by: WA
23 mins
Events & Promotions
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Difficulty:
65%
(hard)
Question Stats:
58% (01:46) correct
42%
(01:48)
wrong
based on 1313
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
The recent proliferation of newspaper articles in major publications that have been exposed as fabrications serves to bolster the contention that publishers are more interested in selling copy than in printing the truth. Even minor publications have staffs to check such obvious fraud.
The above argument assumes that
(A) newspaper stories of dubious authenticity are a new phenomenon
(B) minor publications do a better job of fact-checking than do major publications
(C) everything a newspaper prints must be factually verifiable
(D) only recently have newspapers admitted to publishing erroneous stories
(E) publishers are ultimately responsible for what is printed in their newspapers
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The above argument assumes that
(A) newspaper stories of dubious authenticity are a new phenomenon
(B) minor publications do a better job of fact-checking than do major publications
(C) everything a newspaper prints must be factually verifiable
(D) only recently have newspapers admitted to publishing erroneous stories
(E) publishers are ultimately responsible for what is printed in their newspapers
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Bunuel
I received a PM requesting that I comment and explain why C is incorrect.
Premise:
In major publications, there been a proliferation of newspaper articles that have been exposed as fabrications, despite the fact that even minor publications have staffs to check such obvious fraud.
Conclusion:
Publishers are more interested in selling copy than in printing the truth.
The argument assumes that there is a link between the PROLIFERATION OF FABRICATED ARTICLES and PUBLISHERS.
Apply the NEGATION TEST.
When the correct answer is negated, the conclusion will be invalidated.
E, negated:
Publishers are NOT responsible for what is printed in their newspapers.
This negation breaks the link between the fabricated articles and publishers, invalidating the conclusion that publishers are more interested in selling copy than in printing the truth.
Since the negation of E invalidates the conclusion, E is an ASSUMPTION: a statement that MUST BE TRUE for the conclusion to hold.
C, negated:
Everything a newspaper prints does not have to be factually verifiable.
This negation could SUPPORT the conclusion that publishers are not concerned with printing the truth.
Since the correct negation must invalidate the conclusion, eliminate C.
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General Discussion
Abhishek009
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Bunuel
Must be (E) , as the stimulus suggests that even minor publication houses have necessary staff to check dubious information to the public, thus Publishers are themselves responsible for what they are printing...
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Posts: 9
E, the argument falls apart if we negate this statement
Sent from my iPhone using GMAT Club Forum mobile app
Sent from my iPhone using GMAT Club Forum mobile app
Pre-thinking: The exposure of fabricated news strengthens the argument that the publishers are more interested in selling copy than telling truth. This means that the publishers have the final say in what news must be published.
Option E matches the pre-thought answer.
Option E matches the pre-thought answer.
Bunuel
KAPLAN OFFICIAL EXPLANATION:
This next question is deceptively tough—it doesn't really appear to be a difficult argument to follow. The trouble comes from the subtle shift in scope that's introduced as the argument proceeds. If you caught it, then this is a fairly feasible question. If not, then you're likely to end up staring at the choices, wondering if there actually is one that's correct. The argument is based on a scope shift: The author concludes that publishers are more interested in selling copy than in printing the truth. The evidence is that many newspaper articles have recently been exposed as frauds. The assumption—that is, the necessary yet unstated premise here—is contained in (E): that publishers know about, or must take responsibility for, the truth of every article in their newspapers. If that's not the case, then the author cannot fairly blame publishers for the rash of bogus stories. So (E) is the answer because it must be assumed in order for this argument to stand.
Now, this assumption—and the scope shift that creates the need for it in the argument—is a bit subtle; you may say, "well, of course publishers are responsible for what is printed in their newspapers." However:
An 800 test taker understands that the "reasonableness" of a piece of information doesn't disqualify it from being an assumption. Any fact that's required by the argument but is not explicitly stated by the author qualifies as an assumption.
Even top test takers can't be expected to prephrase every right answer, and it's quite possible that even they would not have come up with
this answer on their own. No matter; that's what the choices are there for.
An 800 test taker recognizes the validity of an answer choice when she sees it, even if the concept contained in the choice didn't occur to her up front. Top test takers know how to use the choices to help them succeed.
Eliminating the wrong choices here may have been more than half the battle. Many people are at least able to get it down to (C) and (E).
(A) and (D) are pretty much out of left field. The conclusion doesn't have anything to do with the relative novelty of inauthentic articles (or admissions thereof), despite the tangential reference in the stimulus to "recent" proliferation.
(B) contains a distortion. Minor publications' fact-checking apparatus is mentioned in order to emphasize that the big publications ought to check too; it's not there as the basis of a quality comparison.
(C) is a popular wrong choice, but is too extreme. "Everything a newspaper prints must be factually verifiable" encompasses the movie clock, the weather forecast, today's horoscope, and Dilbert. The author's not peeved because Beetle Bailey was inaccurate, but because false stories are appearing without adequate checking. The issue isn't lies, but willful lies. If you proved to this author that every one of those bogus stories was thoroughly checked and published in good faith, her complaints would fade away.
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