What Criteria Do You Use to Distinguish Between Knowledge, Opinion and Propaganda?

What criteria do you use to distinguish between knowledge, opinion and propaganda?

In the 21st century society, we are immersed in mass media and absorb all kinds of information. With this amount of information, we ask basic questions about the authenticity of the information itself. We can get information from seeing, hearing things, school, friends or even just watching TV. We are exposed to propaganda and opinion everyday, but how much of that information do we accept into our knowledge? What criteria do I use to decide what is knowledge and what is not.

We come across knowledge claims everyday throughout the day. Accepting knowledge is based on many variables, which lie within the characteristics of a person. Judgements on a claim may rely on the way it is presented. For example, a claim made by a person dressed in a smart suit compared to a person dressed in rags. I make the assumption that a smartly dressed person is more educated and sophisticated. This criterion is not entirely accurate though, because many companies employ this strategy to endorse their product. We sometimes accept knowledge without the need of reason but for purpose. Such as a monk that accepts that his God is real for the sake of faith and piety. Another type of acceptance is acceptance to avoid error. Such as I know that all objects is made from atoms. I accept this with respect to obtaining the truth and avoiding error. Another factor for me to accept knowledge is from where the source of knowledge is coming from. I find it much more reliable that a source is knowledge is coming from a teacher or even a scientist. However, I know that these people are not perfect and can even make mistakes. Sometimes a scientist makes false claims. I would find it harder to accept knowledge from someone who is homeless or not a scholar. I can also accept knowledge I already believe to be true using other knowledge and common sense. There are many criterion that help decide whether you accept new knowledge claims or not.

Different people all have different opinions. To distinguish opinion from truth can difficult because people may give their opinion in certain subject matters without realising it. People of different backgrounds have prejudices or disagreements on matters. I think that opinion is easily picked out with a good awareness of the matter. For example, you are aware of three different opinions on the Treaty of Versailles, the orthodox, revisionist and post-revisionist. All their arguments are valid but they do not agree with each other. With an awareness of this topic, you can pick out who is voicing an opinion on the treaty. The disadvantages are that you won’t always be knowledgeable on all subjects. Another way to tell fact from opinion is by looking at how they are voicing their argument. For example, in an article, if the writer is only writing anti military quotes, then chances are that this article is opinionated. A good writer who wishes to impose his/her opinion can be subtle and can be difficult to tell if their article is opinionated. When reading an article, you can look at the language they using. Language such as “disgusting” and “unfair” can give a fairly bad view on their topic and chances that their argument is opinionated. Looking at the sources of the writer’s article. Writers use their sources