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A Misinformation Thread for Very Online People (1/13)
As the nation marks a week since the Capitol Hill riots, now is a good time to audit our information consumption habits. As a historian and policy researcher, I have to use these skills regularly in my work. But they’re important to remember as a Very Online Person, too. (2/13)
The intensity and unfamiliarity of the crisis, combined with the lack of consistent national messaging, means that many of us are searching for information wherever we can find it. Often, that’s Twitter. (3/13)
But, as plenty of research has shown, social media platforms also can skew our understanding of the world. Sometimes malicious actors purposefully spread disinformation.
For tools to counter this, check out @RANDCorporation 's database: https://www.rand.org/research/projects/truth-decay/fighting-disinformation.html (5/13)
For tools to counter this, check out @RANDCorporation 's database: https://www.rand.org/research/projects/truth-decay/fighting-disinformation.html (5/13)
Sometimes bad information is the product of a misunderstanding or miscommunication. Either way, the problem for individual consumers is the same: how do we know the info we see is accurate? How do we know if it's representative of the phenomenon we're trying to understand? (6/13)
There are helpful guides for identifying misinformation, but how many of us Very Online People use them? Afterall, only Boomers fall for bad info, right?
Not exactly... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/23/technology/young-people-more-likely-to-believe-virus-misinformation-study-says.html (7/13)
Not exactly... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/23/technology/young-people-more-likely-to-believe-virus-misinformation-study-says.html (7/13)
If we know our info sources are imperfect, we’re bad at distinguishing misinformation, and we’re still going to trust the Twitter-mind anyways, what can we do about it? Lots of experts are working on this, but here are 4 habits I've seen: VERIFY, CAVEAT, REASSESS, RETRACT (8/13)
VERIFY: we can double-check all the information we share with other sources. If we do that in our research, we should do that in our real lives. If something confirms what you already think, triple-check it. (9/13)
CAVEAT: if we can’t confirm the accuracy but really feel it is important to share, we can attach explicit caveats. We should not assume other people will apply a higher standard of scrutiny. (10/13)
REASSESS & RETRACT: we should regularly reevaluate the info we share and, when it is wrong, issue public retractions. Quietly deleting a tweet—or clarifying in a threaded reply—isn't sufficient. We should share (and reward!) corrections as proudly as we share new info. (11/13)
None of this is new! We all know these best practices. But how often do you actually verify that tweet you DMed a friend? Let alone go back, a week later, to correct the record? It can be embarrassing, and its easier to think no one cares. (12/13)
But if we believe that information matters, that the problems confronting us individually and as a nation require fact-based solutions, then we have to get into the habit. (13/13)
P.S. For those interested in misinformation's effect on civil society, be sure to check out the work of my colleagues @jekavanagh, @Helmus, @wmmarcelino, as well as @RANDCorporation's wider #TruthDecay initiative: https://www.rand.org/research/projects/truth-decay.html
