As social media becomes increasingly popular, it’s important we understand that content shared to your own audience comes with the responsibility that the content is accurate and credible. Although there are no real laws against sharing fake news, it could harm your credibility, the media environment, and cause harm at a national level.

The importance to “share with care” is under-emphasized in our current media environment and has led to an issue of widespread fake news. This may be due to the idea that many are unaware of how important it is to fact-check all content before sharing and recognize that not everything online is true. The discussion can be difficult to have because it could come off wrong and offend or confuse someone in your social network.

So what is the best way to approach the conversation?

I found that showing an example of fake news and its effects avoids offense and helps understand the importance to fact-check. This approach also shows how rapid and harmful effects of widespread fake news can be.

One example I have used iis this article by FOX regarding a misleading tweet where one man claimed that the charter buses in a picture he attached was filled with anti-trump protestors.

Eric Tucker, creator of the tweet, emphasizes that he thought the tweet would not ever become a big deal because he only had 40 followers and tweeted only twice a year.  Despite his circumstances, the tweet became a national controversy and led to Donald Trump becoming a victim of Tucker’s “fake news”.  It’s also important to note that all of these effects happened less than 24 hours after it was posted.

You should also remain neutral and provide only the evidence with this approach or you may lose engagement in the conversation or start an argument with a loved one.

This conversation is vital to have with those lacking the knowledge mentioned above and brings to light responsibility held online while emphasizing to always “share with care” so we can decrease spread of fake news and the harmful effects that follow. If the issue is not prioritized by consumers than we will only continue to see greater harm caused with misinformation.

 

 

The Grandmother Problem is the problem of people sharing false information, and having to try and find a way to civilly tell them to be more careful. This problem is something (almost) everyone has come across. I say almost, because someone has to be the one putting out the false information.

Unfortunately, I deal with this issue a lot with my family. We have opposing views, but that is not why I feel like they post more false information than I do. They just happen to come across it more, so they share it.

When these types of things happen, I have to handle it with care. Especially when it comes to my parents. I do not feel it’s best to confront them online. That just brings them unwanted attention. People might start to gang up against them, try and prove them wrong, etc. It can turn messy when doing these sorts of things online.

I see this happen the most on Facebook. What I would do, and have done, is maybe while we were having dinner, I’d bring up the topic with them. Mention how I saw the article they shared the other day. From here, they’ll try and talk about it, get my opinion on it.

This is where things can get tricky. I have to find a way to explain to them, not only was this article false, but that it is wrong to be posting false things. I start off by telling them, “hey just so you know, I double checked that information, and it actually ended up not being true.”

More often than not, they’ll begin to argue with me. So I try and tell them they can think whatever they want, but I need them to understand how important it is to not be spreading false information. If it’s necessary, I’ll even walk them through the process of checking whether or not an article is legit.

They normally begin to understand. It might not be for a few days, and in the meantime, they might share more dubious articles. However, the information I gave them will always be with them. It will always be in the back of their head saying “hey, double check this article,” and so, over time, they being to stop sharing false news.

The best approach starts with educating on how the fake new begins in the first place. It is essential to understand that trolls, bots, and micro-targeting exists and that their sole purpose is to spread false information to people that they feel will then spread the news as well. The average human being is not aware of this, so they need to understand precisely how they work.

“Virus Red” by Infosec Images is licensed under CC BY 2.0

It is essential to understand that a “troll” will hold multiple accounts on all social media platforms with the intention to argue with people, intimidate, and advocate fake news. The general public needs to understand that millions of robots “bots” are helping to spread fake news as fast as possible.

The websites that install “cookies” on your computer to analyze the websites that you visit have companies that collect this information for personalized advertising. These same companies will then micro-target the individual. Per Wikipedia, “Microtargeting is a modification of a practice used by commercial direct marketers. It would not be possible on a large scale without the development of large and sophisticated databases that contain data about as many voters as possible.” This allows for precisely targeted people who are likely to read, like, and share a post quickly.

