Ejercicio 2.3 · Inglés PAU Galicia Extraordinaria (2ª lengua extranjera) 2024

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In December 2016, Edgar M. Welch drove six hours from his home to Washington DC, where he opened fire in a pizzeria with an assault rifle. He had previously read an online news story about the restaurant being the headquarters of a group of child abusers run by Hillary Clinton. He decided to investigate for himself; fortunately, no one was hurt.

The Hillary Clinton pizzeria conspiracy is a noticeable case of the 'fake news' trend. It surfaced on websites and social media in late October prior to the US election. Despite denials from reputable sources like The New York Times and The Washington Post, scepticism persisted. Tweets by the fictitious 'Representative Steven Smith of the 15th District of Georgia' alleged mainstream media falsehoods, gaining numerous retweets. Fake news stories can be hard to control for several reasons. Many people mistrust established news sources and others just don't read them, so the refutation of a fake story by a serious newspaper or TV channel has limited effects. In addition, the Internet is very hard to police. When users are caught misusing one media platform, they simply go to another one or start up a website themselves. The creation of false information stems from diverse motives. Some use it for political agendas. Profit-driven individuals exploit entertaining fake news for advertising income; others seem to mix financial motives with boredom, crafting fabricated stories about figures like Donald Trump.

So, what can we do to stop fake news spreading? First, make sure that the websites you read are legitimate. Check the sources of any quotes or figures given in the story. Remember that amazing stories about famous people will be covered by the mainstream media if they are true. Only share stories you know are true. Together we can turn around the post-truth world!

2.3. Write a composition answering this question: [2.5 points]

Can music transcend cultural boundaries and truly serve as the universal language? (Approximately 120 words)