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Misinformation

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Course Name

Instructor’s Name

Due Date
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Abstract

Misinformation In modern society has greatly risen on the negative side in the social media

platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, among others. Typically, it has a close association with

politics, leading to a menace to democracy. Aims of misinformation in various social media

platforms are increased polarization of groups, reduced trust, political influence, as well as

undermining the civil society. Getting a piece of reliable information concerning COVID-19 on

the social media platform is not a sure bet since some are filled with rumors, fabulism, and

junkyard encyclopedia, among others. The spearheading reason why untrue information about

COVID-19 acquires traction is that it scares the hell out of humanity. The more we consume

online content with a great emotional valence, it's likely that it will be passed on or shared if it is

something generating a burden or joy to humanity. Emotion will always make us less discerning.

The polarized US encouraged misinformation in the time of the presidential race between

Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. The Internet is meant for polarization. This is because if

you begin liking content from a given page on Facebook, you will encounter more of that

content. Facebook confirmed that it was able to remove the network of two pages and 13 fake

accounts before spreading roots as a way of dealing with misinformation. In addition to that,

there exist some excellent ways of dealing with misinformation, such as using one information to

counter another.
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Misinformation

Introduction

In modern society, misinformation has greatly risen on the negative side of social media

platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. The current definition that can be given to

misinformation is the intentional generation of content that shares untrue information with the

aim of misleading the targeted audience. In addition, it is normally done to establish harm for

personal, economic, or political gain. Typically, misinformation has a close association with

politics leading to it being a menace to democracy. Aims of misinformation in various social

media platforms are increased polarization of groups, reduced trust, political influence, as well as

undermining the civil society. Its effects do not only cover the online procedure but also extend

into our various life forms. Therefore, misinformation circulated in the social media platforms is

a contributing factor to negative perception towards people or something.

Coming across such information can trigger attitude swap of the audience towards an

individual or something or even a particular nation (Winslow, 2020). As a matter of fact, various

characters and behaviors have a direct contribution to misinformation in the social media

platforms that we use daily. A good example is the attack of the telecommunication mast largely

utilized as an asset of generation and propaganda influence that is part and parcel of modern

lifestyle from the look of things. What effects does misinformation have on the targeted

audience? And what are the possible strategies that can be used to combat misinformation on

social media?
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On the topic details, the essay will address the following question; what are the least two

complexities and/or limitations surrounding quality of information and its access. In addition to

that, how can we have a quality library for information in the internet to avoid the impacts that

misinformation create in social media users’ minds.

Literature Review

Misinformation is an issue now, and getting a piece of factual information concerning

COVID-19 on the social media platform is not a sure bet since some are filled with rumors,

fabulism, and junkyard encyclopedia, among others. Differentiating the true and the untrue

information on social media is not easy, even though we spend much of the time online and

sharing links concerning the information. The chances are that the untrue information will be

easily embraced and believed. The untrue information will always put the audience in danger

(Kluger, 2020). In addition, misinformation generated from the social media on COVID-19 can

easily make the audience use or buy the ineffective remedies or even engage in risky behaviors

that can compromise their health.

Keeping the Internet free from misinformation may be impossible; however, combating

this threat is effortless in theory. Research reveals falsehood in social media but how to help in

minimizing such identities is less reckless and discerning as to why they do such posts. The

spearheading reason why untrue information about COVID-19 acquires traction is that it scares

the hell out of (Kluger, 2020). In addition, it is always normal that the more we consume online

content with a great emotional valence, it’s likely that it will be passed on or shared if it is

something generating a burden or joy to humanity. According to the research, emotion will

always make us less discerning. In the case of COVID-19, those who are close to the epicenter
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will share the information, be it false or true. A great challenge surrounding dealing with

misinformation is that untrue information always finds its wings faster on the Internet compared

to true information.

In addition, political leanings influence what is shared on the Internet and that which is

not shared. Researchers confirm that neither the right nor left has the monopoly over spreading

fake information or news. (Kluger, 2020). Both ends can mix and manipulate the facts that

present to you the fake news. Besides, they chose the perfect stories that fit their ideologies. In

addition, misinformation has become a problem for a country as it doesn’t know how to educate

its people. There has been an allegation that the Russians interfered with the United States

presidential elections feeding the supporters on the losing end believe that the current United

States’ president is not legitimate because the elections was rigged.

Methodology

In order to realize the cognitive processes level surrounding the decisions of sharing, two

types of studies were conducted to realize the same: The cognitive Reflection Test and a more

straightforward test. To begin with, the Cognitive Reflection Test, which measures the process of

basic reasoning, some questions were asked which were slipperier such as in case you are in a

race then you pas the second person what position are you? The obvious answer to give is the

second position which is wrong because you have simply replaced the second person. Secondly,

the straightforward test measures their basic knowledge of science with true and false sentiments.

Then series of thirty headlines (15 being true and the remaining 15 being false) concerning

COVID-19 were displayed; however, they were given instruction to do two different things with
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them. One sample group was instructed to identify headlines inaccuracy or accuracy, and the

other sample group was asked if they would wish to share the information online.

Results

The first sample group was able to identify the falsehood or truth of the provided

headlines correctly. On the other hand, the second sample group was placed at liberty to identify

the accuracy and inaccuracy of the provided headlines-confirmed that they would share almost

half of the headlines online, closing the rate range of the first group and close to two-thirds of

true and one-third untrue. People will always fail to reflect and initiate fast choices followed by

sharing without thinking. This applies to most of us. The remedy is not to force people to excel

in reasoning tests before their online admission (Kluger, 2020). Things can be much easier, as

clearly evident in the second study. However, some researchers suggest that such studies should

be subjected to various social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook with the

aim of conducting a cognitive poke. In no event will the Internet be free from inaccuracy due to

conspiracy-mongers, politics, and hackers making the Internet the home of inaccuracy or

misinformation.

