Consuming news in these divisive times can make your head explode, especially if you’re using social media to stay informed. The amount of misinformation and disinformation spreading online and across all media is stressful. Misinformation is false information shared unintentionally; disinformation is false information intentionally created to sow discord and spark negative emotions.
As technology advances, automated bots, or robots, are becoming more sophisticated in creating fake user profiles and posting comments intending to influence opinions or agitate readers — spreading hate, fear, and lies on a variety of topics. As artificial intelligence evolves, it will become easier to create more believable deepfakes — images, audio, and video that are manipulated to appear real, created to intentionally deceive. These tech tools could be deployed for different reasons, including fraud, manipulation, romance scams, and political or financial gain.
In the past few weeks alone, I’ve seen comments from different Facebook friends wondering what’s happened. They no longer see posts from their friends or familiar faces, just a lot of stuff they don’t recognize, or care about, in their news feed. And, now that some of the biggest social media platforms have eased or ended content moderation, the amount of information pollution will likely get worse.
As much as they pollute our news feeds and fuel rage, misinformation and disinformation come under the First Amendment’s freedom of speech protections. So, it’s up to each of us to think critically to determine if what you are hearing and seeing is true. Here are some things you can do to remain sane and accurately informed.
(1) Apply critical thinking — and take a breath — before reacting to news that pushes your buttons. This is a good first step toward taking your power back.
(2) When consuming news, notice how you are feeling. If you’re angry, fearful, or agitated — it’s likely that what you are digesting is intended to make you feel that way. There’s a name for it: ragebait. It includes comments and content deliberately designed to make you want to react, respond, and rage.
Ragebaiters want you to engage with their posts. The more comments and reactions a post gets, the more a platform’s algorithm will show it to other people — and that engagement is how social media measures a post’s success. Note that truth is nowhere in that measurement. So, the next time you feel inflamed, rather than informed, become your own fact-checker.
(3) Read carefully. Who is making the claims that are triggering your extreme emotions? See if other news outlets, those you trust, are reporting this news. If there’s research cited, track down that study and read it for yourself.
(4) Support quality journalism. Daily newspapers are folding because it’s expensive to hire reporters, editors, and fact checkers, and fewer people are paying for subscriptions. Find news sources that follow the standards of ethical journalism — including fairness, accuracy, transparence, and independence. And support them while you have the opportunity.
Misinformation is nothing new. Long before the internet and social media came along, renowned historian and sociologist Hannah Arendt, who lived through Nazi Germany, said, “This constant lying is not aimed at making the people believe a lie, but at ensuring that no one believes anything anymore … with such a people, you can do whatever you want.”
It’s not good enough to not believe anything you see. You need to stay informed, and know what to believe — and how to determine that for yourself.
This is a Moment of Truth, Santa Barbara.
Lisa Osborn, along with Starshine Roshell and Amy Marie Orozco, provides free presentations to community groups on recognizing and avoiding misinformation. Learn more at momentoftruthtraining.org.
