Critical Thinking

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Misinformation in the Media
Misinformation can be defined as an action of misleading or the condition of being misled, or merely false incorrect information. This false and inaccurate information is usually passed along and propagated by otherwise innocent people who are just misguided and believe in them (Sheridan 3). Technology has blurred the lines between true and false information. The internet is loaded with tons of information on just about anything, and there is no way you can easily discern which content to digest and which not to. The more significant part is, misinformation is mostly laced now with little facts—probably taken out of context—to make it pass for genuine information (Menczer 1). There are this prevalence and persistence in rumors and false information in the modern society which seems to take root every single day. For instance, the issue of vaccines has been a source of debate for a while now with some people abstaining from them out of rumors that these vaccines are harmful (Lewandowsky et al. 2). This misinformation eventually results in breakouts of diseases that could have otherwise been prevented by vaccination.
The one mistake people make by believing that misinformation can easily be discredited and ignored, the vaccine example proves otherwise. Misinformation is authoritative, and it is undoubtedly not authority-controlled but peer-controlled. When it comes to the web, every fact has a counterfeit version of it (Anderson and Rainie 4).

People are seeking truth depending on their idea of that reality, meaning they will most likely go with the information that agrees with them. It becomes easier to fall for doctored narratives.
Most people tend to take as fact or significant whatever information they find from sources they believe to be reputable or sources that have influence (Francois 11). Any loud-mouthed kid with a laptop in his mother’s basement and thousands of followers can come up with something, and it will not be surprising if many take it for a fact, why, because he has influence.
During the last U.S presidential elections, the fake news was rife, but how do people land on these fake news sites? During the election period, many people claimed that social media, especially the big ones like Facebook, played a significant part in exposing people to fake news (Guess et al. 7). Although fact-checking websites are trying to counter the pervading extent of phony news and misinformation, the percentage of people who are aware or even concerned with it is relatively small.
The problem of doctored narratives and misinformation in the media is probably not going to end anytime soon, not just because it can be relayed through a long chain of duped individuals, but also some of these fabricators depend on it (Ordway 2). They have turned it into a source of income since there are an undeniably ready market and the unclear distinction between what is genuine information and what is not. The fact that misinformation can be kept on for personal reasons makes it even harder to correct. The worst impact of misinformation is that it can still persevere long after it has been discredited (Nyhan & Reifler 6). The reason for this is the manner which people like to make casual extrapolations with whatever information readily available to them concerning specific outcomes and events. For this reason, incorrect data may keep influencing beliefs even after being discredited if measures are not taken to replace it with a credible alternative.
Works Cited
Anderson and Rainie. “The Future of Truth and Misinformation Online.” Pewinternet.org. 19, Oct. 2017, www.pewinternet.org/2017/10/19/the-future-of-truth-and-misinformation-online/Allcott and Gentzkow. “Social media and fake news in the 2016 election.” The National Bureau of Economic Research. 4, Feb. 2018, http://www.nber.org/papers/w23089Francois, Patrice. “Managing misinformation online.” Thenextweb. 26, March. 2014, thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2014/03/26/pursuit-truth-brands-guide-managing-misinformation-online/
Guess, Andrews, et al. “Selective Exposure to Misinformation.” www.dartmouth.edu. 9, Jan 2018.
Lewandowsky, Stephan et al. “Misinformation and Its Correction.” Sagepub. 2012.
Menczer, Filippo. “Misinformation on social media: Can technology save us?” theconversation. 28, Nov. 2016, https://theconversation.com/misinformation-on-social-media-can-technology-save-us-69264Nyhan and Reifler. “Displacing Misinformation about Events.” Cambrodge.org. 1, April. 2015, www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-experimental-political-scienceOrdway, Denise. “Fake news and the spread of misinformation.” Journalistresource. 1, Sept. 2017, https://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/internet/fake-news-conspiracy-theories-journalism-researchSheridan libraries. “Information and its counterfeits.” Sheridan Libraries. http://guides.library.jhu.edu/c.php?g=202581&p=1334961