It makes me laugh--but not happily--when I Google keywords such as "Holocaust Hoax" and come up with websites that explain away the holocaust without a single footnote.
It's as if they expect the average dimwit simply to accept their view of the world. Thank God neither American conservatives nor liberals rely upon such sources...
All I've learned from anti-Semitic websites is that anti-Semites are either semi-literate or flat our liars.
Footnotes are good. They prove research and support argument.
The common assumption about footnotes is that they reference credible sources being cited correctly and within the scope with which they were intended. Footnotes are indeed good, but often misused to mislead readers into believing that a piece is accurate and well researched. For footnotes to be valuable, readers must be willing to check the validity of sources. E.g. this critique of "The Story of Stuff" footnotes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5uJgG05xUY
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Drew. I wish that bullshitters would cite their sources so that I can call them out on it.
ReplyDeleteThat too few people check the sources for controversial assertions is another topic altogether.