Social media apps, such as Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and X, are lying to us. In the past decade, social media platforms have increased in popularity and evolved. These platforms are used for everything from chatting with friends to posting “life updates” to advocating opinions and information. Oftentimes, this progression of technology is seen as a positive, but we forget or choose to ignore the ugly and dangerous underbelly.
It seems as though everyone is on social media these days. News companies including USA Today, The Washington Post, and The New York Times have joined platforms with the goal of growing their audience and expanding the reach of their information. Additionally, social media users often take it upon themselves to share information and opinions on their accounts. While social media can be informative and fun, it also allows for misinformation to spread easily.
This new era of technology allows people from across the globe to connect faster than ever, this brings the possibility of false information being spread farther, and more rapidly. This is a common occurrence nowadays. “Misinformation arises in uncertain contexts when people are confronted with a scarcity of information they need. During unforeseen circumstances, the affected individual or community experiences nervousness or anxiety, ” an article by the National Library of Medicine explained.
Recently, there have been several notable instances of false information on the internet, specifically surrounding the 2024 Presidential Election. One example is the claim that migrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating their neighbors’ pets. One woman posted the claim as a joke, but many took it seriously and repeated it without fact checking. The mayor refuted the claim, saying there had been no reports of it happening, and the original user who posted the claim on Facebook apologized and clarified that it was not based on actual facts. Even so, it blew up on TikTok.
Because information—true or false—can go viral so quickly, viewers may not be able to understand what is true or not. “If [the spread of misinformation] continues, it will become increasingly difficult to discern fact from fiction—endangering our country’s ability to address major problems,” Darrell M. West of brookings.edu clarified.
The controversy that follows is whether social media platforms should be more strictly moderated or not. False claims can ruin an individual’s reputation and career, although further moderation is seen to be an infringement of the first amendment right to free speech by some. There is a lot of unknown territory to explore when it comes to the internet, although the undeniable fact is that misinformation endangers the trust that journalists have built up. Allowing its spread enlarges fear and anxiety within the country to a deadly extent. Congressional laws and increased moderation by platforms are not the only way to counteract disinformation; fact check the news you are given and point out misinformation where you see it
