Ashley Beach
ab026319@ohio.edu
Each day, social media is used by journalists to share their thoughts, stories and breaking news. Platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram allow journalists — and the general public — to freely create posts containing any information of their choosing. While this has encouraged users to share content more independently, it has also created issues.
"Fake news" is a term that has become more of a buzzword in recent times. It is referred to as misinformation when it is spread without malicious intent. Those who share fake news do not always understand that what they consumed is false. However, there are cases where news is designed to mislead or disrupt a reader's train of thought. This practice is called disinformation.
Both have hurt the online journalism landscape. A study by The Atlantic found that false information outperforms true information on Twitter and that it shares a lots of falsehoods. There are also users called "bots" that have the sole responsibility of sharing information that could be seen as disinformation
But how do everyday users share misinformation?
Consumers simply share content based on what comes up first. Unfortunately, search engines like YouTube do not always promote proper content. There have been cases where science-based videos are not the top hit for a search but rather a propaganda based video is. Individuals often turn to YouTube for learning materials, so having misinformation on the platform creates a dangerous fine line.
Even though platforms like Twitter do offer a verification process, it does not stop misinformation from being shared. There are users on Twitter who's job is to create content using disinformation in order to spark a reaction from the consumers. Others do it simply because they want to play up a situation.
The Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, saw the lives of 26 individuals — 20 children and six adults — lost at the hands of a 20-year old man. The event gained national news coverage because of its magnitude, but there was still misinformation spreading about the event despite its heavy coverage.
Once again, users took to Twitter to share false allegations. Some argued that the shooting was a hoax and that the children never existed, while others created fake accounts for victims families in attempt to prove that the children were still alive.
Misinformation does not stop at Twitter though. Instagram and Facebook are also plagued with content that fails to advertise the truth. A study by Oxford University found that "'junk' news is shared on Facebook and Twitter four times as often as content from reputable sources." A number that is simply too high.
The issue is not just the everyday person either. Only 13 percent of public relations operations are actively working to detect false information that is being shared. This means that other companies are letting the misinformation shared by groups outside of themselves slip through the cracks to their consumers.
Keeping this misinformation up in the public domain can create problematic situations. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, many Instagram users were sharing infographics that were representing false statistics. The misinformation grew like wildfire due to the fast, public nature of the platform, and many were left believing that international affairs were much different than they actual were.
So how can users avoid unknowingly sharing fake news?
Reading more than once source can easily help fact check and confirm any article, but there are also other tactics to help social media users be more aware of the content they are sharing.
Avoid articles with a "doomsday narrative" that suggest an end-all-be-all for an event and any content that quotes an official being with a title without directly quoting the community they are speaking about. Also, look for the built-in features on Instagram and Twitter that provide users with disclaimers that the content they are reading may have misinformation in it.
Social media can be a scary landscape for new users. The freedom is both invigorating and worrying because anyone can publish anything on those sites. Americans are extremely prone to fear and manipulation, but they have the tools to stop the spread of misinformation by using their click-restraint.
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