spring theconversion.com
The problem of misinformation is not going away. Internet platforms like Facebook and Twitter have taken some steps to curb its spread and say they are working to do more. But no method introduced yet has been completely successful in removing all misleading content from social media. The best defense, then, is self-defense.
Misleading or outright false information – widely called “disinformation” – can come from websites claiming to be media, political propaganda or reports.pseudo-deep"that seem meaningful, but are not. Disinformation is a type of misinformation that is intentionally generated to mislead people with malicious intent. Disinformation is spread intentionally, knowing that it is false, but misinformation can it is spread by people who don't know it's not true, especially because people often share links online without thinking.
1. Educate yourself
The best vaccination against what the World Health Organization calls "infodemic"is to understand" tricks that disinformation agents use to manipulate you.
A strategy is called "prebunking (pretreatment)” – a type of debunking that occurs before you hear myths and lies. Research has shown that getting to know the tricks of the disinformation trade can help you to spot fake stories when you meet them, making you less susceptible to these scams.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed an online game called "Bad News", for which their studies have shown that can improve the identification of lies by players.
Besides playing, you can also learn more than how the internet and social media platforms work, so that you can better understand the tools available to people who seek to manipulate you. You can also learn more about scientific research and standards of evidence, which can help you to be less susceptible to lies and misleading statements about health-related and scientific topics.
2. Know your weaknesses
The predebunking approach works for people across the political spectrum, but it turns out that people who downplay their biases are actually more vulnerable to deception than people who acknowledge their biases.
Research has found that people are more susceptible to misinformation that are consistent with their existing views. This is called “confirmation of prejudice", because a person is biased towards believing information that confirms what he already believes.
The lesson is to be especially critical of information from groups or people with whom you agree or find yourself aligned – whether politically, religiously, or by ethnicity or nationality. Remind yourself to seek other perspectives and sources with information on the same topic.
It is especially important to be honest with yourself about your prejudices. Many people assume that others are biased, but believe that they themselves are not – and imagine that others are more likely to share misinformation than they are themselves.
3. Consider the source
The media has a number of biases. Media bias chart describes which media are more and less partisan, and how reliable they are in reporting the facts.
You can play an online game called "Fakey” to see how sensitive you are to different ways of presenting news online.
When consuming news, make sure you know how reliable the source is – or if it is not reliable at all. Double-check stories from other sources with low bias and high fact checks to find out who – and what – you can actually trust, and not just what your channel tells you.
Also, be aware that some disinformation agents create fake page that look like real news sources – so make sure you are aware of which site you are actually visiting. Engagement at this level of thinking about your thinking it has been shown to improve your ability to distinguish fact from fiction.
4. Take a break.
When most people go online, especially on social media, they are there for fun, connection or even distraction. Accuracy is not always high on the list of priorities. However, few want to be liars and the costs of sharing misinformation can be high – for individuals, their relationships, and society as a whole. Before you decide to share something, take a moment to remind yourself the value you place on truth and accuracy.
Thinking “is what I am sharing true?” can help you stop the spread of misinformation and will encourage you to look beyond the title and potentially fact-check before sharing.
Even if you don't specifically think about accuracy, just pause before sharing, can give you a chance for your mind to catch up with your emotions. Ask yourself if you really want to share it, and if so, pse. Think about what the possible consequences of splitting it up could be.
Research shows that most misinformation spreads quickly and without much thoughtThe impulse to distribute thoughtlessly can also be more powerful than partisan distribution tendencies. Take your time. There is no rush. You are not a breaking news organization on which thousands of people depend for instant information.
5. Be aware of your emotions
People often dismiss things because of their internal reactions, rather than the conclusions of critical thinking. In a recent study, researchers found that people who looked at their social media feeds while in an emotional mindset had much more likely to spread misinformation than those who entered with a more rational state of mind.
Anger and worry, in particular, make people more vulnerable to misinformation.
6. If you see something, say something
Stand up publicly against misinformation. You may feel uncomfortable challenging your friends online, especially if you fear conflict. The person you respond to with a link to a Snopes postor another fact-checking site may not be rated.
But the evidence shows that clear criticism of specific reasoning in the post and providing counter-evidence as a link how is it fake is a effective technique.
also short-form refutations – like “that’s not true” – are more effective than saying nothing. Humor – although not mocking the person – it might work too. When actual people correct misinformation online, it could be yes so effective, if not as much when a social media company labels something as suspicious.
People were trust other people more than algorithms and robots, especially those in our social circles. This is especially true if you have expertise in the subject or do you have a relationship close to the person distributing it.
An additional benefit is that public handling notifies other viewers that they may want to take a closer look at the information before choosing to share it themselves.
7. If you see someone objecting, stand with them.
If you see someone else posting that a story is false, don’t say “well, they warned me about it, so I don’t need to.” When more people say a post is false, it signals that the sharing of misinformation is happening. is disliked by the group in general.
Stand with those who disagree. If you don't and something is constantly shared, it reinforces people's beliefs that it's okay to spread misinformation – because everyone else is doing it, and only a few, if any, are objecting.
Allowing misinformation to spread also makes it more likely that even more people will start believing it – because people get to believe the things they hear over and over again, even if they know at first that they are not true.
There is no perfect solution. Some misinformation is harder to counter than others, and some countermeasures are more effective at different times or for different people. But you can do a lot to protect yourself and those in your social networks from confusion, deception, and lies.