Question

analyzing and evaluating arguments
pre-test complete
1 2
read the excerpt from \the role of social media in
the arab uprisings\ by heather brown, emily guskin,
and amy mitchell.
in july 2012 a report was published by the united
states institute of peace. . . .
. . . the study suggests that the importance of social
media was in communicating to the rest of the world
what was happening on the ground during the
uprisings.
data from the pew research center’s global attitudes
project at least somewhat supports this conclusion
with its findings that the majority of egyptians are not
online. nearly two - thirds (65%) of the total population
do not use the internet. when looking specifically at
those with a college education, use of social media for
other segments of the population. though most of the
country is disconnected from the internet, 84% of
those who are online say they visit social networking
sites for news about egypt’s political situation. these
findings point to social media’s important role in
spreading information, but do not necessarily indicate
that social media was a mobilizing force in the
uprisings.
passing along information is an important part of the
news process. earlier project for excellence in
journalism research finds the role of twitter in
disseminating breaking news is not limited to the arab
uprisings—the death of whitney houston, for example,
was announced on twitter 55 minutes prior to the
associated press confirming the story
what types of evidence do the authors use in this
excerpt? select three options.
□ research related to the popular use of social media
in egypt
□ a statistic supporting the claim that social media use
in egypt is not widespread
□ testimony about how social media use has changed
in egypt
□ an example that compares how traditional media and
social media handle a news story
□ data related to the decline of social media use after
the arab spring

Explanation:

1. "research related to the popular use of social media in Egypt": The excerpt mentions a report by the United States Institute of Peace and Pew Research Center's research, so this is valid.
2. "a statistic supporting the claim that social media use in Egypt is not widespread": The excerpt has "Nearly two - thirds (65%) of the total population do not use the internet" and other stats about non - internet users, supporting that social media use isn't widespread.
3. "an example that compares how traditional media and social media handle a news story": The excerpt gives the example of the death of Whitney Houston, where Twitter announced it 55 minutes before Associated Press, comparing social (Twitter) and traditional (Associated Press) media.

The other options: "testimony about how social media use has changed in Egypt" - no testimony about change is given. "data related to the decline of social media use after the Arab Spring" - no data about decline after Arab Spring is present.

Answer:

1. research related to the popular use of social media in Egypt
2. a statistic supporting the claim that social media use in Egypt is not widespread
3. an example that compares how traditional media and social media handle a news story