By Alexandra Kogan
Information is a powerful thing. It spreads in seconds ad affects millions of people. During pandemic, most of the information is spread through the social media, which has outgrown its standards over the years. One of the major problems is that there is a ton of data that is not being supported with the evidence beforehand and millions of people are being misled. Not only there are ads that are being posted all over the internet, but there are also famous people, who are role models and can affect the mindset and beliefs of the population. This is why, in my opinion, the information has to be controlled and supported with the evidence beforehand as the lives of many people may be affected by it. Public has to feel safe and be comfortable in their government for the COVID-19 to end sooner and more people to be cured and protected.
At this period of the pandemic, there isn’t one single answer about the symptoms or the consequences of the virus. As we get more information, it creates the support for the previously posted data, which can be counted as the support for the specific topics. However, the problem that can happen is that if the past information was wrong and later the new one on the same topic is being posted, people will start making assumptions that both of them are full of truth. This is where the confusion starts. The unstoppable spread of the facts is the main issue for the misunderstanding and misconception around the world. People began having different views and may not see the whole picture the same. The Harvard Gazette published the article “Battling the “pandemic of disinformation”, where it says that people should scrutinize more and pay more attention to the source and the main idea of the information they are reading or watching.
One of the main reasons why the disinformation is such a serious issue is because it can threaten people’s lives. As the nation pays close attention to the social media, they may be influenced by multiple factors—social media influencers, ads, news, promotions, etc. This is where the confusion is spread as uninformed people are posting their thoughts on some of the issues, on which they have no specific knowledge. The United Nation’s article stated about this chaos, “when disinformation is repeated and amplified, including by influential people, the grave danger is that information which is based on truth, ends up having only marginal impact.” Some people don’t take social media seriously and don’t understand the power of the facts that are being published all over the world. Even though it is not always possible to prove information beforehand, there should at least be the evidence from the educational cites or from the professional, especially during the pandemic, as the issue is not only a socially important problem but also a medical and a political one.
On the social media, not only the citizens post information that can affect the understanding of the COVID-19. Foreign countries are playing a huge part in posting the information that is public to the whole world. The wrong information may be used to influence the views of the other countries or to show their own in the different light. As the article “Recognizing disinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic” from John Hopkins University posted, one of the examples of the disinformation has been foreign government influence campaigns, when countries like China and Russia made an impact on the press to control and keep some of the statements hidden from the nation. Such uncontrolled and “unfair” system can create a huge scandal and make a lot of disadvantages, as the country is following the rules and the news blindly. This is where the trust and confidence in people’s countries and governments are torn. There is the unfinished circle of the information around the world. First, people spread false information. Secondly, they continue to post other articles on the same topic and by doing so they create the support for the previously stated wrong data. And lastly, people begin trusting in the false facts that may heavily impact the lives and health of the citizens especially during the pandemic COVID-19.
Disinformation is a powerful thing. During the COVID-19, social media is playing an integral part, as it is one of many places where people spread their thoughts and may speak up on different kind of issues. From the psychological point of view, human society as it is tries to push their own beliefs and ideas in order to make their input into this social issue. However, due to this exact problem I think that information has to be followed with the evidence that is presented by the professionals or people who are well-educated in the specific sphere.
I absolutely agree that during the Covid-19 pandemic more disinformation is released through social media and organizations releasing misinformation. In an article by Clark Merrifield, he discusses how the Covid-19 pandemic is only viewed through people’s belief in politics and media. Your blog directly highlights how people are accepting more information about the pandemic from sources that are not reliable, and I think part of their reasoning is their trust in media sources.
One interesting interpretation is the difference between Disinformation and misinformation. Your blog focuses on disinformation and the intentional misleading of the public. However, an argument could be made that the information given by some sources is not intentionally misleading, but that more information is released, which contradicts previously stated scientific knowledge. For example, schools were shut down because children were known to rapidly spread viruses, and since COVID-19 is a virus, there was an inference that children would rapidly spread it. However recent research suggests otherwise. Now there is a giant debate about kids going back to school because of COVID-19. The idea of misinformation could greatly develop your blog, looking at both sides of the situation and whether it is intentionally misleading or just not up-to-date.