“Bloody Virus” by ccox888 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

These three methods of spreading fake news make it imperative for the reader to stop and take a moment and ask themself, is this story real? Where did this information come from? Is the source reputable and trustworthy? What is the timeline for this? Is it recent? If the article has a photo, it is always good to do a reverse photo search as well. It is crucial for everyone to fact check the information before they spread it on social media. Snopes is an excellent site to debunk information.

This article by ABC news makes a great point and explanation, “Remember that the creators of disinformation purposely make content that is designed to trigger an emotional response, so if you find yourself having those reactions, please pause.” If you would like to learn more about the spreading of misinformation, here is where governments are currently taking action against spreading online misinformation.  If you would like to learn more about spotting the difference between real and fake news, be sure to read this article.

What to do when family shares fake news and misleading social posts

By now we’ve all been completely mortified by content shared on a loved ones’ page at least once. I am sure that I’ve shared questionable content and caused others this experience as well.

Is it simply the price we pay for the interconnectedness provided to us through social media? Have you ever stopped dead in your scrolling and asked yourself, “Is my Grandma racist?” Do tell. Or maybe that’s just me. But if it is has happened to you, don’t fret. It happens to the best of us and we’ll explore how to approach these mishaps in this post.

I’ll be honest, I was starting to experience these moments far too often and it motivated me to delete my Facebook account three years ago. I failed to realize that my family and friends did not intentionally post false or misleading information on social media. I also lacked the language and tact needed to start conversations about such posts.

Hey, I’ve lived and I’ve learned and I have a few suggestions. So, here goes… This is for the innocent Grandmas out there.

Information travels far and fast. Research shows that false news travels faster than real news. Many people believe that a post is reliable if it has been shared numerous times, or if it has been shared by a popular source who did not read the content thoroughly and/or failed to do their own fact-checking.

Perhaps, your family member didn’t read the title or the post. Maybe they just liked the colors in the image and intended to share that aspect, not realizing that others would click through to the content. It’s also possible that they did read the post and perceive the content to be true and accurate. Most importantly, we all have biases and are more likely to share content that aligns with those biases.

That’s why digital media literacy for the whole family, including Grandma, is so important. Brain Pop offers excellent digital citizenship resources on media literacy, source reliability, digital etiquette, and cyberbullying. If Brain Pop doesn’t have what you’re looking for, find more media literacy sources HERE.

We can use resources like these to start conversations about responsible sharing. While you may have a specific post in mind, you don’t have to bring it up. Instead, watch a few videos about media literacy, and discuss what it means over family dinner.

Let your friends and family members process the information and hope that it will lead to more responsible sharing in the future.

If you’re not the passive-aggressive type, then just remember to be civil. It’s not what you say; it’s how you say it. Ask questions. Invite them to read posts from people with different perspectives on the same topic (not just your perspective).

Finally, remember that your relationship exists outside of social media. According to Psychology Today, people are feeling lonelier than ever, thanks to social media, and smartphones have diminished our face-to-face interactions. If you need to talk to a friend or family member about a false or misleading post try doing it in person.

The hardest part about the “grandmother problem” is how to address it. How does one go about telling their friend or family member that what they’re doing is potentially harmful? Even if it’s not harmful it’s still not okay to share false news. But how do we go about this?

For most people I’d say this is a tough conversation to have with a friend or family member simply because you don’t know how they’ll react. Because of this reason I think it’s very important to not have this conversation publicly with someone. It’s best to do it privately via direct message, e-mail, text, or even by phone. For me, honesty is the best policy so I don’t like to sugar coat things. I would break the issue down, as needed, so they can understand what is really happening.

Tell them that you understand why the wanted to share what they shared but what they are sharing is not true. Explain what the indicators of a false news page are. Encourage them to ask questions and don’t make them feel stupid. Having a real candid private conversation with someone is all it takes.

