Misinformation

You’ve most likely had the discussion with your children not to believe everything they read on the Internet, and especially with the digital world that we are in, that you cannot believe everything you see. Image manipulation has become commonplace and has become increasingly common in scientific research as well, with images duplicated, manipulated and/or "borrowed" from other data sets. Elisabeth Bik has become one of the world's preeminent image sleuths because of her amazing ability to spot fraudulent images that accompany scientific research. A recent article talks about her unique skill set, how she got into the field, and how her sleuthing capabilities have become so prized. It may make you think that we all need to pay more attention to what we see online. Could you be an image sleuth? The article includes an interactive test you can take to see if you can spot 5 duplicated images.

In its latest effort to improve content transparency leading up to the US election, Facebook is adding new location markers on individual business profile posts, on both Facebook and Instagram, which will highlight where the managers of that page or account are primarily located, helping to provide additional context. That’s another tool for you and your kids to use in combatting cyberbullying and misinformation. This new transparency feature will be particularly important with the election in the fall of 2020.

The recent and rampant flurry of harmful misinformation about coronavirus has been labeled an “infodemic” by the World Health Organization (WHO), and there are many attempts to curb the spread. Facebook recently announced that it would begin to let users know if there were posts that they have liked, commented on, or shared that included misinformation about the coronavirus. Facebook will then point the notified user in the direction of a reliable source. Advocates who want Facebook to take the same actions for political posts say this may be a breakthrough in the battle against false information. It is important in researching this topic to understand the terms when talking about “fake news”. In the language of online security, “disinformation” means the coordinated, purposeful spread of false information, while “misinformation” refers to accidental inaccuracies. This is another conversation to have with your kids about making sure they (and we!) don’t believe everything read on the Internet.

Common Sense and Survey Monkey recently polled over 800 U.S. teens to find out how they're coping with having their lives upended by the coronavirus, and what they do for connection. Not surprisingly, they're stressed out, they are worried about school and many are feeling lonely and disconnected. Texting and social media are lifesavers, but if your kids aren't texting or using social media yet, you can let them use your phone or computer to FaceTime or Zoom with a friend or relative. You can even set up regular times to video-chat with important people in their lives. Keeping these connections is vital. One interesting item from the survey is that, compared to pre-pandemic times, more kids are going directly to news organizations for information instead of learning about it from friends and family. Make sure to talk to them about vetting their sources for news.

At first glance, this infographic from Social Media Today with statistics about online product reviews may not seem relevant to a discussion about cyberbullying, however one statistic stands out. The research indicates that it takes 40 positive reviews to undo damage done by just one negative review. That same kind of disproportional damage can be inflicted with bullying comments online. This kind of evidence can give your discussion with your kids of how to steer clear of cyberbullying a bit of real world perspective.

The coronavirus virus pandemic is offering a whole new set of challenges for parents and kids who want to be sure they are vetting and evaluating the media frenzy surrounding the outbreak. To this end, Common Sense Media is offering a set of Resources for Families During the Coronavirus Pandemic that can be very useful including how to explain the news to kids, apps to help with mental health and stress and how to teach kids to be media savvy.

U.S. technology companies, including Microsoft, Facebook, Google, and Twitter, are working together to quell misinformation about the coronavirus on their platforms using artificial intelligence. With workforces shifting out of their offices, some operations are forced to change as well – including content moderation. For many of these social platforms, there is an increase in using automated enforcement systems to detect violations. The companies, which also include LinkedIn, Reddit, and YouTube, said they were working in coordination with government healthcare agencies around the world to share critical updates about the virus, but don’t be surprised if a perfectly innocent post of yours gets caught up in this web.

Misinformation and fake news has ramped up as information about COVID-19 continues to spread. An Australian newspaper article discusses three ways you can help your kids think critically about the news. It reminds parents to help kids identify reliable news sources, a rather standard approach, but goes further by exploring how in light of this crisis some media may exploit emotions. The article also suggests parents help their kids be on the lookout for stories that may present certain people in a discriminating way. An added bonus is a link to a short sci-fi drama that can help kids aged 12 and older recognize media bias.

Did you receive an update or post from your children’s school on social media that seems a little off? Fake accounts for schools and school districts, and even school administrators, have popped up all over the country. Most of the claims on the sites  - like a feral skunk being loose in a school building that has to be closed and burned down – are so outrageous that most parents spot them or figure out they aren’t coming from the school’s regular communication channels, but these kinds of accounts do pose all kinds of dangers, especially in emergency situations.

Schools are fighting back by sending out clarifying messages on their actual Twitter and Facebook pages and immediately forwarding the fake message to school, school board leaders, and local media to inform them of the issue so they don’t accidently share the false information.

In these divided times it is easy to blame social media for much of the partisanship and misinformation that is flooding the internet. But a new study from the Pew Research Center suggests that there is overall bipartisan agreement that news that comes from social media sites is suspect. Incredibly, almost two thirds of adults don't trust Facebook as a source of news — and the numbers are mirrored on both sides of the aisle, with 59 percent of Democrats (and independents who lean that way) and 62 percent of Republicans (and independents who lean that way) reporting distrust. The numbers are similarly symmetrical for Twitter (46 percent distrusted by Democratic voters, 51 percent for Republicans) and Instagram (41 and 45 percent, respectively). 

On the whole, a whopping 72 percent of people in the survey said they trusted news information on social media sites either "Not too much" (38 percent) or "Not at all" (34 percent). As for the people who do trust their feeds to be factual: Only 15 percent of people across both sides said they trusted Facebook, 12 percent trusted Twitter, 6 percent trusted Instagram, and a slightly concerning 17 percent trusted what they saw on YouTube.

While is hard to know exactly what these numbers mean and what kind of “news” people are referring to, it is reassuring that many people seem to be aware that everything they read online may not be true. It is definitely a message that parents need to remind their children of constantly. And one positive note, new research from the Reboot Foundation suggests that it is possible to cultivate students’ ability to spot fake news by learning to "read beyond the headline," "check the date" and "check your biases."