The best approach to help a friend or loved one understand the importance of not sharing false or misleading information on social media would be to be honest and respectful first and foremost, and provide research for them to be able to refer back to or even follow along on a new way of approaching social media. I would also attempt to provide examples of what can be viewed as a misinformed post vs. an accurate post from their own posts.
The first thing that came to mind at the thought of helping a friend or loved one understand the importance of accuracy is the SPJ Code of Ethics. I know I have referred to this a lot throughout this particular course, but its only because it seems to be a recipe for success for everyone who uses social media and online outlets, not just for journalists. Seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently, and be accountable and transparent. If my friends and loved ones can understand the meaning of the SPJ code of ethics, and use that as a base to all their posts, whether their own or re-sharing, they would be greatly helping and creating strides in the right direction to diminishing misinformation.
Another key aspect my friends and loved ones can take into consideration to avoid sharing misleading information is to genuinely connect with the right reliable sources on their social media. Currently there is a ton of social media pages people follow that can look like an authentic page with credible sources, but the reality is there is usually one accurate page of a news network or outlet we should follow, vs. multiple ones that may have the same outline or format.
In this Pew Research Center article I came across recently, explains in depth different ways the media environment can anticipate changes and how society can help along the way. A quote that resonated with this particular topic of misleading and false information in this read, by Irene Wu, “When the television became popular, people also believed everything on TV was true. Its how people choose to react and access to information and news that’s important, not the mechanisms that distribute them.” This means that everyone that shares online should be able to carefully read and identify all information that comes at hand to them, and be able to differentiate the good from the bad. Lastly, I would encourage older generations that are not as media literate to follow a routine where they can perhaps learn how to become media literate for their own and societal benefit. As much as it is an essential tool for us, the current and younger generation, it should apply to our older generations.