Now, how do I know this works? I’ve done it before. The true problem with these conversations is that it doesn’t always change the persons mind or if you did change their mind it doesn’t stop them from posting false news in the future. At this point it’s best to cut your losses when it comes to a private conversation because it didn’t work the first time.

Another thing you can do is post factual information in the comments section of the post. By debunking the information they provided they might start to think more about what they post before they post it. Even if it’s just so they don’t have to see you in their comments again. The Grandmother problem isn’t going anywhere so just remember to be kind and know that by sharing the truth you are impacting the world significantly in a positive way.  Don’t forget there is a time and a place to call people out but there is also a time and a place to all someone in. Calling in should be your first step and then call out if necessary.

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In today’s society it is all about fast paced news, click bait, and page views, and social media makes the perfect platform. However, that does not mean that all of the information being sent out is in fact real or true. With that being said I think it is safe to say that we have all witnessed a friend or family member get tricked by false information on social media.

When you see someone you know post or retweet fake news, how do you address them? This can be a difficult thing to do as we want to upset the poster or come off as being a superior media user. For me, I would go for a simple route, one that is straight to the point but also not demeaning or hurtful. Let’s say I see my aunt share an article from The Onion and she totally believes it, my best course of action would be to tell her directly in the comments that The Onion is known as a satirical news site and would share a link. This approach is simple but can be effective to not promote any shaming in the comments.

When going to comment under a post telling the OP that the content they are sharing is false, I believe going the extra step to finding a more reliable source over the same content is helpful. That way if the OP is upset or saying you do not have proof that what they are sharing is false, you can counter back with sharing the reliable information you found. This may cause some heated comments, and if those do arise then it is time to get truthful. Sometimes all it takes is being blunt and stating that sharing false information can be hurtful or careless.

Now I personally do not share much on my social media platforms, but to help combat the spread of false information I plan on posting an info-graphic that can help my friends and family decipher the sources they come across. This graphic here from the IFLA.org website can be a useful tool that I hope my own followers take into account when scrolling their news feeds. Along with this graphic, some other creators have come up with mnemonic devices regarding finding reliable sources such as the TRAAP test.

 

Overall, we cannot be afraid to tell the truth to our family and friends. While they may take it too personally in the end we are just doing our part to help keep our news feeds truthful. There are many techniques you can use to help inform your feed to “share with care”, it is just up to you to choose which one works best for the given situation.

 

Hey friends,

We all know that social media has become a dominant part of today’s society, right? I mean, its absolutely enveloped our entire nation and world. With so many users around the world on all the different social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Snapchat to name a few, its no wonder that there is new information being spread at every second of every day. A lot of that information however, is not always true. With the mass amounts of information being tweeted, shared, and storied constantly, the content being discussed is without a doubt going to get twisted and may become misleading. Social media is like the largest game of telephone ever being played and that never ends. Because there is so much false information being shared in society today, being able to distinguish between false or true content has become an important skill to learn. However, what should be held at an even higher level importance is that of not spreading false or misleading information on social media.

I’ve learned a lot about fake news and what that entails during my studies in Digital Audiences at ASU. I’ve also learned how much misinformation (inaccurate information) and disinformation (purposefully spreading or initiating false information) can hurt people. As information is being so quickly spread these days, with comments being added and memes being made, the journalists who developed the original story looses “control of the reception of their work” and what is being said about it according to Joan Donovan of Harvard. This leads into a spiral of misinformation as people break down what was said and interpret things in different ways. Ultimately, somebody has to take accountability for the information that was discussed, and this can lead to bullying or harassment via social media. Many times, the information that is being spread is not the problem, but the amplification of said content. That is why it is important to always be aware of the information that one is following and reposting – because the louder the story gets, the more important the content becomes.

What messages need to be spread in society today? Messages about love, acceptance, and truth. Instead, we are surround by judgement, hate, and lashing out. With every retweet and meme we share on social media, it is important to be true and positive because our reach is wider than we think.

