Escape Misinformation – Let Captain Kirk Show You How #misinformation #socialmedia
Skeptoid has a new podcast episode on spotting misinformation. None of us wants to be duped, so let’s defeat the con artists.
Listen to the podcast or read the transcript by clicking here. The details are worth your time. For a summary, consider Star Trek, The Original Series, Day of the Dove.
An entity composed of pure energy [that’s the 0s and 1s of the internet, all flashing through servers somewhere out there]
… feeds on the hate and anger of other beings [social media platforms make more money when you engage, and posts that excite emotion get more clicks/likes/shares/comments]
The entity traps Enterprise and Klingon crews on a ship [social media companies get you and me addicted to their platforms]
… and exaggerates their pre-existing distrust, causing them to battle each other in bloody hand-to-hand conflict [algorithms promote content that generates outrage, drives hate, makes others seem like your enemy]
Captain Kirk figures out what the entity is doing, and the Klingon captain does too [check out the Skeptoid podcast: How to Spot Misinformation – you and I can so this!]
They cease fighting as enemies [stop feeding the social media beast – stop engaging with outrage]
… and literally laugh the creature off the ship. [Respect others. Watch videos of lol cats.]
Humans and Klingons don’t stop disagreeing, they don’t become best friends forever, but they join forces and make life better for them both. Yes, this can definitely be you and me.
If you see a post that punches your emotional buttons, be suspicious. That tingle in your chest, heat rising in your face, heart beating faster – all red flags.
Whenever you see a post on social media that you recognize to be algorithm-driven propaganda, starve it of oxygen. Hide it. Block or mute the sender when appropriate. If it’s posted by a friend, message the friend that it looks like it’s probably algorithm-driven propaganda — make sure you do it as a private message and not as a comment on the post itself, because any comment (even a negative one) counts as engagement and boosts that article even more.
What news sources are both reliable and unbiased? Fortunately I can give you my favorite four right now: Associated Press, Reuters, United Press International, and the BBC. These are according to my preferred source, the Interactive Media Bias Chart from Ad Fontes Media.
If the story’s bogus, someone else has almost certainly already done the work for you. Check it out. Search for it on a couple of your favorite of these top four fact checking websites: Snopes, Politifact, FactCheck.org, and BBC Reality Check. Skeptoid [Are these sources any good? Check them against each other. See if they raise those red flags!]
Everything important in life, I learned from Star Trek.
