Category: students

With great power comes great responsibility, and the internet has definitely definitely become one of the biggest and most influential powers of the 21st century. With the ability to have a message reach thousands and even millions in a matter of seconds, sharing with care is becoming increasingly more important each and every day.

Knowing the credibility and relevance of the information we share and understanding the impact it may have on those who encounter it is crucial when it comes to responsibly using the internet. So, how do we address that incredibly conservative aunt that continuously shares scare tactic headlines to their Facebook timeline? Or, how do we address our Twitter obsessed friend that often finds themselves sharing breaking news from months or even years ago without checking the dates?

Policing the relevancy or credibility of our friends and family’s social media content isn’t always well received, but it is necessary if we want to encourage responsible sharing and it can be done in a productive manner. I believe that one of the most useful ways to encourage others to share with care in a way that does not jeopardize the relationship is to communicate offline about it.

More often than not, comments can be misconstrued over the internet. Although you may have intended to point out your friend’s error in a constructive way, it can easily be taken as a critique or interpreted as insulting. Rather than embarrassing someone publicly by pointing out their error to all, attempt to speak in person or in private messages about what concerns you. There is nothing noble about pointing out someone’s mistakes for all to see, and others are much more apt to listen if approached respectfully.

In addition to this, spreading knowledge is essential for growth. Sharing false or misleading information online is so easy because there is a plethora of it. If you know of more credible sources that may align with the person’s interests or beliefs, share these sources with them. Sometimes the case is that others just don’t know where to gather information from aside from social media, which perpetuates the circulation of false or misleading information.

Above all else, person to person communication and the sharing of knowledge is really what is going to help lighten the impact the grandmother problem and stop the spread of bad news. Communicating in a manner that is respectful and knowledgable is going to be taken with more consideration, and has the ability to help others learn how to spot credible information online. It may sound like a simple solution, but I really believe it is the answer we are looking for.

I scrolling through my Instagram as I contemplated this week’s assignment understanding the delicacy of the situation. This assignment is a way to prevent fake news from spreading. What is fake news? Well most of us think its news that’s not real or something created by BuzzFeed but this can be any news with unreliable or untrue information. But how do I share the importance of misleading information without hurting someone’s feelings, if you are confronted it can feel as if you’re being attacked when someone questions your information or opinion. 

As I scroll through the solution was shown to me as if it was a sign, one of the comedians I follow, Jackie Kashian has a post simply informing people of the signs of fake news and to not spread it, it’s not calling anyone out nor speaking of a specific instance of falsehood.

Although it isn’t my idea I honestly think this is the best way to spread information about fake news. People can get defensive when being specifically informed about their misinformation it is important to get through to them in a way they will receive acceptingly. By simply posting a notification reminding people that it is important to fact check and to put out reliable news.

The best way to go about this would be to create a post with the essential information to help to understand what fake news looks like and the effects it can have. 

A media post would look like this:

Recognizing Fake News

Fake news can cause the spread of misinformation creating an uninformed population help stop it with these tips!

1. When, where, who, why, what? These are important factors for understanding the credibility of the information.
2. Sources, this is what the fakest news is missing and the most important part, Understanding the sources can really help in understanding your news, check the links!
3. Confirmation Bias. What are your opinions on news?  This is important to know so that you can look for alternative news to give you’re a well-rounded knowledge.
4. Who published it? And are others? This can really affect the bias in the news and the credibility of the story.
5. Think before you share. This is the most important thing to understand, the spread of news is up to us, we choose what is and isn’t popular.

In the age of digital media, the possibility of sharing information is becoming more accessible and easier to do. While this advancement in technology and communication is amazing, sometimes the information being shared by people we know is not always the truth. This is what Arizona State University’s News Co/Lab refers to as, “The  “Grandmother Problem,” and many of us often face this issue while browsing our various social media platforms. This problem can be solved by encouraging our followers and the people spreading this misinformation to verify what they’re sharing, but this raises one question, how can we enlighten our friends and family without offending or fighting with them?

This is not as simple of a task as it may sound, but I’ll share what I believe is the best way to enlighten our loved ones without offending them in the process.

The first step to this process that I would suggest, is to remember to be patient. Most people don’t like to hear that what they believe is false, or that their idea of the truth is wrong, so remembering to be patient through the process is going to be essential. I believe that having a patient mind will not only make your responses more well thought-out , but will help you stay civil throughout the conversation too.

