Keeping (Mis)informed

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Social media is a fantastic tool for spreading news and connecting the world, but it is also profoundly easy to spread misinformation. Just recently, I was inundated with TikTok videos sent by family members– who shall remain nameless – about conspiracy theories regarding the Emergency Alert System (EAS). There were theories reminiscent of the Y2K bug everyone was warned about leading up to the new millennium. We were warned the EAS would shut off all communication and catapult us into an apocalypse, while there were other claims that ensured world domination after microchips activated inside our bodies. Microchips implanted by the Covid vaccines, of course. There are also really beautiful movements on social media meant to raise awareness to issues of marginalized people. Social media was used to bring the Flint Water Crisis to the attention of people nationwide. Ever after the news stopped covering it, people still used #FlintWaterCrisis to inform the public that Flint, Michigan did not have clean water for years.

People have short attention spans, unfortunately. Even if a topic is intended to harm, if it is presented in an entertaining manner, we pay attention. Over the last ten years, we’ve all seen politics play out on social media by country leaders like a bad reality show. There is also the other side of that coin in which social media allows us to see the sometimes deadly repercussions policies have on countries and its people.

The conversation of banned books has again been playing out on all social media platforms. Here’s Milwaukee Public Library’s response: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8rCwYpm/

Comments

  1. Ellen DooleyOctober 10, 2023 at 8:15 PM

    Excellent use of social media by the Milwaukee Library, for sure. You may have also seen some of the many videos of librarians in mugshot scenarios holding banned books that I've see in my Facebook & Linkedin feeds. The Flint Water Crisis is another great example of positive messaging.I didn't know about the #, but do remember the extensive, well-deserved press coverage, and it's nice to know the social media trending likely helped. Let's hope that those using the platforms for good keep at it because they are up against formidable forces (like that EAS system)!

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  2. Samantha MatherneOctober 10, 2023 at 8:39 PM

    I also saw many conspiracy theory ideas about the recent emergency alert test on TikTok. Real news is exhausting enough sometimes. How some people can create whole outlandish ideas based on facts and then spread those ideas across social media takes more energy than I have in me. Social media certainly gives people a voice to spread news and ideas, but a far-reaching voice is not a good thing for everyone to have. Great points you have brought up here.

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