Critique #4: Fake news about the coronavirus is hazardous to your health. Don’t fall for it: Doctor
Staying informed during this COVID-19 crisis is crucial and since early February, fake news content surrounding this issue has flooded the internet.
Citizens all over the world are trying to protect their families and tackle the problem while everyone is consistently sharing, reading and reposting information from various media outlets, but what can we believe is true?
That is a rising concern many of us are facing.
The clear theme this piece focuses on is ‘fake news’ and that is consistently evident throughout the article. It shines a light on how we cannot believe and spread everything we see in the media without confirmation.
The writer starts with a strong lead about how his dad forwarded him a message that said, “if you could hold your breath for 10 seconds, you were proven not to be infected by the novel coronavirus”.
The word ‘proven’ in this context is very strong. That leads people to believe, oh it was proven, therefore, it must be true! Well no, not in this case. The statement is followed by the argument that this information is false.
From the beginning paragraph, you can identify the angle the writer is taking for the article and I found it to be very well written and clearly stated.
His opener is not only a straight lead because it attracts the attention of a reader, but it’s a punch because it states the clear point. It follows with what the writer is about to argue in the proceeding sentences and makes you want to read more. He also incorporates the storytelling element by using the intro to speak about a personal message he receives from his father.
When focusing on the flow of the piece, I was a little thrown off by his transitions. He had two subheadings to separate his piece up, but I don’t think this was necessary. Usually, that seems useful if there are a few subheadings you need to separate your information, but in this case, I think he could have made everything flow together as one.
The use of vocabulary he uses is strong for this piece, but he also asks a few too many questions in a section where it became overwhelming. In the second paragraph under the first subheading, he asks four questions back to back and I think he could have avoided that, as it almost feels like a mouthful.
Although he proceeds to answer with a decent transition that provides an informative list of steps you can follow to make sure your information is reliable. I think this was a clear way to provide this information.
I particularly like that he uses the words “I urge you” and identifies that you should result in professional assistance and advice, not the internet. This is important to state because more people need to be aware that you cannot rely on the internet for everything.
For the most part, he incorporated solid research and evidence. Adding any more might have been too much for the length of this piece.
As for the ending, I think it was a good and concise way to wrap up the information he provided. I especially loved the last line he used because it was symbolic regarding what he wrote about.
Overall, this was a concise and informative opinion piece. I think it was well written and had my attention until the end. I agree with the argument and I think this was an important topic relating to the current problems we are facing today.
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