Students today face a confusing digital landscape with endless sources of information and opinions. Navigating this complex maze of online conversation is extremely challenging and can lead to misinformation spreading like wildfire.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, Threads and other platforms, has used a third-party fact-checking system since 2016.
Many praised the program for moderating misinformation. Others criticized it for perceived political bias in the content it chose to moderate.
After years of defending the system, Meta changed their tune. The company announced on Jan. 7 that they will be switching from the fact-checking system to Community Notes, similar to the system used by X. The new system passes responsibility to users to identify misinformation.
Former critics of Meta’s fact-checking system celebrated the switch as a win for free speech. Others said it is a misstep in the fight against misinformation.
“We have lost our sense of what it means to be censored,” Dr. Sam Martin, Frank and Bethine Church chair of public affairs, said. “To be censored means for someone to prevent them from saying [something] in the first place, and that wasn’t happening on Facebook. All that was happening was things were coming down, or posts were being flagged, and I think that that was actually providing an important service.”
The consequences of misinformation extend beyond social media, shaping young people’s attitudes toward politics and civic engagement.
“There’s a kind of general cynicism about politics and public life that seems to grow with each subsequent generation,” Dr. Martin said. “The more that false information permeates any conversation, the more cynical people become. And the more cynical people become, the less likely they are to participate.”
Meta’s decision is controversial, but it emphasizes a crucial truth that we, as students, need to realize — We are not able to rely on anyone else, including fact-checkers, to tell us what is true.
The only way for us to become informed and savvy media users is to take ownership of our media literacy and prioritize critical thinking. Dr. Seth Ashley, a professor of Communications, gives valuable advice on how we can use critical thinking to our advantage when analyzing political content online.
“Start by asking ‘Who created this message?’” Dr. Ashley said. “‘Why did they create it? What purpose does it serve? What is it helping me achieve?’”
Asking these simple questions will help us determine what content is worth our time.
“One of the great questions is ‘Should I share this?’” Dr. Ashley said. “If you start there, that can help shut down a lot of bad stuff from the start. If people would just not pass it along if it’s garbage, that would help, but it’s usually the opposite that happens … People are more likely to pass on things that are false when they have [an] emotional reaction.”
Misinformation divides us, fueling anger and resentment towards those we disagree with. While healthy debate is important and can inspire change, it isn’t beneficial to get angry over things that aren’t fully true.
“It’s as important as ever to have confidence in your own ability to research and digest information and be really good at deciphering true from untrue,” Cayden Stone, a student in the School of Public Service, said. “As the younger generation, we need to be the ones who are driving the issue on media literacy, on understanding our voice and understanding what is and what isn’t accurate.”
It’s easy to assume we already know what’s true, but our preexisting beliefs can cause us to make assumptions before doing adequate research.
“Something we talk a lot about in the Political Science realm is confirmation bias,” Stone said. “You have your preset beliefs and values, and that can lead us to only seek out information that confirms what we want to hear. I think the big challenge right now is pushing ourselves to go outside of that boundary.”
It’s hard to question things we want to agree with, but double-checking all information we see, especially when it might be divisive, will help us be more informed and confident in what we know.
“It’s vitally important to the future of democracy, that we all, despite any political beliefs or preconceived notions we have, are always critically thinking,” Stone said.
The bright side of having endless information at our fingertips is the opportunity to be more informed than ever. Not relying on fact-checkers to do the heavy lifting for us allows us to strengthen our media literacy and critical thinking skills in a digital world.
It’s our responsibility to prioritize honesty and fairness online regardless of our political beliefs, ensuring a future where the truth doesn’t just survive — it thrives.
This Post Has 6 Comments
Social Media has brought entirely new meanings to the first amendment.
Awesome article!
Great article Jaycee! I’m proud of you!
Excellent article. Well-researched and articulated. Great job, Arbiter!
Very informative!
Great job on this article! Your piece is a timely reminder of how important it is to question and verify information before sharing it.