Truthiness

High school (ages 12+)
Thinking & Learning

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/truthiness

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the philosophical stance?Prioritizes subjective intuition and perception over empirical evidence and logic
2. What is the historical context of term?Popularized in early 21st-century US political discourse, reflecting concerns about propaganda
3. Why can truthiness be dangerous?It can make people think false ideas are true, which stops them from learning real facts and makes it hard for everyone to agree on what is real.
4. How does the internet make truthiness easier to spread?The internet shares information very fast and often shows only ideas that match what people already believe, so feelings can become stronger than facts.

Epistemology: The branch of philosophy concerned with the theory of knowledge, its nature, and its scope.
Empirical Evidence: Information acquired through observation and experimentation, verifiable by others.
Cognitive Bias: A systematic pattern of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment, often occurring unconsciously.