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How to stop getting Fake News

November 28, 2016 / in Articles / by

Remember when Donald Trump called his party (republicans) “the dumbest voters in the country”? Well, that was not true!

With the advance of technology and social media, the internet has become a valid place to get information. But, with the proliferation of outputs -due to the simplicity it means opening sites- it has created an increasing number of pages devoted to creating fake information whether it is to amuse, critic or shape the public opinion. Whatever it may be, it is necessary to say that just because something is said on the internet, it doesn’t mean it’s true.

How to stop getting Fake News

How to stop getting Fake News

Here is where Facebook has a serious “fake news” problem, since it makes it harder to distinguish a real article from a false one. Sites dedicated to generating fake information are good at taking advantage of Facebook’s news feed algorithm. To understand why, we must comprehend that what each of us sees on our news feed depends on the content we like, share and comment the most; so, fake news sites publish content with the soul purpose of becoming viral so they can sell ads. In conclusion, it’s not about informing people, it’s about making money.

Besides from “Fake News”, there are other types of information we need to battle so we can stop people from assuming everything they read on the internet is true. For example, satire, that has no desire to be real and serves an entertainment purpose but can be assumed as real, or Misleading News which make use of real quotes and real events but taken out of context.

Here are some simple tips to avoid getting fake news:

  1. Check the url
  2. Verify if it’s a current story or a repost of an old one
  3. Notice if there are other outlets reporting the story
  4. Ask yourself: Are the quotes-pictures-videos traceable?
  5. Don’t accept anything as “complete information”- if you read something that caught your attention, investigate more about it to have a full picture.

Only us, as consumers, can stop the intoxicating purpose of sites to use the credibility of people to make money. Whether it comes from Facebook or any other social media, we need to regain the power of choosing what to believe in by fact checking everything that is said before giving it our endorsement.

The role of social network in the USA elections

November 14, 2016 / in Articles / by

One of the most interesting and intriguing political campaign has come and go, and thus Donald Trump has been elected the 45th elected president of the United States of America. Analysis have flooded the newspapers, webpages, etc., arguing how and what determined his win, considering numerous factors that were part of his and his opponent, Hillary Clinton`s campaigns; one of those factors being social networks, which took a fundamental role in the election of the new POTUS.

Here, we share some insight about how social networks influenced the engagement of citizens on the election day therefore setting an example of the impact social networks have in public matters:

Facebook: The most used social network served as an interactive site to get to know the candidates running for president: their postures, their websites, their latest posts, etc. It also worked as a simulator of the polling centers so voters could preview how their ballot would look like. And as usual, Facebook worked as a platform for citizens (from USA and around the world) to express their opinions and be aware of the development of the election day.

Twitter: The role of Twitter in the elections changed during the day. At first it worked as an enabler of voters who could send a DM with their address and it replied with information such as where they voted and who were the candidates. And as the day went by, it functioned as an information source to canalize the results and deduce the outcome.

Snapchat: In this election, Snapchat, as always, attracted the younger voters or “millennials” with its popular filters; it also served as a tool to see politicians and citizens interact during the 8th of November.

Tinder: Even the dating site worked as a toll to help voters decide their endorsement. Instead of swiping through faces, the app allowed to choose between issues and ultimately matched the citizen to his or hers “soul-candidate”.

Other apps also played an interesting role during the campaign and the election day such as Periscope, Spotify, and Uber, helping to inform, motivate and mobilize people (specialty young voters) to go and vote. This is just a glance of social networks potential to engage society in public affairs, making it clear for businesses, governments, and organizations in general the importance of using these dynamic tools to improve interactions and increase institutions’ performance.