How well is twitter controlling misinformation?
Before diving into the specifics of Twitter, I will go over some concepts I spent time exploring this week. I had a base level understanding of trolling and misinformation, especially having some of my formative years during Trump’s presidency. This week, I came to understand that there is debate over the definition of trolling. Some instances of trolling are really just witty humor, while others can be offensive and upsetting. There is more debate than one might expect over the topic, because people worry that imposing restrictions on what people post may limit free speech. On the other hand, leaving comment sections and social media sites unmoderated can allow for offensive language, hate speech, bullying, etc. So where do we draw the line? If we are simply looking to find reliable information, free of these issues, we should look for reliable sources. This is done by researching the credibility of our information. Mike Caulfield explains this process, but most importantly explains that we should check the credibility using outside sources, not trusting information from the source itself.
It has been a long time since I have faced any issues on the internet. In middle school, I think most people had some unfavorable experiences on the internet. I would describe any that I was part of as playful, teasing about crushes and sending anonymous messages. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to be the only types of negative experiences young people (or people in general) are facing. I know people who were deeply hurt by anonymous messages and who were bullied on mainstream social media platforms. We also hear about this in the news and see it played out in our tv shows/movies. I think the best thing to do when this happens to you is report it to the platform and do anything you can to avoid interacting. As a third party, it could be helpful to report it, but also offer messages of support or opposing views to help the person impacted.
My favorite platform has been Twitter for a number of years. Part of the reason it is one of my favorite apps is because, in a way, anything goes. The comment sections are full of competing opinions and new information. This is also something that can lead to misinformation and arguments. I have seen this happen many times, though I rarely engage in discussions on the app. Throughout this election process, I had been noticing a lot of tweets flagged as misinformation, so I found an article on why that is. The tweets are still visible after clicking through the warning. This was meant to combat misinformation on the election, Covid 19, and other major news events happening right now. I found this information on NPR, a source I have long trusted. I also followed the steps this lesson provided, looking on Wikipedia.