The second step would be to gather the correct information on the topic from verified and reliable sources to ensure that the misinformation being spread is actually false, and that you can relay the correct information to the person you are trying to clear things up with. You shouldn’t try to accuse someone of spreading false information if you haven’t verified or researched the topic yourself.  Once you believe you have the right amount of evidence to support what you’re saying to be true and what ‘s being shared to be false, then you can attempt to start a conversation with the person you want to educate.

The third step, in my opinion, is to approach the conversation in a respectful way. Do not embarrass or talk down to the person you are in conversation with, and remember that you can send a private message before reply in the post comments. Sometimes the situation can be handled in a private message and there is no need to put the other person on display. If you attempt to contact the person privately and they’re either rude or in denial of the information you’re providing, then you can use your discretion to appropriately alert the other followers in the post comments that this information is not correct.

If after attempting all of these steps the person sharing misinformation does not correct their post, take down their post, or ends up unfriending you, don’t be too hard on yourself. Not everyone is going to be as receptive to this attempt of education as you’d like, and you can’t win them all. In the end It’s better to attempt to help spread correct information in a respectful and appropriate way, rather than let your loved ones continue to believe misinformation as well as spread it to their following.

I’ve had my fair share of moments where I’m scrolling through social media and come across a shared post from a friend or family member with “misleading information” written all over it, yet they believe it to be true so they’re arguing with someone else in the comments over it. This actually just happened a few days ago. One of my family members shared a politically charged image on Facebook and proceeded to get into an argument in the comments with someone over whether the information was true or false.

Interestingly enough, when I revisited my family member’s page yesterday to see if the post was still up (and if it was, how the argument had panned out), the image had a warning over it, labeling it as “False Information.”

I always try to make sure the people I care about know how to properly vet information they come across online before sharing it to their audience, but it’s hard to reinforce that when politics get involved. I reached out to the family member that shared that initial image and asked him why he didn’t look into it a little before posting. His answer was simply “I don’t like Bernie.”

I wasn’t about to try and convince him to change his political beliefs, but I felt the need to help him figure out why “I don’t like them” is not a good excuse to blindly share information about someone without checking to see if it’s credible. So what did I do? I took the politics out of it and put it into a different perspective for him. I asked him how he would feel if someone made a post claiming he was stealing from local businesses.

“I don’t though!” was his response.

I said “Right, but they don’t like you so they spread that post, and other people that don’t like you kept sharing it. That’s not fair to you, is it?”

I won’t walk you through the entire conversation I had with him but by the end of it, he realized why it’s important to not blindly share information he sees just because it backs up an idea that he already believes. Relating the situation to my family member on a more personal level helped in this situation, so next time I’m in a predicament where a friend or family member is sharing false or misleading information, I’ll probably try this same tactic.

I have plenty of family members who share fake news, and I always do my best to educate them on why they should be more careful. In my life, it has always been best to be very nice about it, and also show them why what they shared is fake. For example, if they are sharing a fairly wide-spread fake news story, there is usually a fact check by a more reputable news source, which allows me to prove why exactly the information is wrong.

If you can’t prove why it’s wrong, in my experience, they are far less likely to trust you. Additionally, I think it’s helpful to be able to show why it’s harmful, especially if it’s news about another person that is inaccurate. For example, during pizza gate, the owner of a pizza place was given death threats because of rumors and fake news cycling across the internet. This is a real consequence of fake news that is hard to accept, and it can help people better understand the real consequences.

Constant access to the media has been around for quite some time now which has led to the sharing of misinformation across all media platforms. The two platforms that I see this most frequently happening on are Twitter and Facebook. These are both places where people share or post their own thoughts that, most of the time, elicit a response. This leads to back and forth comments that can get pretty unfriendly if someone is not sharing accurate information. Most of the time, people are unaware that they are sharing or posting something that is not true, so it is important to inform people on how to properly post on social media.

I have encountered the sharing of misinformation first hand from some of my family members and it makes me wonder where they are finding this information in the first place. My mom seems to believe that everything she sees on Facebook is 100% true and accurate. I have tried telling her to be more cautious and do some more of her own research before jumping to conclusions about what she sees in the media, but she does not seem to think that it is necessary.

