My group for the digital polarization project researched an article about people absorbing energy from others. In finding the truth behind the statement, I followed some of the links provided in the articles. I quickly found the original study, which proved easily to be factual and scientific–though it only related to algae being able to digest cellulose from other nearby algae. The claim that this could be applied to people was made on a website called “Prevent Disease” which was posted two days after the study was published. The claims made were loosely tied merely through inferences. Moreover, the sources cited in this first article either were not related to the topic at hand at all or were no longer in service.
Through our research, we were able to show what aspects of the claim were true and how and why others were not true. For instance, the titles of the more recent articles stated along the lines of “science confirms people absorb energy from others,” when the body of text in the article itself used much less definitive language. Overall, I learned that news is hardly ever black and white, and that just because many sources repeat a claim does not mean that it is true (especially when the content of said sources is nearly word-for-word).
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