Week 7- 8
Date: 8 March 2015
Exercise: The Essay Process (Draft 2)

In this era, data and information can be transmitted to all over the world with just a click on the button. This is very efficient as the news and information are known within a few seconds after the happening of a certain event. However, the reliability of information on social media is questionable because it might be too fast to come into a conclusion during the happening of event, resulting in false information. False information or misinformation refers to “the act of giving wrong information about something” (Oxford University Press). 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 solution and suggesting new solution.  

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

Misinformation on social media should be avoided because it has huge impacts by reaching a large amount of population within a short period of time. It might cause large scale of social panic. For example, Chandrathil (2012) reported a rumour on radiation leak on the border of Indiana and Michigan was spread because abnormal level of radiation was detected by two non-governmental radiation monitoring networks. Then, a YouTube video about the “radiation spike” had further spread this false information and 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. For example, the fake images and information might affect public perceptions on certain issues, which are favourable to parties with vested interest.   

Recently, the high number of mistakes on social media has been discovered and it gains the attention from both authors who post the message and the readers. To prevent the circulation of false information, it is important for the senders to be cautious on the credibility of the source and accuracy of the 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 herself as 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 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 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.

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 are integrated with their own ideologies. Hence, Stéphanie (2014) suggests that in the verification and narration process, the journalists should remove their personal emotion 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 to debunk the false rumour after verification. A peer review system can be implemented in the media outlet that requires authors to check on each other’s reports before the reports are allowed to publish. This ensures that only true and neutral information are 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. Readers can cross reference to more than one source to assess the credibility of report. If the information is consistent across different resources and authors, the information is more likely to be real. Moreover, they should doubt on the information before the release of full investigation or report from reputable publishers or official statements from government agencies. The full credible report from authorised agencies might take longer time as compare to the information on social media; nevertheless, careful confirmation and detailed evaluation have been conducted before the generation of report.   

In conclusion, the internet is a powerful tool which makes the world become borderless. Internet users have been inundated with news and information and it becomes challenging to determine the information that can be trusted. To solve this problem, authors should be conscious and ethical to convey solid 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/