I agree with you that the information has to be backed-up by evidence but I partly disagree with the statement that the information has to be controlled. In a time where there is a huge amount of information and at the same time a lot of uncertainty, we still have the right to form our opinion about a topic and discuss it publicly. If everything has to be approved by for example scientists, how can we be sure that those aren’t government-controlled, so that we only spread information they want us to believe. I think there is a fine line between preventing disinformation and censorship.
It’s so interesting how because of the influx of information we now get as people, its so easy for the information to be manipulated and warped to fit into different things and biases. This pandemic just brought out how easy it is for a lack of knowledge about a subject can lead to so much non-compliance and even hate. It has been seen time and time again since this all started, even before it came to the United States. We saw a consequence of disinformation when people were taking the claim that the virus was started in china and warped it to fit their own prejudices towards Asians. I agree with a statement made in this saying how we need to be fact checking and looking at our sources of information so we won’t be victims of the effects of disinformation.
Joseph Tonjes – 8/2/2020
While I agree misinformation is a problem that needs to be dealt with in this modern era, I disagree with the idea of “the information has to be controlled and supported with the evidence beforehand”. The problem I have with ideas like that is who do you put in charge of deciding what information is correct. Social media companies often both have no interest in being the decider nor can they be trusted to do so as they are for profit companies and only look out for their bottom line. For that reason, I disagree that misinformation must be tackled by these platforms but it must be dealt with by creating a population who is able to figure out what is correct. It would be near impossible to have an unbiased organization that fact checks everything for the public so it must fall on the public to decide what to do. In my opinion, in the information age we live in there is too much information for it all to be fact checked by a trusted source so the people of the world must be taught how to tell information from disinformation.
Disinformation can be dangerous, especially when used by people in power. When famous people say their opinions, many would take it as fact without checking it out first. With the help of social media platforms, disinformation is preventing the real information from coming to light. Although the majority of these people are just saying whatever is on their minds, together, it creates one giant mess.
Take, for example, President Trump’s denial of face masks. When health experts say that face masks work and people should wear them, Trump opposes it. This causes some people to not use face masks, especially republicans. Another example would be during the beginning of the pandemic. When the covid-19 first appeared, China prevented information about it from spreading. This caused the unpreparedness of the pandemic. If the information was shared with others, more preparations could have been done.
The idea of disinformation is a terrific topic to choose from, primarily because of the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic. I believe that disinformation plays a vital role that played during the global crisis. As the duration of quarantining, social distancing, and use of masks increased, many citizens throughout the United States are following the role model of people they follow on social media, the news, and in their communities. Many times people are watching those who inspire, and they tend to develop the trends they’ve started. Typically, it could be through fashion, religious beliefs, and culture that affect people. But during Covid-19, it seems that some citizens struggled with following the CDC guidelines because they saw someone do the opposite of what was instructed by officials. Occasionally people look at information from social media platforms. They may be biased articles or stories said with half-truths. In the realm of half-truths, we lack a full understanding of the whole matter. We sometimes believe in what’s broadcast on social media, maybe because it’s more straightforward to grasp than reading an official statement/article by government or educational sources.
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One of the most frustrating aspects was how quickly false information spread on social media, often faster than verified facts. I remember feeling overwhelmed and confused, especially when trying to make informed decisions about my health and safety. This article does a great job of highlighting the importance of critical thinking and the need for reliable information during such critical times.
I also appreciated the emphasis on the role of technology companies in curbing the spread of disinformation. Personally, I felt a bit let down by some platforms that didn’t take stronger action against false claims. It’s crucial for these companies to step up and implement better measures to protect the public from misleading content.Correction de mémoire