The Fact Of The Matter - Misinformation On Social Media

By Emma Raho

The age of the internet has meant we have a world of information at our fingertips. No more trawling through dusty reference books for an hour and a half, if we've got a question, we can pull an answer in less than a second from our pocket. So it follows that social media is the obvious place to share our newly discovered revelation. Sounds pretty good.

However, the huge flaw is not all information is created equally. There is so much ambiguity, half truths and flat out lies masquerading as fact actually discovering the answers to more complex conundrums can be a logistical nightmare.  

So what can we do before posting on Facebook?

The first step is to always check the validity of the source with a critical eye. Even if it's an article that backs our personal standpoint, we lose credibility when we share from websites that clearly have no grasp on the truth. Ask yourself "how has the author reached this conclusion?" If it's based on an anecdote from their sister's best friends neighbours dog groomer then you're likely on shaky ground fact-wise. Personal experience can vary greatly and has too many variables to have a high level of accuracy. Sometimes this is solid - for example if you touch a hot stove and it burnt you, you can say with some authority touching the hot stove it not a good idea. However if by burning yourself on the stove you have now decided that stoves are bad and have no other use but to hurt people and should be banned - you see the issue.

Peer reviewed papers written by experts in the field are a good place to start, but try to read a few from different people and perspectives to give you a well rounded look at the topic. You can find these kinds of articles on Google Scholar or websites that end in "edu". Another way to quickly fact check is to look up your information on Snopes. This generally covers urban legends and rumours but is still a valuable tool when you're unsure. 

Being responsible about what we share on social media from either our personal or business accounts is something everyone should take seriously. Misinformation can at best be just an annoyance, and at worst be extremely harmful. 

In 2020 we can't afford to blithely read, believe and share.