In order to help people with this, I tell them to clean up her social media a bit. By this, I mean unfollowing people that have little to no credibility. Yes, there is fake news everywhere, but it is much more beneficial to fill your feed with pages like The Washington Post or The New York Times that provide only the most accurate information. Although it is great to follow credible pages, I find that a lot of where people are finding misinformation is from their own friends.

Unfollowing friends that are not credible can be a little bit more difficult than unfollowing news outlets that are not credible. To get around this obstacle, it is very important to simply fact check these people. If you read something from a friend that you find interesting enough to share, a simple Google search can point you to the whole story. Not only is this a good way to learn more about the topic, it’s also a good way to make sure that you are not posting any false information.

The grandmother problem. It’s something we’ve probably all come across at one point or another. Social media has made it easy for us to share information with others, but that doesn’t mean that all of it is reputable. It can be hard to confront friends or family members that share false or misleading information, but doing so is extremely important so that we can all work together to create a media landscape that is honest and trustworthy.

The best way to approach those who spread misinformation is to come from a place of knowledge and encouragement. You would never want to shame the person sharing the misinformation, because chances are, they have a strong confirmation bias towards the subject and don’t want to believe that what they’re sharing is wrong.

The easiest way to get someone to understand is to walk them through why the article is misleading. Maybe the language is charged or the author isn’t reputable, whatever the case may be, it can help to show the person why the article is misleading. Assure them that you’re not telling them this because you disagree with their opinions, but because you want everyone to work together to create a credible media environment.

I’ve always tried to get them to look at it this way: you wouldn’t want someone lying about important information to you, so why would you do the same to your social media followers?

However, like I said earlier, the most important thing to do is be encouraging. Tell them to keep sharing articles and that their voice is important but just to make sure an article is accurate before sharing it. It just takes a few extra seconds, but it really helps to make social media a safe place to receive news from.

A lot of people may not know how to do this, or may ask how to be sure an article is credible, and for that I’ll refer you to factitious. Factitious is an online game all about how to recognize “fake news”. It shows the player a short excerpt from an article, as well as the source, and asks the player to identify   the piece as real or fake.

Once you’ve made your decision, factitious will automatically tell you if you were correct or not, as well as why the article was real or fake. This is the most important part of the game, as it teaches players key things to look out for when deciphering real information from misinformation.

If the person you’re approaching isn’t really into games, this article from The Verge could be a good resource to share instead. Though I do prefer the factitious game, I know not everybody is a hands on learner. The article goes in depth about how to fact check a story’s credibility and can be used as a reference guide when they do, hopefully, go to check the next story they share.

Hopefully, after opening up this conversation with your friends or family members, it will make them think twice before sharing online and help them understand why we should all be held accountable for sharing reputable information.

Correcting someone, especially an adult, with something that was done on a public platform can be tricky if you present yourself as a person who knows it all.  Firstly, people who post content on social media already feel that that is a place to share and express anything that the person wants to express. You must know exactly what steps it takes to approach the person who has made that mistake. 

1. Start With A Positive Approach. 

When approaching a person who has made a mistake, approach the person with a very positive outlook. Find something positive about what was posted and provide that positive feedback to that person. Allow for that person to feel good about what they posted and make them feel comfortable and appreciated for their contribution. The main objective is to have people contribute to society in a healthy way and we do not want to scare people away.

2. Ask To Share Comments. 

Be respectful of the person’s talent and their work. Before spitting out, “Here’s what you did wrong”, ask them, “May I please share some of my views and feedback on this”. Give them an option to be talked to. No one wants to be judged or criticized for the work that they have posted. Allow people to feel as if it is an option to have a conversation rather than a session in court. You want to engage them into a free-flowing, fluid conversation about what is being discussed.

3. Provide Good, Knowledgable Feedback If Accepted. 

People will tend to listen and accept information that is well presented and well thought out. If you sound like you know what you are talking about, the information will be received easier.  So for the specific situation of “The Grandmother Problem”, approach the situation as to why media should be shared in a more “caring” way and to be more aware of what is being shared.  People do not know how to find credible sources so give that information and knowledge.

Explain exactly what needs to be shared and even show examples of good content versus so so good content. Ask plenty of questions in an engaging manner and not so much of a “know it all” manner. There is an article that was written by Art Markman that explains a lot about how to approach people to correct a certain mistake and they give great tips.