RecordNumber
3452
Author
Hiis Hauge, Kjellrun
Crop_Body
Kjellrun Hiis Hauge, Suela Kacerja and Inger Elin Lilland
Title of Article
xenophobia numbers in the media- discussing mathematics education in the post- truth era
Title Of Journal
philosophy of mathematics education
Publication Year
2019
Volum
35
Keywords
fake news , xenophobia , media , post-truth , critical mathematics education
Abstract
The phenomenon of post-truth and fake news has given rise to concerns about the development of deliberative democracies. There is a fear that manipulation of people’s sentiments and fabricated facts will steer politics and decision-making. Political argumentation and decision-making are often supported by quantified information. Quantities, in form of fabricated or twisted numbers, may be applied to make fake news more trustworthy. In this paper, we analyse a YouTube video which conveys a claim that Muslims will dominate Europe and the world in near future. We scrutinise the validity of numbers and claims presented in the video together with the role of the presented numbers in conveying a political message. Other sources of information are also explored. We further show how concepts from critical mathematics education can be useful when preparing teaching and learning related to fake news.