Navigating the Web

The internet is a wonderful place where you can find a community of like-minded individuals
and learn about many different types of information, however one should always be wary about
the source of that information and whether it’s true or false. I will discuss and go into detail
about the rampant misinformation that occurs on the web, from Alex Jones and vaccine
Misinformation to Conspiracy Theories and Social Media influence.
It is important to be able to read and interpret different types of texts in a critical manner. Part of
this is being able to find and evaluate information online. One must always approach such
information with a critical way of thinking. This is done by finding the creator’s identity,
purpose, their source of information and point of view.
By identifying the creator, we find out who they are as a person and whether their intentions are
good or not. They could be an expert on that particular topic wishing to spread what they know
to the public, an organization with special interests chasing after financial gain, or even a
political figure pursuing power. Purpose becomes more evident once we establish who is behind
the source. The agenda could also either be hidden or exposed and written from a single
perspective or multiple perspectives. We must therefore analyze the source’s point of view and
pay close attention to what the creator says and how it is said.
Using a critical approach is useful when evaluating information. But that is not enough. We
should also try to understand how Multimodal Texts can be used to affect how well information
is perceived. Multimodal means there is more than one Medium present. Medium is something
that carries complex meanings like written texts, pictures, sound, music, video, and so on. These
mediums are often carefully and purposefully picked and used in combination to assist the
effectiveness of how information is perceived
Misconceptions represent a distortion of its original source. However, the nature of that
Distortion can vary. Some misconceptions consist of Disinformation which is false information
intentionally designed to mislead people. Other misconceptions center on misinformation either
false or misleading that results from unintentional inaccuracy. Misinformation is frequently
shaped by mistakes and human error.
Fake News is a term we’re all familiar with. It means planned or deliberate misinformation,
often disguised as news. While misinformation and propaganda are not new and have existed for
many years. Fake News is strongly associated with a sheer amount of information online and on
social media especially. Some of the most notable figures to share, spread and create fake news
are Alex Jones, Tucker Carlson and former president elect Donald Trump who popularized the
term Fake News when he used it in response to accusations of misconduct, damaging and
embarrassing information about himself. After winning the election, he often used the term to
describe the media on the political left. Accusing them of being biased.
Like we talked about before, Social Media like Facebook and Twitter have allowed almost
anyone to publish information. Traditional news media have certain journalistic standards which
they must follow whereas on Social Media anyone anywhere can share anything. Therefore, one
should be careful not to blindly trust information online. Since engagement and exposure effect
social media bias. If someone is scrolling through their feed, they’re looking at publications and
posts of celebrities or influencers they follow. Which are often people the person admires and
looks up to. Consequently, there are many viewpoints the person might not agree with or dislike,
that don’t appear in that person’s feed. The feed becomes an individual’s narrow and biased view
on reality.
Social media algorithms are also enormously powerful and can influence which stories get more
attention. This is for the most part the work of artificial intelligence and is heavily based on what
you clicked on before. This has made social media companies extremely influential and has
resulted in the call to regulate the big companies in this field, like Meta and TikTok.
The Media could also be biased. On one side, many of Trump's conservative followers do not
trust the news media on the left. Regarding them as biased with preconceived feelings, opinions,
and notions. On the other hand, many liberals do not trust the right-wing media for the same
reason. Republicans and Democrats are on the opposite side of the political spectrum. News
media can generally also be placed on this spectrum. Fox News, for instance, is right-leaning
while CNN is left-leaning.
We see examples of media bias in many ways. Sensationalism is when a news story is presented
with loaded language and in dramatic fashion to interest the reader.
Bias is not the same as Fake News. Bias means having an opinion or feeling that is preconceived
sub continually. Strong bias makes it hard to have an objective view on reality. Acknowledging
some pieces of information and ignoring others based on our personal values, benefits, and
beliefs can lead to irrational or illogical conclusions and decisions and can cause many problems.