Discussion

Concerning the presidential election and COVID-19, the misleading information on the

Internet with social unrest society leave historians and other citizens concerning the damage

done to democracy; the polarized US encouraged misinformation in the time of the presidential

race between Donald Trump and President Joe Biden as well as the COVID-19 vaccination.

Some scholars believe America's fraught history of race as its opposition continues in social

media platforms. It has come to a point where citizens agree to believe and trust their partisan
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and political group compared to the news on social media. This has become a problem for a

country as it doesn’t know how to educate its people. According to some citizens, the repeated

tweets of Trump about rigged elections undermined the democracy of America (Winslow,

2020).Therefore Trump’s supporters argued that he had a right to challenge the vote results. At

that time, Trump's legal team has not even produced the evidence on the same. The information

circulated on Facebook and Twitter during election time was banded misleading information by

the chief executive of Twitter as most of them were Trump's tweets.

The Internet is meant for polarization. This is because if you begin liking content from a

given page on Facebook, you will encounter more of that content. There is a difference between

newspaper and Facebook- the newspaper has different information, while on Facebook, you will

see the same information, which may confirm a person's perception. In addition to that,

researchers suggest that people should be equipped with the knowledge and necessary told so

that they can build resilience in opposition to misleading, harmful, and false information

(Winslow, 2020).Teaching the next generation how to interrogate and not just consume is a tip

that can be used to overcome misinformation. In addition to that, it's good to slow down and

analyze the information you have received from the Internet before circulating or sharing it. As

questions like is the source of this information reliable? And what are the consequences of doing

so? The misleading information from leaders such as Trump led to racial division and associated

tension.

Recommendations

Facebook detached fake accounts and pages networks established by operatives from

Russia who recruited United States journalists to write on the Democratic Nominee Joe Biden.
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Facebook was able to remove the network of two pages and 13 fake accounts before spreading

roots. However, they have hidden their identity, but their consequences are negligible.

Disinformation networks normally promote the negatives but positive to the person doing that

(Dwoskin & Craig 2020). Factious personas initiate disinformation networks to direct their

audience to where they feel like. Therefore, social media platforms are able to minimize

misinformation by removing the networks. Misleading information in the US has focused on

racial justice and dividing democratic supporters, which can be dealt with.

There is an allegation that Russians tried to manipulate the United States 2016 elections;

therefore, Twitter Facebook took action so that the same mistake did not happen in the 2020

election. Their main aim was to protect the public against the misleading information that may

divide various political groups (Dwoskin & Craig 2020). Twitter and Facebook initiated

opposition on a Russian-liked operation that had an association with a nonprofit section in

Ghana. The action was about eliminating the networks they were using so that the public couldn't

access the misleading information. In addition to that, CLS Strategies is a firm that is

instrumental in promoting open and free elections on social media platforms. The firm is able to

reach a bigger number of population; therefore, it can be used to spread the true information,

which can spread within no time.

In addition to that, there exist some excellent ways of dealing with misinformation, such

as using one information to counter another. It can be initiated by blocking misleading

information and giving way for true information. For example, there is a bun of White

supremacy content by Facebook and anti-vaccination bun by Priest. On the other hand, YouTube

has developed an approach of posting true information against misleading information and

advising the audience to click on the verified links. Talking about COVID-19 vaccination, a
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group spread fake news about the vaccination, leading to reduced numbers of vaccinations done

(Kluger, 2020). Therefore institutions running social media such as Facebook should employ

experts from various fields who regularly monitor the content posted, that is, the misleading

information, their impact, as well as hate speech. In addition, the Internet should be responsible

for content posted on that page, which can be achieved through filtering as any social media

platform should only promote meaningful information.

Conclusion

Conclusively, spreading false information on social media platforms such as Twitter and

Facebook may cause panic and fear among social media users as well as influencing attitudes

towards people or something. Misinformation creates tension and may result in severe cases of

war, hatred, and other unethical behaviors. Before spreading information to many people on

social media, it is vital and ethical for an individual to validate the truth and accuracy of

information perfectly, based on its source, intention, and reliability. Conjunctionally, social

media platforms should uphold and introduce stringent regulations and procedures for posting

any information to avoid and reduce cases to help reduce instances of misinformation.
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References

Gorelick, S. M. (2000, July 21). Confessions of a Reformed Bloviator. THE CHRONICLE OF

HIGHER EDUCATION. https://www.chronicle.com/article/confessions-of-a-reformed-

bloviator/

Kluger, J. (2020, July 23). The Misinformation Age Has Exacerbated—And Been Exacerbated

By—the Coronavirus Pandemic. Time. https://time.com/5870464/coronavirus-

pandemic-misinformation/

Dwoskin Elizabeth And Craig Timberg, E. C. (2020, September 1). Facebook takes down

Russian operations that recruited U.S. journalists amid rising concerns about election

misinformation. The Washington Post.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/09/01/facebook-disinformation-

takedown/

Winslow, O. (2020, November 30). IS SOCIAL MEDIA POLARIZING AMERICA? Newsday.

https://www.newsday.com/long-island/politics/social-media-misinformation-united-

states-democracy-g54964