As someone who is a devoted lover to online social media platforms and other online communities, I see a lot of content being shared, posted, retweeted and reposted. Whether this information being shared is correct or untrue I still see it everywhere. Most often than not the most untrue information I see being shared is on Facebook. “More than half of online adults in the U.S. aged 65 or over are now using Facebook,” we learn from Shea Bennett. We also learn that this is very much greater than to the “10 percent of seniors who are using Twitter”. This often is called the “the grandmother problem”, which is that the majority of false online information being shared is by older people who are more unfamiliar with the online space.

Knowing that this information is false, and more often than not shared by a family member or someone you care about, how do we approach this problem? “Experts agree that being non-confrontational is key,” according to Craig Silverman from Buzzfeed. Being as empathic and respectful as possible is the way to go. Most times when false or fabricated information is shared, they aren’t always aware that the information is false, outdated, or untrue. Confronting these people about what they shared from a point of empathy in non-public way and encouraging them to do more research and find out the facts for themselves is the best way to help combat this issue. Daniel Kent founded Net Literacy, which is an organization to help senior citizens gain basic internet skills and be more confident about getting online. “I think it’s fundamentally about treating [older people] with concern and respect. Recognizing that perhaps they had the best of intentions, but the execution on their part perhaps wasn’t the most, the most thoughtful and mindful,” he said.

Also taking into account that everyone is human and makes mistakes. As the Internet and online space is growing and evolving so much every day, staying updated on new technology and techniques isn’t always easy, especially for older people. Looking in the mirror and seeing that you yourself also makes mistakes and have shared untrue information without realizing the implications and repercussions this can cause.

It’s fairly easy to find great sources on sports, specifically NBA because there usually little to not controversy. Rather, the stats and facts of the games or players are all there. However, I find that these sources to a great job at reporting NBA content while keeping their reporting unique and interesting.

My Top Sources for NBA news 

ESPN on the NBA

I use ESPN as my go-to outlet to check game statistics or breaking news. The app has brought me a lot of convenience because I get notifications on news about my favorite NBA teams. ESPN also does a great job at keeping their social media platforms up to date, such as instagram and twitter. ESPN is a reliable source for basic statistics and breaking news but is also very broad.

Charles Barkley

Charles Barkley, retired NBA player, is one of my favorite analysts to listen to about issues within the National Basketball Association. He always remains professional when reporting and gives his honest opinion about the game. I believe these attributes Barkley holds are hard to come by in the media environment we face today.

Bleacher Report’s Instagram

This is the source I look to when I am looking for some new content to read. However, Bleacher Report covers all sports and holds an occasional satirical twist in some of their content. They do always remain true to the facts of the news but add very unique strategies that make consumption of sports news more entertaining and fun.

Doris Burke

Similar with Barkley, Doris Burke is a retired WNBA player and is known as a veteran when it comes to the NBA reporting world. I want to note her one this list because of her skills shown when she interviews players before or after games. The questions she asks are more engaging and specific rather than the basic, “how do you think you played tonight?” which is where I hold a lot of respect for her.

Official NBA Website

The last source I want to highlight is the National  Basketball Association website. This source is always up to date and can be used for basically every detail of any NBA game, player, referee etc. Similar with ESPN, this is one of the most reliable sources that can be counted on to be accurate majority of the time. This source also provides multiple different sources on information about the NBA that make it convenient for consumers to further research certain topics.

 

 

Revisiting my Media Use

On the topic of NBA news, I still hold high respects and use the sources I mentioned above almost daily. The assignment did allow me to find a few new sources like some more NBA analysts social media accounts, especially twitter. This is another source I have begin to use more often for quick updates on the NBA.

Barkley and Burke still remain the two NBA reporters that I hold the most respect and accountability for and that remains true after this assignment. There are not many situations where either of these analysts have broke ethical journalism codes and remain extremely professional in their work.

In summary, the sources I have highlighted above are all still my top sources for NBA news and all do very well at executing the values and roles of reporting on NBA news.