Social Media Can Be Deceiving
Everyone has heard that familiar saying of, “don’t believe everything you see online.” Which has become more of a popular line to say as social media continues to grow and become a source many individuals rely on, specifically the younger crowds. Many of my peers even refer to the social media platform, Twitter, as their daily news or a modern newspaper.
When it comes to the relationship between social media and fake news, I find fake news to be a common trend found upon many social media platforms. A lot of people who rely on these platforms don’t realize most of the “news” posted on social media is formed based on someone else’s assumptions or bias. Not necessarily any truth to the posts, just people wanting to get a reaction out of others. Fake news includes spreading misinformation when it comes to COVID-19, protests, the election, etc. These are common things people look for information about and when they are being deceived it makes it a lot harder.
Fake news can be detrimental to careers, families, or anyone’s personal life, depending on what the news is about. “Cancel culture” has become a trend on social media platforms throughout the past year, as people are quick to “cancel” people out due to the news they hear, whether that news is fake or not. It’s very important to do your own research beyond the social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Finding a reliable source is extremely beneficial when it comes to being aware. Fake news spreads fast as it only takes one share or retweet to get word out there.
Based on an article done by Mail chimp, “Because social media is a public platform, anyone — including news outlets — can post anything without being accountable for fact-checking.” Which can be an alarming thought, as it is well known how many young individuals look to these platforms to be aware of what’s going on in the world, when this whole time they could be getting deceived without even knowing it.
One of the solutions Facebook did to help stop the spread of misinformation along their platform according to an article by BBC, is that “Facebook users in the US and Germany can now flag articles they think are deliberately false, these will then go to third-party fact checkers signed up with the IFCN.” This new system they put in place will basically help regulate the fake news being spread on their platform, as readers can flag posts that are clearly incorrect. In addition to this, it’s still extremely important for readers to do their own research as well with reliable news sources that have been confirmed as a trustworthy site.
