I come across misleading information from friends and family all the time. Whether it’s through texts, tweets, links, videos, podcasts or any other form of media, I’ve seen it, and it’s ugly. But it doesn’t have to be ugly. Well, it can be less ugly than it currently is. There are always going to be trolls online dying to send misinformation out to the masses, but if we can protect those whose opinions and information we value most, we can surround ourselves with a trustworthy network of sources.
We have to start with the importance of fighting misinformation. As this week’s reading from the Columbia Journalism Review, misinformation leads to extremism. I’ve always believed that the smartest people are able to look at something with a level head and make a decision that falls somewhere between both extreme sides of any argument. There are plenty more than 50 shades of gray in this world, which sure seems to eliminate the idea that most issues are black and white or right and wrong.
I’ve also always believed that the best way to encourage friends and family to come around to certain ideas is to have meaningful discourse. There are people out there who refuse to change their minds, and though I don’t want to look at the situation with a defeatist attitude, we might never be able to change those people. In my opinion, that’s okay. In fact, I don’t think we should waste our energy on those people at all, which is step one. Professor Gillmor even said in the Module 5 videos that the best answer for trolls is blocking them and ignoring them.
The same smartest people I referred to in the first paragraph are the exact type of people we should be engaging. They’re the people with open minds and lists like Professor Gillmor’s list of truths to be questioned. I think the best approach is to simply explain to them how important the truth is. We need to explain, without attacking, that being certain is absolutely vital. Obviously we should cite reports contradictory to whatever they’ve shared, and we need to share with them readings like Mediactive. We also need to show them the value of proving with facts, like in this documentary about climate change. Our goal is to show others the value of truth and the harm of falsity, and rational discourse is our best path.
