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.
