https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTXzUz9evbc&feature=youtu.be

Lilian Jochmann:

A video documentary that educates the general public, especially teens who will soon be voting, in simple terms about the concept of false news, its role in the 2016 election, and what steps can be taken to avoid falling into its trap.

Weapons of Mass Deception is a video documentary that educates the general public, especially teens who will soon be voting, in simple terms about the concept of false news, its role in the 2016 election, and what steps can be taken to avoid falling into its trap. It gives viewers an inside look at the extremely controversial and timely, yet often misunderstood world of false media. The project combines interviews with expert researchers from Ohio State University and MIT with interviews with American teens and includes voiceovers, visual animations, images, and footage from around Boston to create a video that educates viewers about this complex issue. 

The video begins with a narration introducing the audience to the concept of false media, transitioning into interviews with four American teens addressing their perspectives on the issue. Teen viewers can relate or disagree with the views of the kids in the video and think about why. The film then highlights two researchers: Richard Gunther from Ohio State University and Soroush Vosoughi from MIT. Gunther conducted a study on how false media influenced the 2016 presidential election, while Vosoughi showed that false media on Twitter travels six times faster than real news. The interviews are supported by narrations, graphics, and animations. Getting the perspectives of three diverse groups: the average American teen, a professor at Ohio State University, and a Postdoctoral Associate at the MIT Media Lab gives viewers a look into the different aspects of false media.

Robert Paglione:

Weapons of Mass Deception project is a video evaluating the impacts of false media reporting and its effects on the American political system. Presenting research and expert interviewees, the project has compiled its collected information into an incredibly accessible medium that targets the average news-consuming American. The video includes a compilation of interviews as well as narrative commentary offering additional information and context. The softwares used to create this digital video are iMovie and Photoshop. The project exists in order to bring awareness and understanding to the issue of false media, for it is largely talked about, but often not well-understood. The project focuses on the epidemic of falsehoods in U.S. media and the American tendency to discredit real news by labeling it fake news. Weapons of Mass Deception helps the average news-consuming American as well as anyone who has unknowingly made a decision based on a fallacy they absorbed from the media.

This project has the potential to raise awareness about fallacies in the media and afford people the ability to observe and consume the news they are presented within a more skeptical and scrutinizing manner. The ability to propagate a digital product online raises questions as this topic deserves a large viewer assemblage. This project's audience is anyone with internet access and the motivation to learn more about the origins of their news as well as professional opinions concerning the topic. The political motivations of our audience are irrelevant, for anyone on the political spectrum has been the victim of false media, and therefore will most likely take interest in our product. The technology that we are going to implement in order to complete our video is iMovie and photoshop and we will film using cameras supplied by the school and myself. Our video is the first of its kind because an interview-based documentary film concerning false media has never been done with experts from the Boston area. Our decision to use an audio-visual medium was based on a conscious choice to include two senses. By stimulating more than one sense, our product will become more accessible and entertaining translating to greater outreach. 

A pop art inspired wall art piece designed to help encourage all women to speak up for themselves and for those around them who do not have a voice.

Women experience injustice in almost all aspects of life. The typical gender roles in the household and workforce are still present in today's society; women earn on average 79 cents for every man's dollar and women spend almost double the time men do completing household activities per day. In addition, women are constantly victims of sexual assault: 1 in every 6 women will experience attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. Speak Up is a pop art inspired wall art piece that addresses these issues and aims to help women gain the courage to break the silence around them. The target audience is mostly women, but also male allies who can make a huge difference in the battle for equality.

The project consists of a simple closed lip design repeated in a 4 by 4 grid. The repetition of this image is meant to convey the immense number of women being silenced and unable to speak their truths. In addition harsh statistics relating to this gender inequality are written on each lip, forcing the user to read about the unbelievable truths in our society. Some people are unaware of the inequality women experience, and some are aware but do not understand the power of their voice. Simply voicing one's experiences, opinions, and beliefs can not only impact one's own life, but can also inspire others to speak up; when women join voices they can change the way society sees and treats women. Along with the art piece, there will be a social media/blog based campaign to further encourage women to share their stories and opinions. By reading about other's experiences, more women will feel comfortable to speak up.

     False news has become a staple in the modern media business because it is more profitable than reliable news. Often times fake news is eye-catching and outlandish which draws many people to it just based on each headline.  Additionally, Media outlets are starting to use false media to alter truth rather than make something up from scratch,  this causes false news to become more believable. False news is beginning to pose a threat to our democracy as consumers change their actions, beliefs, and social media posts to align with the skewed views of fake articles. This project is meant to bring to light the dark financial secrets of media companies and show people that news is a business with a strong profit motive.

    The media lightbox will be viewed by many people who simply walk by the box that is attached to a street sign or post.   The media box is a rectangular prism with eye slits and a false news headline on the front that when looked in, The viewer is presented with something discrediting that headline. After they step back there is a projection of statistics of the economic benefits.  People who stop to look through the eye holes will be presented with information that will bring the dark side of media to the light. When enough people realize that fake news is generated for economic profit, they will be more careful about spreading it, those who generate it will profit less, and its prevalence will wane.  

With the spread of the phenomenon of fake news, and with undemocratic leaders taking advantage of the phenomenon to label true news as fake, everyone is forced to think about whether what they read is from a reliable source and is accurate. Because it can be hard to determine the reliability of an article, many people believe and spread false information, and in the process bring great economic benefits to the those responsible for the fake articles. Also, individuals who have believed and spread "fake news" have created tremendous political and social tension, tearing those with opposite political views further away. With the recently made False Media Exposer product "The Media Lightbox," viewers will come to understand who is benefiting from the spread of fake news and will be more cautious before reading and passing along an article from an unknown source.

This product will highlight some of the many false news headlines along with statistics about the income they bring to the media companies that perpetuate them. At the front of the artifact, the viewer will see a false media headline in which a great number of people believed and spread throughout social media platforms. Then, the user will look into the lightbox through a slit and will see the true headline at the back of the box, resulting in the viewer realizing the likeliness of believing false media. When the user looks below the box, they will see a statistic created by a light fixture that is supported at the top of the box, influencing the user to come to the realization that false media is prospering internationally due to many people believing its information. The hope is that the artifact will reach enough individuals who read and believe false media to the point where they will become more cautious in their approach to reading these articles. And without people contributing to the economic success of false media, the news will become more reliable again because it will no longer be profitable to alter information.

  A safe space where LGBTQ youth can come and try on different clothes to try on different identities and feel pride and comfort through self-expression. One unique clothing item is a unisex dress using cyanotype as a pattern.

LGBTQ youth are more prone to feeling isolated and alone in non-accepting communities where they are not free to explore their identities. This leads to higher suicide rates and drug abuse. My project will solve this problem by providing a space for LGBTQ youth to come and explore their identity with other members, so that they don't feel alone. People often dress in the way that they want to be perceived (i.e sporty, comfy, sharp, preppy). LGBTQ youth will be able to express their identity through clothes.

The safe space will be warm and inviting and posted on the walls, headshots of famous members of the LGBTQ community and an inclusive mission statement. It will have Christmas lights which will represent Gay Pride colors and my mission statement on the wall. Part of the wardrobe will be a unisex dress which is sewn and imprinted with patterns using cyanotype. Part of the reason I’m using cyanotype is that it is imprinted using sun exposure. This is metaphoric in a way that when the cyanotype comes out to the sun, something beautiful is created in the same way that LGBTQ members should come out to the world.