Week 2 Assignment - Melany Keroglyan

Week 2 Assignment - Melany Keroglyan

Post 2-3 examples of mis/disinformation from social media or other digital sources to our course blog and explain how your examples relate to themes or arguments in at least two of the readings above. Be specific, glossing each of your examples with at least a few sentences that make clear ties to the readings. Be prepared to discuss the articles in class, paying attention to how they are alike and how they differ.

Disinformation is quickly spread on the platform “Twitter” through satirical hashtags and the ability to retweet/quote tweets. In Caroline Jack’s reading, “Terms for Problematic Information,” they explain, “The “trending topics” lists on social networking platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are a relatively simple example of computational systems affecting the circulation of content. Such lists elevate a particular topic’s perceived importance, and can be gamed relatively easily if an individual or group wants to create the impression of widespread public interest in a topic.” (Jack 3). These features on the app can be manipulated by online users circulating disinformation as gags, as they can share misleading texts with hashtags, spreading their news to a broader audience and, in turn, gaining widespread visibility, leading to online popularity. Viral retweets and quote tweets are sometimes the rapid spread of fake news if individuals unaware of the falsely presented information as a farce transmit deceptive content without confirming it as factual first. For example, Hurricane Hilary caused an uproar of satirical tweets; some users claimed that the flood attraction during the Universal Studios tour ride was a real outcome of the hurricane, while other users were digitally altering their videos to show homes and garages flooding. With over 1,000 retweets and quotes, @jeremyjudkins_, a verified user on Twitter, tweeted, “Hurricane Hilary is so bad. Look at this Tesla owners garage. It’s completely totaled.” However, this tweet was fact-checked by the community notes feature on the app which stated, “This video appears to digitally altered using the Lidar 3D AR Camera Effect iOS app.” 

• Tweet link: https://twitter.com/jeremyjudkins_/status/1693364978709827830?s=42&t=4Y9pESU8eRv7v3nrAoLSvw

In Rachel Kuo and Alice Marwick’s reading, “Critical Disinformation Studies: History, Power and Politics,” they explain, “Corporations, state actors, and politicians have always spread false and misleading narratives to achieve their ideological goals. This is not just a problem with social media platforms.” (Kuo and Marwick). Disinformation to sway public ideologies is not a recent spectacle. They have occurred for years, influencing and controlling the public view, affecting how people vote and perceive individuals of specific backgrounds. Newspapers, radio, film, and other media have been used to share deceptive reports. For example, the COVID-19 anti-vaccine disinformation began with multiple right-winged individuals using social media to spread incorrect information, leading to reluctance for others to get their vaccinations and declining vaccination rates. People claimed the vaccine was a government scheme to induce autism in individuals and contain radiofrequency transmitters. Others also claim that COVID-19 does not exist and instead share holistic remedies that can result in harmful health consequences. NPR reports on a group named “Disinformation Dozen,” responsible for spreading the hoax on social media. “The claims from the “Disinformation Dozen” range from “denying that COVID exists, claiming that false cures are in fact the way to solve COVID and not vaccination, decrying vaccines and decrying doctors as being in some way venal or motivated by other factors when they recommend vaccines,” Ahmed said.” (Bond). 

Works Cited

Bond, Shannon. “Just 12 People Are behind Most Vaccine Hoaxes on Social Media, Research Shows.” NPR, NPR, 14 May 2021, www.npr.org/2021/05/13/996570855/disinformation-dozen-test-facebooks-twitters-ability-to-curb-vaccine-hoaxes. 

Kuo, Rachel, and Alice Marwick. “Critical disinformation studies: History, power, and politics.” Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review, 2021, https://doi.org/10.37016/mr-2020-76. 

Caroline Jack, “Lexicon of Lies: Terms for Problematic Information” https://datasociety.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/DataAndSociety_LexiconofLies.pdf