Learn news literacy this week Pet rumors debunked | Bursting online bubbles
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Some experts say that being in an online bubble or echo chamber, where social media users’ views are reinforced, isn’t the main problem with political extremism online. Illustration credit: The News Literacy Project.
While two-thirds of American adults say social media is bad for democracy, many still depend on it as a source of news even while questioning its role in deepening political divides. Platforms depend on growth and user engagement to make money, which can result in algorithms promoting extreme content that provokes strong reactions, experts say. “Racism is very profitable,” said former extremist Katie McHugh in an interview with PBS NewsHour. She compared extricating herself from online hate and extremism as “pulling shrapnel out of your brain.”
Engage: Watch the 10-minute PBS NewsHour video with the young people in your life and discuss social media’s impact on democracy. Why would exposure to opposing political beliefs increase polarization? How does it feel to have personal beliefs challenged? What steps can they take to approach different viewpoints with an open mind?
This piece is part of U.S. Democracy Day, a nationwide collaborative on Sept. 15, which is also the International Day of Democracy. On this day news organizations cover how democracy works and the threats it faces. To learn more, visit usdemocracyday.org.
Most TikTok users expect to see false or misleading information on the platform, according to a new report from the Weber Shandwick Collective, a communications advisory firm. Many of the 367 American users surveyed in the report also felt confident in their ability to detect misinformation, including by scanning the comment section and using TikTok search to fact-check.
Engage: There are 170 million TikTok users in the U.S., according to the platform. Do the kids in your life use it? If so, ask them to show you the app on their phone. What are their favorite accounts? What steps can they take to verify information on TikTok?
Tool for the talk: Infographics: “Is it legit?” (NLP’s Resource Library).
Should social media apps include a warning label? Attorneys general from 42 states have demanded a U.S. surgeon general warning label to raise awareness of the harmful mental health effects of social media on young people. The bipartisan group expressed concern in a letter to Congress over “algorithm-driven social media platforms” threatening kids’ safety.
Engage: Share this article with the young people in your life and ask about what they see on social media. How do they feel after scrolling through platforms? Should social media platforms come with warning labels? Why or why not?
NO: This photo was taken in Columbus, Ohio, not Springfield, and there's no evidence that the person pictured is a Haitian immigrant or that he killed or ate the goose.
NewsLit takeaway:
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and when social media users started spreading sensational rumors about Haitian immigrants stealing, killing and eating pets and wildlife in Springfield, Ohio, they offered little to support those assertions. Still, since these evidence-free rumors appeared to confirm some people’s preconceived misconceptions about immigrants, they were widely spread on social media and even received a mention on the presidential debate stage.
Removing a video or photograph — especially one of a graphic nature — from its original context and spreading it online attached to a hot-button political issue is a common form of political misinformation. Since this content often evokes a strong and immediate emotional response, social media users frequently engage with it before taking the time to fact-check. Resisting the urge to like, share or comment on these posts can be difficult, but pausing to consider the source, the evidence and the reasoning behind these claims is the only way to slow their spread.
NO: This is not a genuine video of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul talking about the new COVID-19 vaccine on Sept. 4.
YES: That video was altered to make it look like Hochul’s eye was swollen shut.
YES: The genuine video of Hochul — in which her eyes are not swollen — is posted on her official social media accounts.
YES: Severe adverse reactions following COVID vaccinations are very rare.
NewsLit takeaway:
Manipulating genuine videos and photographs is a common way to spread misinformation. While these altered pieces of media can be convincing at first glance, there are also several ways to investigate and verify their authenticity:
Check official social media accounts (especially when the video or photograph involves a public figure) to track down the full and unaltered content.
Do some lateral reading to see if credible news outlets have reported on the issue.
A whirlwind of conspiracy theories about the motive and authenticity of an apparent assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump on Sept. 15 spread on Weibo, a popular and heavily censored social media app in China.
RT is more than just a Russian state-funded media outlet that spreads disinformation — U.S. officials now also accuse it of running Russian intelligence operations and raising funds for military supplies in the country’s war against Ukraine.
Ready for it? Taylor Swift warned her 284 million Instagram followers about the perils of AI-generated misinformation in her recent presidential endorsement.
Can AI chatbots be trusted? Two-thirds of American adults in a recent poll say they don’t trust AI chatbots for facts, but researchers are exploring ways that the technology might be used to pull people away from conspiracy theories.
Experts say that shaming or mocking a person who believes a conspiracy theory is ineffective at changing anybody’s mind. This USA Today article outlines three tips for how to talk to a believer without judgment.
Measles cases are resurging amid vaccine misinformation, with immunization rates among incoming kindergartners still below pre-pandemic levels, according to KFF, a health policy organization.
To reach a younger news audience on video platforms, a Hawaiian newspaper is using AI-generated avatars to present news reports written by its human reporters.
A free bilingual newspaper recently launched in a predominantly Latino area in Houston, Texas, with the goal of making residents feel more connected by telling “untold stories in the Hispanic community.”
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