PrepTest 136, Section 4, Question 2
Editorial: It is usually desirable for people to(57 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(10 more words not shown)
- AIt is never(11 more words not shown)
- BEven if information(9 more words not shown)
- CRegulation of information(12 more words not shown)
- DIt is acceptable(21 more words not shown)
- EIt is usually(25 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Misinformation is a problem. Will regulating information actually fix it?
I can see the value of open access: people can learn, make better decisions, and improve their lives. I can also see the editorial's concern. A useful fact does little good if we cannot tell it apart from a convincing falsehood. Let's accept that difficulty and then examine the proposed solution.
Regulation does not automatically give us a reliable way to sort true information from false information. A regulator could suppress accurate information or leave confusing misinformation in place. Perhaps independent fact-checking could help instead. These possibilities do not prove regulation is a bad idea; they show why identifying a problem is not enough to establish that this particular solution works.
What we’re looking for
The question asks for a principle that helps justify the recommendation. Give us a connection between regulating information and making accurate information easier to recognize. We do not need to establish that regulation is the only conceivable solution. Showing that it addresses the editorial's specific concern would already help.
Working the answers
- A
This adds a cost to regulation: restricting access to accurate information. That gives us another reason to question the recommendation. It does not show that regulation makes accurate information easier to distinguish from misinformation.
- B
This says the very problem motivating the recommendation often remains after regulation. If people still cannot distinguish accurate information from misinformation, regulation has not supplied the promised solution. B undermines the connection we want to strengthen.
- CCorrect
Regulation makes the distinction easy to see. Now the recommendation directly addresses the problem: accurate information is useless when we cannot identify it, and regulation enables us to identify it. This does not settle every possible concern about regulation, but it supplies the missing reason to think the proposed response would help.
- D
This sets a condition for acceptable access to misinformation: accurate information must never be overlooked as a result. It might reinforce concern about the current situation. But what makes regulation the appropriate response? D never tells us that regulation prevents accurate information from being overlooked or makes the truth easier to recognize.
- E
This favors access to unregulated misinformation over access limited to regulated accurate information. That preference points away from the editorial's recommendation. We need support for regulation, not a reason to prefer leaving information unregulated.
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