WEEK 12 - The Internet Flashcards
what are the three kinds of misinformation ?
- Fake news
- False news
- Misleading reports
what is “fake news” ?
fabricated stories designed to pass off as real stories often, they are created by websites that are designed to be confused with trusted websites
what is “false news” ?
are stories that are false but were not purposely designed to be
what are misleading reports ?
are stories that present things in misleading ways without being outright false
what are three scenarios of misleading reports ?
- They might omit certain relevant details
- They might employ inappropriate emotional connotations
- They might contain exaggerated headlines (“click-bait” headlines)
what does “new satire” mean ?
is a parody of mainstream news presented in the same style and format but fabricated (all made up)
when did misleading info get very famous ?
with the 2016 US election (trump and hillary clinton)
where is there a lot of fake news exposure ?
social media
why is social media so harmful in regards to fake news exposure ?
social media spreads news way faster than traditional publications
how does misinformation spread (social media)?
- Individuals are likely to share (or re-share) them without verifying that they are true
- The architecture of social media results in stories growing in popularity at an extremely fast rate
why do people share falsehoods ?
- According to a recent study, 59% of links are shared on social media have not been visited by the sharers
-Due to confirmation bias, people are less likely to be critical of ideas that they agree with and tha confirm their beliefs
how much % of links that are shared on social media have not been visited by the sharers ?
59%
why do news spread so fast one social media ?
each person shares with multiple persons, which results in an exponential growth of shares
what are three factors that explains accelerated growth of fake news on social media ?
- The more a story is shared, the more credibility it appears to have
- The more a story is shared, the more distorted and “interesting” it gets
- Highly shared stories are boosted on social media, so they are seen by more people
why is misinformation so hard to stop ?
- False and fake news spread so fast that they have a big head start on rebuttals
- Because stories spread from person to person, a lot of people have to hear and accept the rebuttal in order for the story to stop spreading
- At the same time, the rebuttal is not interesting, so it does not spread
what is the filter bubble ?
- We receive content from our friends, who we are more likely to agree with
- Social media platforms tend to provide content we are more likely to engage with based on past engagements
what are four ways to protect yourself from misinformation on social media ?
- read the article
- check for sources
- check the aesthetics and writing style
- check for plausibility
why is reading the article important for misinformation on social media ?
- don’t base your judgment simple on the headline
- read the article to find out what it’s actually about before believing it or engaging with it
why is checking for sources important for misinformation on social media ?
- check for sources cited in an article
- “where does it get its information from” “does it sound accurate and trustworthy”
why check the aesthetics and writting style for misinformation on social media ?
- Is the writing sloppy and full of grammatical mistakes ?
- Is the writing hyperbolic and emotionally loaded ?
- Does the article make you feel angry or indignant? Is there any sense of urgency ?
^ profession articles tend to avoid these
how are social medias reacting to misinformation, etc?
Social media websites are taking steps to encourage articles and to detect, remove, and flag about fake false news
