Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality.
Yet, everyday when I find a minute of down time, I do what 1.18 billion daily active users (on average for September 2016) of Facebook do--I scroll through my feed. Of course I stop to look at all of the cute puppies that await me, but I am also inundated by items of news. Statistics from Facebook's website.According to a recent Pew poll, 62 percent of Americans now get news [1] on social media, with Facebook overwhelmingly being the most popular [2] platform. And yet too often it was not news that Americans found on Facebook, but rather fake stories dressed up as the news [3].So how much of what we read on Facebook is accurate and fact-based? While, Facebook is a forum for people to share their opinions (and cute puppies!), it is apparent from the quote above that people are using it as a source of information-gathering without checking that information's credibility. Facebook users are relying on the platform, in many cases, as their only source of news information. If stories are not credible, shouldn't they be labeled as such?
The social network's power is indisputable. Hundreds of millions of people see links to news stories and opinions through the site. (4)But the onus is not fully on Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook. We as readers and consumers of information have to be cognizant of what we are reading, and do some investigative work of our own. Look at where believing everything we read has gotten us.
I hadn't heard the phrase "click-bait" until really recently, but it is quite fitting. I have absoluely fallen victim to this kind of deceiving practice. I see a story that seems incredulous, or one that fits my thoughts exactly and click there it is in black and white, so it must be true, right? Without checking the source, I've just become another blind believer.
...it’s hard to visit Facebook without seeing phony headlines like “FBI Agent Suspected in Hillary Email Leaks Found Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide” or “Pope Francis Shocks World, Endorses Donald Trump for President, Releases Statement” promoted by no-name news sites like the Denver Guardian and Ending The Fed. (5)
Open your eyes.
How do we combat this problem? The obvious answer is to think before clicking, but come on, we're all humans and our curiosity is hard to reign in. The next obvious answer would be, don't believe everything you read. This one is more difficult because once you've read something, it's as though a seed is planted in your mind and it's hard to dig that little bugger out. Finally, and I think the most important, is to consider the source, consider the source, consider the source. (Read link #6 below). While I strongly believe that sites like Facebook should be responsible for checking the content of it's page, we all know how difficult of a task this will be in the age of memes and going viral. Much like an insult, once something is out there, it's hard to take back. That means as readers, we have to be proactive and alert. Everyone's heard the saying, "If it looks to good to be true, (or in a lot of cases too bad to be true) it probably is!""Things like strange domain names, unusual domain extensions, and using ALL CAPS should be warning signs. And make sure to look for who else is reporting the news: "Sometimes lack of coverage is the result of corporate media bias and other factors, but there should typically be more than one source reporting on a topic or event." (7)Pay attention, but also remember that there are not many news sources out there that are truly unbiased, most lean right or left. The important consideration begs the question: is the source uritlizing facts or opinions.
Who do I trust?
Read smartly, not blindly and as with all things in life, always question the motivation. Good luck!
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Credit to Queen for Lyrics from "Bohemian Rhapsody"
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