Media Misinformation

In a 2018 article by Computer Science experts Giovanni Luca Ciampaglia and Filippo Menczer, titled “Misinformation and the biases infect social media, both intentionally and accidentally”, they outline three fundamental biases that effect our consumption of inaccurate information on social media. Firstly, cognitive biases often overwhelm our brains and focus in on the emotional content of headlines rather than the factual context. We are overloaded with information every minute we spend scrolling and the authors recommend paying close attention to the source of information to make sure it is legitimate. Next, society comes with its own biases. Research by Ciampaglia and Menczer has shown that political leanings of an individual can be identified by learning who they follow and associate with online. When users trust their circle, misinformation can spread like wildfire. Bots are more common than we think, and they share news from incredible sources, influencing the perspectives of the users they target online. The last essential bais comes straight from the algorithms we interact with. Confirmation bias is employed by advertizers by creating a “filter bubble” that affirms an individual’s previously held beliefs. Social media platforms use a homogeneity bias by sharing content that aligns with their often polarizing perspective. Algorithms are designed to enforce a popularity bias, ensuring that fake news can go viral quickly when both cognitive and social biases move people to click and respond to misinformation.

In my own life I have been a player in the game of media misinformation. I read a poorly sourced article in 2018 claiming that Joni Mitchell had just passed away from cancer and did not dig deeper on the web to make sure this was true. A few years later and a few hundred mournful plays of “Blue”, her 1971 hit album, I saw a picture of Joni alive and well. Reading this one false article shaped my perspective so much that I believed one of my favorite musical artists was no longer around. I felt shock and relief in learning that Joni is still alive and embarrassment for falling into a trap of fake news. Now when I read news articles I always check to make sure the source is credible and accurate. I want to ensure turth in the media I consume so that my thoughts and life are not shaped by falsities.