2. Social media are a catalyst for the
advancement of everyone's rights.
It's where we're reminded that
we're all human and all equal. It's
where people can find and fight
for a cause, global or local,
popular or specialized, even when
there are hundreds of miles
between them.
“
”- Queen Rania of Jordan
3. Psychology vs. Platform
• Surround ourselves
with like-minded
people
• Suggest connections
and content based upon
your likes and your
friend’s likes
6. To the best of
your
knowledge,
how often do
you see fake
news while
using the
internet or
visiting sites
such as
Facebook or
Twitter?
Source: Morning Consult; ID 649234
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
More than
once a day
About once
a day
About once
every few
days
About once
a week
Less often
than once a
week
Do not know
/ no opinion
Shareofrespondents
7. The information you get from
social media is not a substitute for
academic discipline at all.
“
”- Bill Nye
8. Agree to Disagree, Don’t Delete
It is the mark of an educated mind
to be able to entertain a thought
without accepting it.
“
”- Aristotle
9. Recognize Fake News
• Read past the headline
• Check the news outlet
• Check the publish date/time
• Who is the author?
• What links and sources are used?
• Search if other news outlets are reporting it
• Think before you share
10. What is interesting is the power
and the impact of social media...
So we must try to use social media
in a good way.
“
”- Malala Yousafzai
Hinweis der Redaktion
Welcome everyone. Thank you for having me.
I want to start with this quote from Queen Rania of Jordan. The use of social media has made us all equal and sometimes anonymous. This has empowered us as individuals to be more involved than we might otherwise have been.
The content you see on social media is shaped by both you as the user and by the sophisticated algorithms used by social media platforms. We inherently surround ourselves with people and friends that are similar to us. We want to be around people that have similar beliefs, similar values, and similar viewpoints. This directly translates to social media platforms.
As an example, Facebook’s newsfeed algorithm looks at roughly 100,000 factors to determine what you see in your feed. Newsfeed Visibility equals…
So, how does this relate to fake news and alternative facts?
Fake news is deliberately publish hoaxes, propaganda, and disinformation purporting to be real news, often using social media to amplify the effect. Satire news, like The Onion for example, is different. The Onion is meant to entertain, not intentionally mislead the reader.
Fake news on the Internet has existed since the creation of the Internet. Our recent political campaign amplified the use of fake news and the effect it can have on our perceptions and our society. Anyone can create information, even if not based on fact, and be seen as a credible source of information.
31% of users on Facebook and Twitter report seeing fake news more than once each day. To put in perspective, this is 554.9 million users out of Facebook’s 1.79 billion active monthly users.
It is up to us, as responsible users, to change the vicious cycle of fake news and make sure we are not continuing to amplify the dissemination of such material.
First, we have to find common ground with each other. Don’t delete people because you have a difference of opinion or viewpoint.
Do your due diligence and take a moment to recognize fake news. These are some of the simple steps that you can take before sharing information with the world.
Social media platforms only works as we, as humans, have programmed them to. I challenge everyone in this room to be better digital citizens and not to perpetuate the use of these tools to amplify propaganda and the spread of misinformation.