How Valid and Reliable is Your Information?

Fake news has been circulating the internet. Users most often believe them because of the usage of large and easy-to-access platforms that reach people worldwide. There are numerous benefits that the New Media provides nowadays, but this causes a real and relevant social issue for the world - fake news and misleading information that overshadows factual information from reputable and reliable sources. To counter this, it is important to be a user of media that remains analytical and critical.

Written by Ma. Jhezzalet Infante
Illustrated by Mic Santiago

Posted on November 6, 2021 | 12:25 PM

Jimmy Gomez, a United States Representative, once said, “When fake news is repeated, it becomes more difficult for the public to discern what is real.''

Fake news could manipulate one’s knowledge about issues in society. Just like how controversial the #Halalan2022 became after the candidates applied for their certificates of candidacy (COC) for certain government positions. Many misleading news and hoaxes about the topic have circulated the internet, which has led to people believing political information with no valid and reliable sources. Hence, it is essential that internet users should know how to be critical and vigilant when it comes to reading and analyzing news and information. The Information Age has provided us easy access to various information, but users should know how to evaluate the information they are gathering.

High-quality information has veered away from the users of media because there are algorithms that manipulate the information and turn it into false and inaccurate data. People will continue to believe in that information without identifying if the source is reliable. This was proven as provided in an article from the Scientific American written by Filippo Menczer and Thomas Hills, professors of prestigious universities in the United States of America. Data shows how vulnerable Twitter users are to fake information. It is seen in the data that the articles shared from sites have low credibility, yet many users continue to share them. Furthermore, it reported that fifteen thousand Twitter users share links from low-credibility sources, and the risk of spreading misinformation is incredibly high.

“...such algorithmic bias typically suppresses the quality of memes even in the absence of human bias. Even when we want to share the best information, the algorithms end up misleading us”, added by the writers of Scientific Americans, Filippo Menczer and Thomas Hills. Memes and false information can subjugate the high-quality information that reliable sources can provide. One of the many reasons why misinformation is easily spread on the internet is because of the people who continuously exploit the cognitive loopholes of the media. They could easily manipulate the algorithms of social media, which allows them to spread false information. Also, since a lot of people engage in sharing different unverified links and articles, it ends up being more viral than credible and reliable information.

Users of social media should be able to protect themselves from being misled by false information. Thus, being media literate is a must. Most of the time, misinformation comes from popular social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Tiktok. This often results in people believing such information because a lot of people are engaged with the platform. On that account, to make sure that the source of information is reliable, it is important to check the primary sources to determine if the provided information is reliable and factual. A writer from Arizona State University, Madison Arnold, provided tips on how users can protect themselves from misinformation.

When reading news articles, it is important to examine how the sources are being used. Some sources are not reliable, that is why professionals and experts in that field who provide sufficient evidence should be the only sources that are valid and reliable. Moreover, article headlines could also be misleading because they are used as clickbaits to intrigue readers and lead them to reading the articles. Reading beyond the headline is helpful to avoid believing in misleading headlines and to be fully informed of the article’s contents. Some articles may also not contain the complete information for a topic. Reading other articles should be done as well. Other articles could provide more factual information and this could be compared to other articles with a similar topic.

There are also situations when our friends and families share information on social media platforms even though they did not fully read and analyze the post. There should be an initiative to correct them and provide them with the correct information. Present them with information from credible sources so that it may result in leading them to sharing only credible and correct information. This may also lead them to be conscious about the things they post as they would know that they get to be fact checked at times.

A news about former Senator and 2022 Elections Presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., who claimed that he obtained a degree from the University of Oxford, one of the world’s leading universities, has sparked a big controversy nationwide. His supporters, named BBM supporters, went as far as countering other netizens by posting a class picture of Bongbong Marcos at Oxford University, saying that the previous claims that he did not get a degree in Oxford is false. In response, it was proven that the class picture was cropped for at the top of the uncropped photo; it was stated that it was a class picture of “The Freshmen 1975”. It was further confirmed by the Oxford Philippines Society, made up of Filipino alumni of Oxford University, through an official statement that Bongbong Marcos did not finish his degree which was also confirmed by the said university in 2015. He only had a Matriculation in 1975 for the Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics and failed this Degree’s preliminary examination at the first attempt. He also only received a Special Diploma in Social Studies in 1978 which is “not comparable, superior nor equivalent” than a Bachelor’s Degree. They also emphasized that their official statement is not for a political statement but shared that it is “in aid of public discourse in a time where disinformation and fake news are prevalent.”

Though, to be fair, it is not stated in the constitution that a College Degree is required to be eligible to run for the highest position in the Philippine Government. But of course, the issue lies in the fact that whether the person in question claims that he has a degree from Oxford or not.

Additionally, Patricia King, an author of an article from IDEAedu.org about how to analyze and critically evaluate ideas, arguments, and points of view, pointed out that engaging in political matters enhances students’ critical skills and will enable them different perspectives from other people’s arguments. Furthermore, a tip that she mentioned in the article is to “Help students develop strategies… assessing the quality and relevance of the data, evaluating sources, and interpreting the data”. Having enough knowledge about certain relevant topics could encourage students to engage in political matters and have a stand that they could elaborate and explain to other people, especially since the 2022 Elections are nearing.

Nowadays, political arguments contain memes and posts that accommodate information without reliable sources. When having a stance in political matters, reading and evaluating sources should be done first before sharing information and ultimately before engaging in any argument. Social media is a huge platform where different people with varying perspectives can manipulate other people with false information. Although, other than political matters, we should also know how to critically analyze information in other social topics as well.

Whenever we try to convey our opinion through any kind of media, we should use fact-based information and avoid using memes or other information that are not thoroughly explained and proven. Double checking sources may be time consuming, but having the right information could help yourself and others to be educated and informed.