This is called cognitive bias. There is also confirmation bias, where one seeks information that
confirms our own belief and ignores information that confirms the opposite. This is something
that we all have to some degree and is considered part of human nature. If someone who does not
believe in climate change searches “Why climate change is not real” they will probably find
some articles confirming this belief regardless of if it is true or not.
It is important to remember that supposedly neutral news agencies and reporters can be biased in
the way they cover and portray world events without it being fake news. Precisely because these
individuals have their own opinions and beliefs. But bias can result in a higher chance of
misinterpreting reality. It also means that if fake news is aligned with our own bias, we are more
likely to believe it. Therefore, fake news spreads easier because of bias, especially if opinions are
presented as facts. On one side, we have bias by omission when information is left out of a story.
But on the other side, we have bias in the selection of placement of information, which is when
information is exaggerated and placed intentionally in front of the reader to influence. An
example of this would be the way some articles word their headlines to serve on a specific
narrative and discredit or ignore the other.
Fake News can be misinformation as well. For example someone on Facebook shares an article
absentmindedly without checking the reliability of the source or doing any research on the topic.
The information being shared is false, but the person sharing it does not necessarily know that.
We have for example seen a lot of fake articles regarding the new 5G technology and its link to
our immune system. This claim is lacking both scientific evidence and real credibility.
Fake news could also be disinformation, which is information strategically distributed and
intended to cause harm to society. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we saw examples of fake
news stories and false information about the origins of the virus and the effectiveness of the
vaccines. Which likely resulted in the deaths of many due to ignorance about the virus.
So what is the purpose of fake news? On one hand, it is simply to get attention. Clickbait leads to
more views and shares, which translates to more revenue for the website. On the other hand, It
could be to cause a stir or to get a reaction out of people. A more sinister and dangerous purpose
is to divide the public or to discredit a movement, a person, or a group of people. This method
could be used in politics, or by fossil fuel interests to discredit research about climate change. All
in all, whether the motivations are sinister or not, the main purpose of fake news is to manipulate
people’s opinions and thoughts.
Fake fews makes it difficult and challenging to separate truth from fiction. It can also increase
polarization in society. Which causes the political and social distance between people to become
greater. The division between Democrats and Republicans, for instance, has increased in the last
few years. Which in turn leads to more fear and mistrust between both sides. It also makes it
harder to communicate and engage with one another.
Fake News can be powerful enough to destabilize society. We saw an example of this recently
when a group of Trump supporters and right-wing activists stormed The Capitol Hill in
Washington D.C, on January 6th, 2021 in an attempt to stop the ratification of the 2020 election
result. This resulted in Trump getting impeached for a second time and him being permanently
banned from his now-infamous Twitter account. This goes to show if enough people are
misinformed by fake news, it can threaten Democracy. Democracy depends on citizens being
informed. If the citizens are bombarded with Fake News about the country and its leaders, it can
influence elections and freedom of speech.
A different form of misinformation is Conspiracy Theories. Some of the most famous conspiracy
theories include the moon landing being a hoax and how the US faked it to take the title of being
the first country to step foot on the moon. Another famous conspiracy states that the earth is flat,
there’s the conspiracy that Princess Diana’s death was no accident. Although these conspiracies
are fun to research and discuss they can also be extremely dangerous if people believed they
were real.
Misinformation can also be used by states to justify wars in the eyes of public opinion. Like
when the US spread misinformation about Saddam Hussein possessing weapons of mass
destruction, which ultimately led to the invasion of Iraq. A more recent example is Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine. The so-called “special military operation” was justified on the basis of
liberating the people of Ukraine from Nazis. This claim was based on little to no facts and shows
the true danger of misinformation and fake news.
These severe threats remind us why media literacy and critical thinking are crucial and
particularly more important now, in the digital age, than it has ever been before. Precisely
because we are surrounded and exposed to many different media that we interact with on a daily
basis. The media today is much more varied and available than before, and even though
everyone has a certain degree of biaswe must be able to digest information critically and have an
open mind about it. Exposing bias helps make reality clearer, more nuanced, and closer to the
objective truth.