“Social media miscreants flourish from your attention. Don’t give it to them.”
Pathos
The article uses emotional language to convince the reader.
Repeal
The action of revoking or annulling a law or congressional act.
The legislation was repealed five months ago.
"Public health officials recommend that most people get a flu shot every year."
Simple Sentence
No coordinating conjugation or punctuation.
"Ads are important, but they’re not the most important in terms of how misinformation spreads"
Red Herring
Sentence Structure:
"The news was first reported by The Washington Post."
Simple Sentence.
Subject and independent clause. No punctuation.
“Americans who rely the most on social media to get their news are also far less likely to have accurate or complete knowledge of political events, a Pew Research Center study found.”
Logos
The article uses data and statistics to convince the reader.
Cesspool
An underground container for the temporary storage of liquid waste and sewage.
Or
Disgusting or corrupt place
"Government has become nothing but a political cesspool"
"Facebook is addressing the anti-vaxxers of 2014 and 2015 and not the anti-vaxxers of 2020, said David Broniatowski, an associate professor at George Washington University’s school of engineering and applied science who has published several studies on vaccine misinformation."
Complex Sentence
Contains only one independent clause.
Red Herring
The author switches the discussion from the promotion of civil engagement and vaccine usage but instead criticizes Facebook's lack of awareness of the source of misinformation.
Vocabulary:
Corrupt
Having or showing a willingness to act dishonestly in return for money or personal gain.
"The entire system was corrupt and evil."
"Nearly 60 percent of people who primarily get their news from social media had minimal knowledge of current political events, according to the study, compared with 23 percent who primarily get their news directly from news websites or apps."
Logos
The article uses data and statistics to convince the reader.
Egregious
Outstandingly bad; Shocking
"The egregious mistake these couples made was not spending enough time seriously planning for a lifetime together in marriage."
Compound Sentence
Contains a singular independent clause, a comma as well as coordinating conjunction.
Genetic Fallacy
The author attempts to prove that these claims are false merely with the fact that they originate from a form of social media instead of with hard evidence.
Ethos, Pathos Logos:
“Collectively, the accounts had 265,000 retweets or Twitter mentions. Some of them had amassed over 10,000 followers.”
Logos
The author uses number to show to the amount of influence this hoax gained on social media.
“Joe Smyser, CEO of the Public Good Projects, nonprofit public health group, which this year started Stronger, a national advocacy campaign against misinformation and for vaccines.”
Ethos
The article convinces the reader using credibility and experience.
Arbiter
An individual with authority.
"The social media company has long professed to stand for freedom of speech and rejected the idea that it be an arbiter of truth."
"A Twitter spokesperson told CNBC: “Our teams are working diligently to investigate this activity and will take action in line with the Twitter Rules if Tweets are found to be in violation. "
Compound-Complex Sentence
Contains multiple independent clauses and notable amounts of punctuation.
"If you were a true American, you would take a break from social media to vote."
Ad populum
This is an ad populum because the idea of a "true American" is subjective but is still used to convince the reader to take the author advice.
“I don’t think there is any question at this point voters will be more informed by seeking out news brands they trust rather than spending their time on social media where it’s less than clear,” said Jason Kint, the chief executive of Digital Content Next, an online publishing industry group."
Ethos
The experience of the individual which is quoted is used to convince the reader. He states that people should instead rely on news brands which are more trustful as an executive of a news brand.
"As for your loved ones: Remember that the data collection device in your pocket can be used to make old fashioned phone calls."
Pathos
Uses the mention of loved ones to make readers more wary of social media and their electronic devices.
Smoking Gun
A piece of incontrovertible incriminating evidence.
"Facebook and Twitter on Wednesday limited the distribution of a New York Post story that claims to show “smoking gun” emails related to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his son."
"Social media is a cesspool, and its getting worse by the day."
Compound Sentence
Contains a single subject, usage of a comma (punctuation) with a conjugating conjunction.