In the digital age, the ability to spread misinformation to millions of people rapidly is unprecedented. Bad information impacts everyone: scams threaten finances, political misinformation undermines democracy, and health misinformation—particularly during events like the COVID-19 pandemic—can threaten lives. Learning to navigate this deluge of data is a crucial modern skill.
The Problem of Susceptibility
The problem of misinformation is not confined to the easily duped; even journalists can be victims. One journalist recounted unknowingly writing an article for a seemingly normal news website that was later revealed to be a troll farm involved in past electoral meddling. This experience highlights the subtlety and sophistication of modern disinformation campaigns.
Compounding the problem is human psychology, particularly during times of crisis. When people are scared and anxious, they have a greater need to actively find information to explain events and keep themselves safe. Paradoxically, research shows that anxiety simultaneously causes a paradoxical inability to process complexity. This combination makes anxious individuals even more susceptible to bad information—such as false claims offering simple cures for diseases.
Tools for Verification and Fact-Checking
Fortunately, the same internet that facilitates the spread of bad information also provides the means to combat it. Fact-checking organizations have the reach to correct the record quicker than ever, examining hundreds of thousands of claims during major crises like the start of the pandemic.
Individuals can easily verify a story with simple habits and tools:
Basic Search: You can verify a claim by simply typing the suspect claim into a search engine followed by "fact check". The top results will often lead to a credible fact-checking organization that has already investigated the claim.
Reverse Image Search: For suspicious images, tools like Google Reverse Image Search allow you to input an image and trace its original source. If an image depicting a huge news event is not being reported by trusted news sources, that is a strong clue that it is not true.
The Future Threat of Deepfakes
A major and growing concern is the rise of deepfakes—videos or audio created with artificial intelligence and visual effects technology. This technology is constantly being perfected, meaning that in the future, it will be extremely difficult to determine whether a video is authentic.
To tackle this, more technology is being developed:
Browser Plugins: Tools that can be downloaded to a browser can automatically flag what is less and more credible.
AI Algorithms: New algorithms are designed to help social media platforms detect and rapidly curb the spread of false stories.
Despite the sophistication of the threats, there is hope. Greater public awareness of the issue, combined with increasingly effective AI technology for determining credibility, is expected to make the future battle against misinformation more successful.
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