The Essay Process (Final)

Week 11
Date: 31 March 2015
Exercise: The Essay Process (Final)

In this era, data and information can be transmitted all over the world with just a click of a button. This is very efficient as news and information are known within a few seconds after occurrence of an event. However, the reliability of information on social media is questionable. False information or misinformation refers to “the act of giving wrong information about something” (Oxford University Press, n.d.). Although everyone should be well-informed by the news promptly, it is crucial for the news to be accurate. This essay aims to analyse the cause and effect of misinformation while assessing the existing solutions and suggesting new solutions.

There are a few reasons for the spreading of false information on social media and they can be intentional or unintentional. Vis (2014) states that the reporting of breaking news is a priority for some media outlets. This causes the overlooking of the time-consuming verification process; the news is published without ensuring that it is precise. Hitlin (2003) suggests that some media outlets might intentionally release false reports to draw readers’ attention to scandal. For example, reports that stated the crash of Trans World Airline (TWA) flight 800 was due to a missile is much more exciting and attractive than accurate reports that revealed a technical problem in the plane as being the root cause.

Misinformation on social media should be avoided because it has serious impacts by reaching a large amount of the population within a short period of time. As such, it might cause extensive social panic. For example, Chandrathil (2012) reported a rumour of a radiation leak on the border of Indiana and Michigan because of abnormal radiation reading being detected by two non-governmental radiation monitoring networks. Then, a YouTube video about the “radiation spike” further spread this false information and the public started to raise their concerns by flooding the related government agencies with panicked calls. Apart from this, false information might be perceived to be a fact once it is widely accepted, thus affecting public understanding and knowledge. The fake images and information might affect public perceptions on certain issues, which are favourable to parties with a vested interest.  Guest (2014) claims that companies might propagate the messages that are able to shape the beliefs of consumers, hence making their services or products to be more appealing. For example, the 10 world’s largest food companies instil the concept that “lack of exercise is at least as important as diet in causing obesity”, although it is scientifically proven that diet is a larger factor than lack of exercise which leads to obesity (Guest, 2014).

Recently, a high number of cases of misinformation on social media has been discovered and it gained the attention of the readers. Therefore, it is important for the senders to be cautious about the credibility of the source and accuracy of the information to prevent the circulation of false information. For example, Cable-news channel MBN had released a live interview regarding the Sewol Ferry Disaster in South Korea. The interviewee named Hong Ga-hye, who claimed to be a private diver said that the coast guard had stopped her from saving the survivors trapped inside the sunken Sewol. It was later found out that Ms.Hong had lied about her identity and her argument was proven to be fallacious. Finally, the cable channel apologised for false reporting and not checking the identity of the interviewee carefully (Nam, 2014). In this case, the source of information should be verified and the information should be double checked between different sources such as the government agency and the interviewee.

In addition, authors should not be biased on the issues reported. This is because they might influence and shape readers’ views by providing information that is incorporating with their own ideologies. Hence, Stéphanie (2014) suggests that in the verification and narration process, the journalists should remove their personal emotions to prevent phrasing of information that might be misleading to the readers. For instance, the information reported is accurate; however, the choice of words is hinting the readers to think negatively. Besides, authors should be ethical in debunking the false rumours after verification. A peer review system can be implemented that requires authors to check on each other’s reports before the reports are allowed to be published. This ensures that only true and neutral information is delivered to the readers.

On the other hand, receivers of information should be aware of false information. Vis (2014) believes that readers should assume that online information is false before confirmation. For instance, readers could cross reference with more than one source to assess the credibility of a report. If the information is consistent across different resources and authors, the information is more likely to be correct. Moreover, they should doubt the information released by media outlets before the conduct of the full investigation or report from reputable publishers or official statements from government agencies. The full credible report from authorised agencies might take a longer time as compared to the information on social media; nevertheless, careful confirmation and detailed evaluation should be conducted.

In conclusion, the internet is a powerful tool which has made the world become borderless. Internet users are inundated with news and information and it becomes challenging to determine the information that can be trusted. To solve this problem, authors should ensure the accuracy of the information while readers should interpret and check the reliability of the message before accepting it as a fact.

References
Chandrathil, P. (2012, June 19). Radioactive Rumor Mill Doesn’t Help Anyone. Retrieved February 23, 2015, from U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov/2012/06/19/radioactive-rumor-mill-doesnt-help-anyone/
Guest, G. (2014, June 26). Lean-washing: Profiting from misinformation on what causes obesity. Retrieved February 23, 2015, from Michigan News: http://ns.umich.edu/new/releases/22264-lean-washing-profiting-from-misinformation-on-what-causes-obesity
Hitlin, P. (2003). False Reporting on the Internet and the Spread of Rumors: Three Case Studies. Retrieved February 23, 2015, from Gnovis Journal: http://www.gnovisjournal.org/files/Paul-Hitlin-False-Reporting-on-the-Internet.pdf
Lux, A. (2008, December 12). Spread of false information causes dangers, says Sunstein. Retrieved February 23, 2015, from HAVARD LAW Today: http://today.law.harvard.edu/spread-of-false-information-causes-dangers-says-sunstein/
Nam, I.-S. (2014, May 16). Media Outlets Apologize Over Sewol Ferry Disaster Coverage. Retrieved February 23, 2015, from The Wall Street Journal: http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2014/05/16/media-outlets-apologize-over-sewol-ferry-disaster-coverage/
Oxford University Press. (n.d.). misinformation. Retrieved February 23, 2015, from Oxford Learner's Dictionaries: http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/misinformation?q=misinformation
Stéphanie, D. (2014). Case Study 1.1: Separating Rumor From Fact in a Nigerian Conflict Zone. Retrieved February 23, 2015, from Verification Handbook: http://verificationhandbook.com/book/chapter1.1.php
Vis, F. (2014, April 16). How Does False Information Spread Online? Retrieved February 23, 2015, from social science space: http://www.socialsciencespace.com/2014/04/how-does-false-information-spread-online/