CAT 2023 Slot 1 · VARC · Question 13

CAT 2023 Slot 1 previous year question on Para Summary, with the answer and a step-by-step solution.

Para SummaryVerbal AbilityMultiple choiceMedium

The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.

Manipulating information was a feature of history long before modern journalism established rules of integrity. A record dates back to ancient Rome, when Antony met Cleopatra and his political enemy Octavian launched a smear campaign against him with “short, sharp slogans written upon coins.” The perpetrator became the first Roman Emperor and “fake news had allowed Octavian to hack the republican system once and for all”. But the 21st century has seen the weaponization of information on an unprecedented scale. Powerful new technology makes the fabrication of content simple, and social networks amplify falsehoods peddled by States, populist politicians, and dishonest corporate entities. The platforms have become fertile ground for computational propaganda, ‘trolling’ and ‘troll armies’.

  1. A

    Disinformation, which is mediated by technology today, is not new and has existed since ancient times.

  2. B

    People need to become critical of what they read, since historically, weaponization of information has led to corruption.

  3. C

    Use of misinformation for attaining power, a practice that is as old as the Octavian era, is currently fueled by technology.

  4. D

    Octavian used fake news to manipulate people and attain power and influence, just as people do today.

Pick an option, then check.
Answer & solution

Answer: Option C

The passage: manipulating information to gain power is ancient – Octavian smeared Antony and became emperor – but in the 21st century technology and social networks have made it unprecedented in scale.

Option 3 – misinformation used to gain power, as old as Octavian, now fuelled by technology – keeps both the purpose (power) and the modern change.

Option 1 is close but leaves out the use of misinformation to attain power, the point of the Octavian example.

Option 2 offers advice ('people need to become critical') and claims a link to corruption, neither of which the passage states.

Option 4 says people today do just as Octavian did, missing the change in scale brought by technology.

Shortcut: a historical example in a summary passage is there for a reason. Check that the option keeps what the example illustrates – here, gaining power.

Hence, the answer is option 3.

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