{"id":2114,"date":"2024-07-19T09:06:12","date_gmt":"2024-07-19T16:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.digivideoplus.com\/dv_blog\/?p=2114"},"modified":"2024-07-29T08:53:21","modified_gmt":"2024-07-29T15:53:21","slug":"rabbit-holes-of-misinfo-keeping-critical-thinking-in-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.digivideoplus.com\/dv_blog\/2024\/07\/19\/rabbit-holes-of-misinfo-keeping-critical-thinking-in-play\/","title":{"rendered":"Rabbit holes of misinfo \u2013 keeping critical thinking in play"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a>
“It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.” \u2013 Mark Twain<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Who likes being fooled by a con?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scams are one thing, and there’re tips to avoid those, whether via USPS (paper) mail, phone, email, text, etc. Whether obvious or not, the business model typically is about money \u2013 monetizing<\/strong> your personal data, either directly or indirectly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what’s the business model for misinfo<\/a>, disinfo, and all the varieties of outright falsehoods \/ fabrication \/ propaganda? What’s the payoff?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, instilling outrage always has an agenda, seeking our buy-in. Creating uncertainty \u2013 where there really is well-established consensus \u2013 alters policy decisions<\/a>. And now AI is in the mix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social media is a delirious, inexhaustible fountain of information \u2026 what could go \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

If you are not paying for the product (or service), you are the product.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
“You can’t reason someone out of something that they weren’t reasoned into in the first place.” \u2013 Mark Twain<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Critical thinking<\/a> requires reflection. Yet, we are prone to taking shortcuts. Gut reactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’re some tips to avoid rabbit holes of deception. See the full article for details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Washington Post > “How to avoid falling for misinformation and conspiracy theories<\/a>” by Heather Kelly (July 15, 2024) \u2013 There\u2019s a flood of real, misleading and fake breaking news and information online. Proceed with caution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Think about who would benefit from spreading confusing information during a news event. \u2026 Some [misinformation] is created just for fun or to troll people, so be as skeptical of silly stories as serious ones.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Why misinformation exists<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Examine your gut reaction<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Slow down while reading or watching<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Find the original sources<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Make a collection of trusted sources<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Don\u2019t use AI to get news<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Seek out additional context<\/strong> about news events<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Use these tricks to spot AI images<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. Vet videos and real images, too<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. Use fact-checking sites and tools<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Related posts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 Midstream Musings > “the speed of truth \u2013 Mark Twain quotes<\/a>” \u2013 Pondering the challenge and pace of misinformation<\/strong> \u2026 some famous Mark Twain quotes from a time before social media and AI bots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Related books<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Kosseff, Jeff (2023). Liar in a Crowded Theater: Freedom of Speech in a World of Misinformation<\/strong>. Johns Hopkins University Press. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    DiResta, Renee (2024). Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality<\/strong>. PublicAffairs. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Who likes being fooled by a con? Scams are one thing, and there’re tips to avoid those, whether via USPS (paper) mail, phone, email, text, etc. Whether obvious or not, the business model typically is about money \u2013 monetizing your personal data, either directly or indirectly. But what’s the business model for misinfo, disinfo, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2113,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,6],"tags":[246,217,245,33],"class_list":["post-2114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-research","tag-deception","tag-misinformation","tag-propaganda","tag-scams"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.digivideoplus.com\/dv_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.digivideoplus.com\/dv_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.digivideoplus.com\/dv_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.digivideoplus.com\/dv_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.digivideoplus.com\/dv_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2114"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.digivideoplus.com\/dv_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2127,"href":"https:\/\/www.digivideoplus.com\/dv_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2114\/revisions\/2127"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.digivideoplus.com\/dv_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.digivideoplus.com\/dv_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.digivideoplus.com\/dv_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.digivideoplus.com\/dv_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}