To prepare for our unit about “misinformation,” I’d like for you to find an example of misinformation printed in a textbook and create a post about it. Â This will take a little bit of research. Â I’d like you to post the bibliographic information for the textbook. Â Then, tell us what fact was printed in the book that is untrue; if possible, quote it directly. Â Then, tell us what was wrong, or why this should be considered misinformation. Â Finally, give me the source of your correct (or corrected) information, and provide full bibliographic information.
Here are some guidelines:
1. The misinformation should be a genuine factual error. Â I’m not looking for simple grammar or spelling mistakes. Also, please avoid giving examples of “misinformation” that amount to: opinions, bad takes about factual events, or religious interpretations of factual events.Â
2. The textbook that you post about should be an English-language textbook (not just a nonfiction book).
3. The textbook should be something that was published during your lifetime. (We’re not looking for errors in 1890s books.)
4. You may not include an example, or a textbook, that has already been posted. Â This means that there is an incentive to do this assignment sooner rather than later. Â It also means that if you are late to the table, you’ll want to read through the existing posts.
Here is an example:
Vivian, John. “Sound Media.” The Media of Mass Communication. 11th ed. Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, 2013. 126. Print.
Error:  The book states “The recording industry does well from big-name performers. Kesha’s “OK to ToK” sold $12.8 million in downloads alone in 2010.”
Why this is misinformation: Kesha, or Ke$ha, has never released a song or an album called “OK to Tok.” Â In 2010 she did have a huge hit single called “Tik Tok.” Â Perhaps John Vivian typed this edition on his phone.
Source for correct information: “Ke$ha: Chart History.” Billboard. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.
also
“List of Songs by Ke$ha.” Songfacts. Songfacts LLC. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.
(I listed two sources because I’m trying to prove a negative, i.e., that Ke$ha never released anything with that title. Â Because it’s difficult to establish a negative claim, I felt additional evidence was warranted.)