Medill to Add Fake News Concentration in 2017

The Presidential Election of 2016 has seen a rise of so-called “Fake-News” sites that produce false, skewed, or else heavily biased stories and headlines in order to generate ad revenue. The Medill School of Journalism has responded by announcing the opening of a Fake News concentration that will begin accepting students in 2017.

“We just want to make sure our students have the skill set they need for the job market they’re about to enter,” said Brad Hamm, Dean of Medill, “and sometimes that includes things like creating a vast sea of bipartisan misinformation to distract people from reaching any sort of meaningful political progress."

The decision lead to mixed objection among both students and parents alike.  Rose Patterson, vice-president of the College Democrats, shared their thoughts with us.

“This is ridiculous!  Fake News cost Hillary the election!  They think we’re the ones with a Fake News problem, but people still follow that crap to get all of their right-wing propaganda. Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, I mean BREITBART for Christ’s sake. ”

In a message from the opposing side, Josh Wood, active member of the College Republicans, was quick to show his disapproval as well.

“This is ridiculous!  Fake News nearly cost Trump the election!  They think we’re the ones with a Fake News problem, but people still follow that crap to get all of their liberal propaganda. CNN, Washington Post, I mean THE DAILY SHOW for Christ’s sake.”

Medill shared in its announcement a number of examples for the coursework that would become available through this change.  The list, which consisted of 8 new classes, can be seen below:

Jour 212 Media Presentation: Social Bubbles

Jour 269 Hold On, We’re Going Viral

Jour 301-1 How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Ads

Ethics 320 Right and Wrong are Indeterminate Constructs so Let’s Just Make Money

Jour 349 Intro to Name-Calling: Snowflakes and Nazis

Jour 350 Targeting Slacktivists

Jour 380-1 Offending in Under 140 Characters

Jour 380-2 Distracting from Real Issues