Spiraling Virtually

Cara Renfro 

cr322818@ohio.edu 

 

From a tool created to make life easier, technology has become something much more. Technology has developed from a means of information and communication to the center of the society. As a tool that has positively affected society in countless ways, could anyone have anticipated the dangers and challenges of technology taking a life of its own? 

Technology balances the line of truth and fiction imperfectly. The root of many issues technology presents is that people believe what they read. People see virtual as reality. What exactly are these issues that stem? 

The overwhelming capacity of social media connects everyone from all walks of life. Which means that when one person creates a false or misleading post, it spreads far and wide. The power of this discourages free thinking. It is ironic that a system supposedly used for communication of knowledge and opinions has in many ways led to a lack of research and beneficial conversation for many. 

These connected ideas are represented in an article written by Ravi Somaiya entitled "The Junk Cycle." In this article, Somaiya gives example of an edited video of Nancy Pelosi that was slowed down to resemble drunk slurring. Some social media users would believe their eyes, others would not. When publications and people of high status re-post it, however, the masses follow. 

As false information spreads, it is important that those in positions of power or authority monitor what is put out there for the public. Fact-checkers are present within social media, but are these fact-checkers accurate all of the time? Not according to Candace Owens. 

An article, written by Lucy Collins, explains recent events involving Candace Owens and Facebook fact-checkers. Collins wrote, " Owens recently won her appeal to Facebook's third party fact-checker PolitiFact over a video in which she claimed Joe Biden was not yet the president-elect"(2020). PolitiFact issued a correction. 

                                                                  Picture source: cnsnews.com

Call to Action 

As our world of technology can be challenging to navigate deception, it is important for people to take responsibility. Social media teams need to be sure that if they are checking the facts, that they are indeed correct. 

In the instances of spreading altered content suggested as truth or censoring true information, those responsible need to realize the impact of those mistakes. Mistakes that can not afford to be made.

Technology has opened a world of wonders and benefits that have moved society forward. The public, however, needs to remember not to get lost in wonderland.

We are Drowning in Information While Starving for Wisdom: The Cyle of Junk News in America

Jaelyn R. Smith 

js105916@ohio.edu

 

Edward O. Wilson said, “we are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom. The world henceforth will be run by synthesizer, people able to put together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, and make important choices wisely.” 

 

This quote depicts a community of people who will end the cycle of junk news. The phenomenon has become more prevalent as technology and social media have evolved. Free-for-all news organizations have increasingly begun to report on what’s trending to create revenue. This type of journalism not only lacks transparency, but also lacks accountability and credibility because they are typically hyper partisan groups that promote political agendas and gossip. America and the political agendas that exist in our government have attributed to the increasing cycle of junk news; people will believe this type of reporting because it matches their beliefs, thus creating a more divided America.

 

PBS News produced a series regarding the junk news cycle and how Facebook alone has played a large role in dividing American citizens. Individuals interviewed by PBS claimed that Facebook has had a tendency to take up multiple hours of their day, as they get lost in social media algorithms that provide an endless stream of content that re-affirms that individual user’s beliefs. This is problematic given that many hyper partisan sites are created by Russian spies, intended to commit espionage and collect research on America’s political patterns and governing body as a whole. Facebook’s filter bubble allows room for error and has provides no immediate resolution for identifying Russian espionage sites. 

 

Because Americans are consistently viewing content that is one sided and information that is only confirmed by what is being said online, middle ground between American’s has been buried. Most individuals reported, Facebook did not sway their opinions, but it did harden them. This has lead PBS to ask the question, does Facebook reward polarization? 

 

Heba Aly gave a TedTalk that addressed the issues with polarized journalism.  She compared junk news to junk food. Over the past decade many Americans have become more aware with the health risks junk food can have, thus we have seen an increase in health food stores and vegetarian/ vegan options on restaurant menus. Aly claimed that if we take consciousness to what we put into our bodies, why is it that we do not want to do the same with our minds. 

 

Picture source: Bēhance

 

Journalism that is over opinionated, one sided, superficial, and lacks evidence is junk news and even more so “junk” for American minds. It was said that junk news can be considered more harmful than fake news because fake news is known to be fake, but junk news offers simplistic and uninformed narratives. Such narratives don’t offer truth or the entirety of a story, both of which should be upheld as strict values for journalists. Journalists who produce simplistic narratives and the readers that follow those narratives created and allow room for a warped view of conflicts, which lowers prospects for peace among allies and foreign affairs in general. 

 

Aly presented three reasons why should not want to acknowledge those simplistic narratives. 

 

1.    We live in an interconnected world: People, politics, environment, culture, technology, economics, and trade.

2.    Tax payer money: American citizens pay taxes and in the spirit of democracy we should want to know where our money goes and more importantly what it is accomplishing. 

