Why are we fooled by the Internet?

By: Steven Clay

Introduxtion:

"Donald Trump's father a member of the KKK", "Biden calls Trumps supporters "Dregs of society"", How does such outlandish rumors about two presidents of the United States become two of the biggest piece of fake news seen on facebook in 2019? How does information like this spread through social media sights like facebook and why does it blow up to the point that so many people see it. A bigger question is why doe people believe these type of rumors when they see it on there own.In todays day in age we live in a world where anyone can access a large sum of information at any given point in they want. Through the internet we learn whatever we want at whatever time we want. The internet allows for information of any size to be spread in an instant for anyone to see. One big way we access that information is through social media. Through sites like facebook, instagram, and twitter information like news, rumors and other information is shared and discussed through these different platforms. In spaces such as social media how misinformation like outlandish rumors spread and how often do people believe these rumors. Also Why are people so easy to believe such misinformation when they see it on social media platforms. These are valid questions to ask in this day in age of the internet and social media.

HOW DOES IT SPREAD

Misinformation is spread through social media mainly due to the fact that social media is one of the biggest forms of communication in the world. Millions of people around the world use social media and so much information is spread and consumed every second on these platforms. This allows for misinformation of any kind to be shared through social media.The people who consumes this misinformation then share it with other people on the internet. This can cause a cycle of spreading misinformation that can lead to wild rumors or fake news being seen by millions of people.

WHY DO WE BELIEVE IT

People believe misinformation on social media and the internet for many reasons. One big reason is that people will believe false information if the information supports their views on the world. If you hear negative information about a celebrity you dislike, you're more inclined to believe it because of your dislike of this person. This can affect the way view political information or scientific information. This personal bias we all share can affect the way we view information. Another way is that some false information may have small truths to them. False scientific information can be believed if there is a small amount of true information attached to it. This makes it difficult for us to navigate through true and untrue information. One last important reason why we believe false information is how popular the misinformation is. If you see a post about a crazy rumor or an unbelievable scientific discovery. You may be tricked into believing it if the post itself has a lot of views or a lot of likes.

How to find the Truth

In this age of the internet and social media we are constantl fed information that we may or may not know. To nagivate through these information some studies say the best way to tell if something is true or not is to just simply pay attention to what you're seeing. On socail media we tend to scroll and not look back if we just take everything we see for granted we will never learn the truth. SImply carefully reading some of the craxy rumors we see on the internet can go a long way to figuring out what is true and what is not.

Works Cited:

Weir,Kirsten.February 11,2020. Why we fall for fake news: Hijacked thinking or laziness?. American Psychological Association.February 26. https://www.apa.org/news/apa/2020/fake-news

Woo Marcus. February 11,2021. How online misinformation spreads. Knowable Magazine. February 26 2022.https://knowablemagazine.org/article/society/2021/how-online-misinformation-spreads

Gilbert Ben. November 6 2019. The 10 most-viewed fake-news stories on Facebook in 2019 were just revealed in a new report. Insider. February 26 2022. https://www.businessinsider.com/most-viewed-fake-news-stories-shared-on-facebook-2019-2019-11#5-ilhan-omar-holding-secret-fundraisers-with-islamic-groups-tied-to-terror-6