagement with the text. It is not merely seeing the surface structure (sentences) but looking into the deep structure (meaning). It is reading between the lines and beyond the lines. When critical readers read between and beyond the lines, they know what is implied in the text, discover the intention, tone and attitude of the author and bring out the truth with their deeper analysis and synthesis.
Students must be taught to look at any text through critical glasses. The following questions will help them become critical readers: What is the intent (motive, purpose) of the writer? What is the tone of the text? What is the author’s background? Are the sources reliable? Do you believe what you have read? Do you agree with the author? Is there anything in the text that does not make sense to you? What are the claims and supports in the arguments in the text?
Are the arguments convincing? Why has the writer used certain words and phrases in the text? What are the connotations of the words and phrases? Has the author failed to include certain facts, details and examples? What is my personal response to what the writer has written?
In the post-truth era, we are bombarded with messages that contain half-truth or no-truth and posts that are propagandistic. Certain news reports contain not just news but views too. It is presented in such a way that readers are made to believe the reports. It is high time that the educational institutions took steps to help students become reflective, independent and critical thinkers.
While I was typing this article, I received this tweet from a friend: “The thing about quotes on the Internet is that you cannot confirm their validity.” — Abraham Lincoln
The author is Professor of English and Head, Higher Education at KCG College of Technology, Chennai. rayanal@yahoo.co.uk