Anyone Else Sick of The Damage Caused by Misinformation?

By: Taylor Peyton

Sometimes, dealing with people who are easily fooled by misinformation is exhausting. Whether it be family members, acquaintances, or just strangers who blurt out conspiracy theories in public. Unfortunately, these gullible people seem to be increasing in numbers and don’t seem to be too far away in terms of proximity. The Spread of misinformation online appears to have gotten out of control, and without an increase in media literacy by the public, it may not slow down any time soon.

 

At times, it feels like people are more easily fooled by misinformation than they realize. Falling for fake news stories that slip into social media feeds after first appearing on a conspiracy theorist site is egregious. As is treating a New York Post story as gospel because readers can’t tell the difference between a tabloid newspaper and a world-class source such as the New York Times. There is also the issue of people mistaking opinion pieces as fact because they appear in newspapers such as USA Today.

 

The rhetoric behind misinformation has gotten so bad that the Associated Press has begun a reoccurring series of articles entitled “Not Real News: A Look at What Didn’t Happen This Week.” The series sets the record straight on stories that didn’t happen but were shared wildly on social media. The September 17^th edition of the series debunked quite a few ridiculous stories. One being accusations of voter fraud in the California recall election. That is also followed up by two stories regarding COVID vaccinations. One of which was the circulation of a heavily edited video that made it seem like President Joe Biden told individuals they needed to get vaccinated to protect themselves from hurricanes. In addition, they had to explain that there was no proof that the COVID vaccine caused impotence and swollen testicles, after Nicki Minaj tweeted a tall tale suggesting that very thing.

 

Perhaps a large part of why false information spreads is due to people wanting it to be true; that’s all good and fine until it gets other people hurt or killed. If one were to write a story about how many people claimed that someone they loved died of COVID because of misinformation on the vaccine, this piece would turn into a novel. There could also be a sequel about those who say they regret not getting the vaccine while they’re on their deathbed or still recovering from a near-death experience. As far as false stories about voter fraud go, it still hasn’t been that long since the January 6 insurrection occurred, and arrests are still being made. Individuals who play their part in sharing stories about voter fraud run the risk of history repeating itself in that regard.

 

It’s important to know which sources are the most accurate and credible to keep yourself well informed. It doesn’t necessarily require having to consume news every day. The main thing to remember is that verifying the validity with a quick google search is much better than instantly sharing it on social media without a second thought. There are also sites such as Media Bias/ Fact Check that provide further information about the bias and validity of sources that you might not be familiar with.