Why We Fall For it Everytime...
How Misinformation Works
The Naked truth (Jean-Leon Jerome - 1896)
Legend says
that lies and truth met one day
He told the
lie to the truth:
_This day
is so beautiful!
The truth
looked around in doubt and raised her eyes to the sky and found the day really
beautiful and the weather is beautiful and decided to spend the day walking
with lies.
Then he
told the lie to the truth:
- The water
in the well is very beautiful, come let's go down to the water..
The truth
looked at the lie in doubt for the second time, and I touched the water, and I
found it really beautiful..
They
stripped of their clothes, and went down to the well.
Suddenly, the lie came out of the well, quickly put on the clothes of truth and ran.
As Jonathon Swift wrote:
“Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it; so that
when men come to be undeceived, it is too late”
And so we get taken in by misinformation as
it cascades through the media. It is what an MIT study called a “Misinformation
Cascade”
Misinformation cascades, as uncovered by a comprehensive MIT
study examining the propagation of falsehoods through social media, represent a
profound challenge to the information ecosystem in our digital age. These
cascades reveal a complex and troubling phenomenon in which inaccurate or
deceptive information spreads rapidly and widely, often drowning out credible
and factual content.
The study, conducted by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, exposes the intricate dynamics of these cascades. It suggests that social media platforms have unwittingly (and
wittingly) become conduits for the dissemination of false information, driven
by the human tendency to follow the actions of peers without critical scrutiny.
This "herd mentality" is particularly potent in the
online environment, where algorithms often prioritize sensational content and
confirmation bias plays a significant role in shaping users' beliefs.
“The MIT
researchers studied what they called “rumour cascades”. A cascade starts with a
Twitter user making an assertion about a topic – with words, images or links –
and continues in an unbroken chain of retweets. The researchers analysed
cascades about news stories that six fact-checking organisations agreed were
true or agreed were false.” (Paul Chadwick)
Misinformation cascades tend to begin with a single piece of
deceptive information that gains traction through shares, likes, and retweets.
Once a critical mass is reached, the information takes on a life of its own,
making it increasingly challenging to correct or counteract. This phenomenon,
as the MIT study reveals, not only erodes trust in information sources but also
poses real-world consequences, from undermining public health efforts to
influencing political outcomes.
Understanding the intricacies of misinformation
cascades is vital for developing strategies to combat their influence. This
includes improved digital literacy, platform accountability, and media literacy
programs. The MIT study underscores the urgency of addressing this issue to
safeguard the integrity of our information landscape in an increasingly
interconnected world.
According to Chadwick::
The study found that “falsehood
diffused significantly farther, faster, deeper and more broadly than truth in
all categories of information”. False political news reached more people faster
and went deeper into their networks than any other category of false
information.”
The tendency to believe falsehoods is nothing new. In
his epic poem the Aeneid, Virgil wrote: Fama, malum
qua non aliud velocius ullum. ‘Rumour, than whom no other evil
thing is faster.’
Don’t believe all you read!
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/19/fake-news-social-media-twitter-mit-journalism
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