The Huffington Post really hit the nail on the head with its Nov. 14 article, “Bernie Sanders Could Replace President Trump With Little-Known Loophole.”
It’s not because the article, which goes on to say, “Read this article and then share with your friends,” actually exposed how Sanders could take the presidency from Donald Trump. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
Inside the article, there’s a gotcha moment where author Matt Masur points out there is no secret loophole. Sanders won’t replace Trump, and there’s no system in place to make that a reality.
But many likely never figured that out. Masur’s point was, in the quick-moving world of Facebook and Twitter, users scan article headlines and share them, many times without even reading them.
This isn’t a new concept. But Facebook is an easy platform to share content quickly and often since everyone and their grandmother uses it. And, despite your name and often your face being attached to the profile, it’s much less controversial to give an opinion than if you were looking someone in the eyes.
The problem here is confirmation bias. People find news – sadly sometimes fake news – that confirms what they already believe. They then believe it more strongly, and oftentimes, begin to form systems of argument around it. Some of those headlines may be true, but what about when they aren’t?
Spreading falsities can cause others to do the same, until everyone is showing their confirmation biases openly and proudly – without a hint of awareness.
We’re all guilty of this. It’s much easier to digest a piece of media you agree with. It’s not challenging, and as I said, it affirms something you already believe to be true.
But failing to challenge yourself leads to complacency, and worse, the ability for others to control you fairly effortlessly. I think we can all agree that’s not ideal.
Responding to complaints that phony news stories played a role in the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg pledged the company would take steps to stop fake news and hoaxes from becoming viral.
A study by The New York Times points to a post about paid protestors being used to demonstrate against Trump being shared more than 350,000 times on Facebook. Trump himself even shared the “news,” which ended up being fake. Another post, according to The Huffington Post, gathered vitriol with its headline in all caps: “FBI AGENT SUSPECTED IN HILLARY EMAIL LEAKS FOUND DEAD IN APPARENT MURDER-SUICIDE.” The article from the Denver Guardian – a fake news site – was shared over 568,000 times.
While Facebook is the platform, the onus cannot be placed entirely on the website, even though it recently tweaked its algorithm to show you news that conforms to your worldview. Its users chose to share that fake or misleading news. They chose not to read beyond the headline and spread misinformation to others. Their friends did the same.
I find myself coming back to a “Harry Potter” quote – Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody’s “constant vigilance” catchphrase.
Those two words are good advice for any situation.
To survive in the online world, one must be vigilant. Trust must be earned. You cannot give anything the benefit of the doubt. Does that URL or emailed file look fishy? Then don’t click on it.
The same can be said for the massive amount of information on the internet. It is extremely easy to confirm your own beliefs. But the source of that information isn’t always up to par. That’s where you come in. You have the ability to weed out the fake, and just outright wrong, information. You have a brain. Use it.
While you’re at it, spread the message of “constant vigilance.” It may not be as easy as passing along yet another BuzzFeed top 10 list, but it’s beneficial for all involved.
Springfield Business Journal Web Producer Geoff Pickle can be reached at gpickle@sbj.net.
