CRITICAL THINKING – THE MAIN KEY TO NEUTRALIZE FAKE NEWS

Critical thinking is the main key to recognize and neutralize untruth statements written with a special purpose. This article examines critical thinking as a component skill of analyzing arguments, making inferences using inductive or deductive reasoning, judging or evaluating, and decision making or problem-solving. Background knowledge is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for enabling critical thinking within a given subject. The article attempts to involve both cognitive skills and dispositions through critical thinking and present strategies and key points against fake news. Empirical research suggests that people began developing critical competencies at a very young age. Although adults often exhibit deficient reasoning, in theory, all people can be taught to think critically. Instructors are urged to provide explicit instruction in critical thinking, to teach how to transfer new contexts, and to use cooperative or collaborative learning methods and constructivist approaches that place students at the center of the learning process. Finally, such assessment tasks should make student reasoning visible by requiring students to provide evidence or logical arguments in support of judgments, choices, claims, or assertions.