The spread of misinformation through social media has been a prevailing topic, particularly today as its effects are more blatantly realized. Like many others, I was appalled by the seizure of Capitol Hill, but not surprised that the violence transpired. The association of conspiracies over COVID is another example of the rendering of “fake news” phenomenon. A previous post by Aaron also brought up recent misinformation of abductions occurring in BC’s lower mainland. I personally had family and friends reaching out and sharing this Tik Tok to alert me to be more vigilant. I gently reminded them that vigilance should be practised and not readily giving credence to everything you read or hear from social media. I sent them a CBC article warning users of the misinformation being spread about these said abductions.
When I encountered this article by Kastrenakes, I was hopeful that perhaps it was possible to find a balance between engaging with others online and retaining some control over the content we choose. The article summarizes Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s intention to provide users with a mechanism to choose the algorithm that best suits their online experience. The intention is not to censor users from content but rather engage the user to choose their online experience rather than relying on a single company to provide an algorithm. If successful, users would have more choice over what content they would like to see.
https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/9/22275441/jack-dorsey-decentralized-app-store-algorithms