Friday, November 18, 2016

Fact-Check Your Social Media Stories

Fake news stories are taking over on social media and too many people are believing them. Is this how Trump got elected? The NY Post reported a story featuring fake news-writer, Paul Horner who thinks he may have inadvertently sent Trump to the White House by posting fake news stories that appeared to be in Donald Trump’s favor, only because he thought these absurd stories would be fact-checked. They weren’t. Horner says that even Trump’s campaign team was reposting these fake stories like they were facts. Shocking. Trump’s supporters ate these stories up. Is it just assumed that whatever is posted on the Internet has to be true? It seems we mistakenly believe that common sense dominates. It clearly does not. Let me say it plainly. Do not believe everything you read. Do not believe everything you hear. I’m not even sure you can believe everything you see.

Paul Horner in my opinion cannot be seen as innocent here. Putting that much faith in the American public to dismiss these stories as false was unrealistic. Even the people that may have realized these stories were false didn’t seem to think it was important enough to stand up to it. And now it’s too late. Fake stories helped to boost Trump to the White House and we’re all left asking ourselves what we could’ve done differently. It always takes a tragedy to learn a hard lesson.

Fact check, people.  

Since the election last week, there has been much focus on the influence these fake stories have on social media. Facebook execs have claimed they’re working on this problem to try and filter through what’s real and what’s not since people don’t care to do their own homework. Do I see a new position opening up at Facebook?


6 comments:

  1. Although Facebook states it's a technology company, a strong argument could be made to say it's in fact become one of the biggest media companies in the world. Facebook has a billion monthly active users - users who are sharing posts and stories they see pop up in their timeline and fb messenger chats. To build off your last question, maybe Facebook should formulate a whole new Editorial board division. They would be in charge in determining what gets shown on the site as well as perhaps writing original posts themselves. If this were to happen, however, Facebook would no longer be the neutral platform it claims it is, as they would be censoring content.

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    1. I do not think the word 'censor' means what you think it means.

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  2. I think this is really important for everyone to understand. We live in a culture where people use the internet, especially social media as means of source of information. People have been known to take what they see on these as the all saying truth, "the internet does not lie" kind of idea. And because of this, it generates lies, fallacies, rumors and what have you to spread faster than wildfire. I personally use Facebook everyday. I see all the videos but with political things, I don't share or comment on them unless I know the basic information or I look for other dependable sources that say the same information.

    I really like this piece and I hope everyone reads it!

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  3. "Is this how Trump got elected?"
    No.

    "Facebook execs have claimed they’re working on this problem to try and filter through what’s real and what’s not"
    While they are a private corporation and not subject to the First Amendment, they will open themselves up to anti-trust legislation if they try this. Same way AT&T was broken up, and Microsoft would have been if Gore had been elected president.

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  4. Its crazy the way the media controls people in todays society. Its scary to think people can be so easily swayed by the articles they see online and the tweets they see on twitter. This post is something that should be spread everywhere. Especially when it comes to the election many things are going to be said that people need to be aware of.

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    1. The media has been controlling people in every society. Consider Hearst's role in causing the Spanish-American War. Or Stowe, of whom Lincoln is attributed as saying "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war."

      " many things are going to be said that people need to be aware of."
      How are you going to fulfill that need, without either Big Media or Social Media?

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