Oct. 30, Jared Schroeder, associate professor of Journalism specializing in Free Press/Free Speech at SMU Dallas, for a commentary warning social media users how to spot misinformation/disinformation during an election and post-election period. Published in the Austin American-Statesman with the heading Don’t be duped during this season for social media disinformation: https://bit.ly/37Wq2yX
If you think you’ve seen the full impact of false information on public discourse this year, conspiracy theorists and misinformation mongers around the world would like for you to hold their beer.
Last-minute efforts to confuse, cheat, and mislead people before Election Day, as well as post-election campaigns to discredit outcomes, particularly if the election is close, will likely lead to a wave of misinformation and disinformation unlike anything we have seen before.
It’s important that we prepare for this. Social media feeds will be packed with all manner of false information. A variety of actors, foreign and domestic, will play on our fears and biases.
By Jared Schroeder
If you think you’ve seen the full impact of false information on public discourse this year, conspiracy theorists and misinformation mongers around the world would like for you to hold their beer.
Last-minute efforts to confuse, cheat, and mislead people before Election Day, as well as post-election campaigns to discredit outcomes, particularly if the election is close, will likely lead to a wave of misinformation and disinformation unlike anything we have seen before.
It’s important that we prepare for this. Social media feeds will be packed with all manner of false information. A variety of actors, foreign and domestic, will play on our fears and biases.
Social media firms are taking some nominal actions to try to limit the spread of intentionally false narratives. History tells us our best hope against misinformation and disinformation is us.
Here are five things we can do to make sure we aren’t duped by misleading information online during the important days before and weeks after this year’s election:
Be skeptical. Absent traditional information gatekeepers who once vetted our information, it is up to use to fill that role. We all have to doublecheck claims. The more salacious, the more they need to be checked. The more they align with your beliefs, the more they have to be checked. Look carefully at sourcing. Go to other credible sources and see if they, independently, are reporting the same thing.
Think about your sources. The information we consume is like food, it can nourish or sicken us. The information we consume constructs how we understand the world. If that information is false or misleading, it distorts our world view. When in doubt, go to sources that employ journalists to go out and do reporting, rather than sources that simply comment on the work of others or don’t have any sources at all.
Avoid accepting anything you see flowing through social media, especially Facebook. Also, if you want to be informed, rather than entertained, avoid cable news programming that starts after 8 p.m.
Deepfakes are real. Be on the lookout for manipulated content. Part of the misinformation playbook is putting new text with an out-of-context photograph on social media to make it appear that there is visual evidence of something that never happened. Groups are also creating audio and video clips that manipulate the words and actions of others to make it appear as if they said or did things they never said or did.
When in doubt, use fact-checking sites when claims seem a bit fishy or when images, videos, or sound clips you encounter seem just a bit off. Check on the information before accepting it or passing it on.
Watch out for “news” that finds you. Misinformation and disinformation are often created to play on our fears and to align with our beliefs. When we only encounter information that reinforces our beliefs, we can only become more extreme. We will never be more open-minded. We will come to see others as enemies.
The solution is to read a variety of perspectives about issues. Seek them out. Often, when news finds you, it has an agenda. Groups and paid content have a way of tricking the algorithms on social media and slipping into your feeds. Always be skeptical of news that finds you. Go out and check on the news for yourself, rather than letting algorithms decide what you want.
Finally, never share anything you have not read and vetted yourself. When we share false information on social media, it’s like spreading a cold. We are infecting others with misinformation.
It’s a shame our information ecosystems are such a disaster, but it’s also a reality. It is up to us to take care when it comes to the information we accept and share during this crucial period.
Jared Schroeder is an associate professor of journalism at Southern Methodist University, where he specializes in First Amendment law.