By Sesa Graham
With the daily misinformation spread across the internet and word of mouth, Claire Wardle, a leading expert on misinformation and its harm to society, gave a virtual presentation as part of the Delta College President’s Speaker Series. Wardle gave an exemplary presentation of the dangers, liabilities, and exposures of misinformation spread. Misinformation can not only cause harm to people’s mental health but also their reputations.
Wardle made a great example when speaking about the misinformation that spread rampantly at the beginning of COVID-19. People tend to impulsively believe the bad news they hear instead of researching before letting the information exploit their emotions. We tend to spread misinformation when we are terrified of the outcome of something we read, leading us to gossip about it to our peers or followers. One does not realize the cause they are harming those reading, and often, no harm is intended when spreading this information.
It is key to understanding the intent of the person who created the harmful misinformation. When reading information online, ask yourself if you see it as disinformation or misinformation. Disinformation is intentionally misinforming people by spreading conspiracies and untrue facts. Misinformation is when disinformation gets shared by someone who doesn’t mean any harm behind it. Those that share disinformation prey on people’s emotions, and when emotions are triggered, we are less likely to check ourselves. No one wants to be fooled by the media, so it is crucial to be better at spotting misinformation before sharing it for more to see.
Have you ever been on Facebook and seen an image surfacing and people believing that it is new when it is actually eight years old? That is misinformation at its finest, and it happens every day. Misinformation affects us all, even if we do not realize it. Many people thought the 2020 Presidential Election was stolen; 30% still believe it was because that is what someone told them. The world is messy, and everyone has a slightly different angle of events that happen because we cherry-pick the information we have. We hate feeling like we are wrong, especially in the things that we strongly believe.
We live in an environment where we are getting dripped on every day. The drip is the misinformation that we surround ourselves with, believe in, and stand by. Soon enough, one will be drowning in the misinformation they believe to be true.
When Wardle was asked what Delta College could do to prevent misinformation from being spread, she responded with, “Teach people techniques and tactics in the classroom.”
The actual harm is people questioning the ones they should trust, such as institutions, scientists, and doctors. When more people lose trust in those systems, it is dangerous harm, and society will be in trouble.
A question you should ask yourself before sharing something is, “How is my brain being fooled?” On average, a person spends 7 hours a day online. And without a double-check feature, social media has made it very easy to share content. Social media platforms now monitor or warn you if they feel as though someone’s content is false. Some countries will fine you for misinformation. Wardle did not think it was right necessarily because some people are oblivious that it’s inaccurate information. It is important to remember that some news isn’t fake; it just lacks context.
We need to clean up the environment of social media because we are polluting ourselves and those around us with fake news. Some ways to help clean up your feed is to test techniques and read as much as possible about a topic before sharing. Trust those you feel connected to and talk to them about their beliefs. When talking to someone about their ideas, make sure to listen, empathize, ask questions, and use inclusive language. The best thing you can do to help those around you is to admit you have struggled with falling for misinformation and help others find the key points on spotting misinformation.