8. Misinformation, Disinformation, and Fact- Checking

 

  

Misinformation, Disinformation, and fact-checking

  With new trends in society relying on social media for information, it is very easy for misinformation to spread. Oxford Academic states that "misinformation has been identified as a major threat to society and public health. Social media significantly contribute to the spread of misinformation and has a global reach." 53% of U.S. adults say that they get their news from social media. That means that half of the United States adult population is susceptible to viewing misinformation spread by entities on social media. However, it is not just social media that can be spreading misinformation but also television news stations. Americans were found to verify information found on social media versus information that they heard on television news. One in five people stated that they never fact-check information from television news, even though it can be heavily biased and may not always be reliable. 

    Anyone with an internet connection can post a "news" story or can share information that they might believe to helpful, yet their news is based on misinformation. These social media journalists are not held to the same accountability as actual journalist. While nearly 200 million Americans interact with social media each day at least once, nearly a third of them stated that they rarely or never believe what they find. Facebook has the highest number of users who view untrue content every time or almost every time they are on Facebook. 42% of users stated the say untrue content on Facebook even though Facebook and Meta have claimed to greatly invest in content moderation and fact-checking partnerships.   

    While there are many negative effects of the spread of misinformation on social media one of them is that it helps to reduce the public trust in mainstream media outlets especially when it comes to politics. After the 2016 U.S presidential election "scholars, journalists, and politicians expressed alarm that the spread of fake news could destabilize political institutions and delegitimize media organizations" states a report by Harvard Kennedy school. 

    An example of a mainstream media outlet that aired a story containing disinformation concerning politics was Fox News when they aired a story about the 2020 election fraud claims. Fox News claimed that the voting machines were rigged. After internal investigation evidence from internal communications showed that some of the hosts and executives knew that the claims were false and that they did not have evidence to back their claims. This led to Fox News agreeing to a $787.5 million settlement in a defamation lawsuit brought against them by Dominion Voting Systems. This only further proves mainstream media bias towards one political party or another and how it can lead to misinformation. Fox News is one of the most trusted mainstream media outlets by Republicans so after the shocking let down of the 2020 presidential election it makes sense for Fox News to report on information that they think must be true because it is the only plausible answer for them. 

    So, with misinformation popping up every, whether the source meant to misinform or not, some Americans are turning to factchecking to ensure that the news that they are intaking is accurate. Majority of people took their questions to web search engines to seek further information. Many said that when using a search engine that they would read several articles on the topic. 

    In conclusion, with the rise of misinformation being spread throughout social media and mainstream media so also has factchecking information been on a rise. While it is a hassle to factcheck every bit of news that circulates it is important to do so. Even just taking news with a grain of salt and understanding the political biases that surround news channels. As well as knowing that there is very little regulation surrounding "news" that is spread on social media outlets.