Two Temple professors were named on a watchlist of teachers who limit free speech by a conservative organization, Turning Point USA.
What students need to understand is that the criteria to get on the watchlist is very loose: a single recorded incident of a professor sharing a liberal opinion is enough. Joseph Schwartz was added to the list for swearing at a representative from Pennsylvania Right to Work Defense and Education Foundation. TPUSA found Schwartz through a Fox News opinion story.
This already goes against the website’s message that they choose professors from “pre-existing news stories.” Schwartz was discussed in an opinion story — not a news one.
TPUSA added Goldrick-Rab to the watchlist after she sent a tweet comparing Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin, to Adolf Hitler. The news story they cited was from a news project created by The Leadership Institute, a conservative educational organization.
The Temple News asks students to be wary of sources that claim to have pure facts, but in truth, present information loaded with opinion. Use your skills in media literacy to fully understand and determine for yourself when a resource is legitimate or not.
Take care and recognize when you are presented with information that clearly bends analysis toward the subjective and presents opinion as truth.
Avoid publications and sources that are bent toward an agenda other than the duty to inform.
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