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In the age of fake news, crusades of politicization and partisan orientation have burst into the arena of fact. Truths once accepted as common, apolitical beliefs have been used as political propaganda without any regard to the wider effect this distortion will have on the world.
With the increasing prevalence of disinformation, students entering the adult world have a responsibility to check the facts and only share credible news. Otherwise, all truth risks becoming distorted and untenable.
Never in our country’s history have we been able to see so clearly the connection between disinformation and its potentially deadly consequences. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, doubts have arisen about everything from effectiveness of masks prevent infection with vaccine efficacy, both being effective.
However, these two pieces of information must be regarded as well-known. We all know doctors wear masks to prevent the spread of disease, and vaccines have protected people from diseases once prevalent, such as polio, tetanus and measles.
“The fundamental problem with disinformation is that once people hear it, they tend to believe it and act on it, even after it has been corrected,” said Professor Dr Stephan Lewandowsky. of Psychology at the University of Bristol, in an article from the American Psychological Association.
The battle goes beyond the simple correction of mistaken opinions.
A recent – and gruesome – example of the threat misinformation present in the medical world is ivermectin, a veterinary drug that has spread across the internet and claims to be a quick cure for COVID-19. The false allegations spread so quickly that on September 4, it was reported that Oklahoma hospitals have been overrun by people seeking medical attention after taking the medicine.
First discussed in a 2020 publication by an Egyptian doctor, the claim that ivermectin allowed COVID-19 patients to recover quickly remained largely unchallenged until the doctor’s study that is retracted in July. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said the drug has no proven connection to help fight the virus.
The study, widely shared even after it turned out to be false, provides tempting evidence for those desperate to cure their active infections.
Is there a way to correct these misconceptions or prevent them from spreading in the first place?
Issuing corrections in response to disinformation is a strategy, science writer Zara Abrams said in an article by the American Psychological Association.
“However, it’s much more effective to vaccinate people against fake news before it’s exposed – a strategy known as ‘pre-bunking’,” Adams said in the article.
Pre-bunking works the opposite of typical fact checking. Similar to a vaccine, if we are exposed to small false information before we encounter it organically, we naturally become more resistant to false claims formed using this misinformation. As students, we can apply this technique whenever we come across new information by thoroughly researching topics and drawing informed conclusions.
In the case of ivermectin, the lack of additional research and basic fact-checking by consumers of information has led to the endangerment of lives in the United States. When your search consists of Facebook posts and stories shared on Instagram, the information provided is not verified. Without a second opinion from a trusted healthcare professional or additional Google search for confirmation, people’s lives have been put at risk.
As students, we must remain vigilant about the value of our own beliefs. We can start by analyzing the reliability of our own sources and understand how false information can spread online so that we don’t fall victim to misinformation.
A stellar search tool provided by IU is Social Media Observatory whose primary goal is to counter disinformation, information deliberately intended to mislead, and find out how it distorts the perception of truth on social media. A few clicks on this site can help you visualize the spread fake news, explore the behavior of bots on Twitter and discover the link between vaccine misinformation and vaccination rates across the country.
As college kids, we are often told that we are the “best and brightest” in America’s future. But to live up to these standards, we must ensure that we remain vigilant in our fight against disinformation and strive to stand up for the truth.
Chris Sciortino (he / him) is a junior student in theater and public relations. He’s involved with the Queer Student Union and College Democrats at IU and spends a lot of time showing people pictures of his dog, Ellie.
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