3.    Common humanity: Communities are being pushed the edge by unemployment, climate change, urbanization, and violence. In all of this, American needs a united front. 

 

This being said, Americans should want to eradicate junk news; it prohibits us from preventing, responding to, and resolving crisis’. Junk news fails democracy because it fails to provide the proper information to participate as informed and active citizens. Society has become immune to entertainment over information. It is up the next generation of journalist to end the cycle and abolish simplistic narratives that create a hyper partisan and divided America. 

How Journalists Use Social Media

Brianna Smith

bs214517@ohio.edu

One thing that was highlighted through 2020 is how huge social media is. I take social media very seriously because of the amount of people that use it. Also, once you post something on social media, it can always be found on the internet. 

In regards to journalism, your social media account could get you the job you want or get you fired from your dream job. This is why if you want to be a journalist, you must learn how to use social media in an effective way.

 

Publishing Content

According to Cision (you can access here), "Between the 2012 and 2017 iterations of the Cision Global Social Journalism Study, there was a 12 percent increase in the number of journalists that said that they post content to social media platforms daily". Employers want to see you posting things to your social media! This makes it easy to show your personal values as a journalist and how well you can manage a social media while always providing content.

Creating a Ethical Environment 

As I touched on a bit above, your ethical standards as a journalist are very important and must shine through everything you do. Social media is no exception. PRSA spoke on this here. It speaks on how CEO's are looking for journalist that have the same ethical codes as them. They do this by hiring people to go through their workers social medias before they hire them and during the time they are on the workforce. 

This is why it's super important as a journalist to have an ethical code that is the backbone in every decision you make.

Stay Relevant

Another important thing to keep in mind that agility spoke on here is to always stay relevant. While posting onto your social media's account, you need to always be asking yourself if anyone would care to read or look at your creative content regarding its' relevance. 

Let's face it, as journalists we must always practice coming out with the best and most recent content/writing.

There is no escaping the dramatic pull that social media has on people. The only way to make sure you don't slip up on your personal account is to keep your ethical codes in check. If your ethical codes stay at the back of your head then you will never produce any type of content that goes against your own ethical code and you companies ethical code. 

Social media is hard to navigate as a normal person, let alone a journalist. However if you follow the step I highlighted you will be following the road to success.

Why do People Read Fake News?

Andrea Robinson

ar195815@ohio.edu

 

Most media consumers crave content that fuels their biases. This lack of self-awareness makes these types of people vulnerable to "fake news" and exaggerated conspiracies. 

Extreme headline of made up stories, written by amateur writers with internet access, have more click appeal. People want to read outrageous rumors and believe that it is the truth. 

Picture source: challoners.com

It may be hard to decipher what is real and what is fake news when opinion writer (with very strong opinions) clutter social media sites. 

I personally find it hysterical, and a little offensive, that real news is being called fake and fake news is being praised as the truth. Maybe that's my own bias as a journalist, but I can't think of any of my colleagues having a hidden agenda to spread lies in the media. 

So why do people read and believe false information?

Research conducted through the University of Regina, Canada, found that American media consumers "are more likely to fall prey to misinformation because of lazy thinking than due to any subconscious desire to protect their political identities."

Dr. Gordon Pennycook and Dr. David Rand also noted in this study that bias does still affected a person's susceptibility to believing fake news. Though, overall these types of readers tend lack thinking and motivated reasoning. 

Rand also suggest that if people were to slow down their scrolling through social media, this would help them be less susceptible to misinformation.

The attraction to misleading information is the wild headlines that pose as click-bait for any reader who is looking to read something juicy. 

"Princess Diana's secret relationship with Bill Clinton REVEALED"

"WikiLeaks confirms Obama is an immigrant"

"Trump's daughter is planning to overthrow her dad's presidency" 

"American refugees seek asylum in New Zealand avid the covid outbreak" 

Oxford researchers found that "junk media" does well because it's not bound to ethics, logic or truth.

Unfortunately, it is not common sense to disregard headlines like this. In fact, the writer behind those type of stories knows this about their readers and hope to make a profit off their naive audience. 

One Facebook fake news writer named Paul Horner said he makes about $10,000 a moth from AdSense - ad revenue based on his content's reader traffic. 

More viral content, means more shares and views, which ultimately means more money for writers like Horner. 

Facebook and Goggle have both served as vehicles for dishing out fake news content and have received criticism for it. They received backlash, especially during the 2016 presidential election, that their sites were enabling the spread of false information. 

Some social media sites, like Twitter, have taken stronger steps to discrediting false information, but there isn't really a clear way to block it as that begins to toy with First Amendment laws.