Recrudescence d'un vieux problème

On the web and social networks, everything appears on the same footing: the true as well as the false, the validated information as well as the fake news invented from scratch. How can we protect ourselves from this toxic information?

While 81% of Canadians believe they can distinguish fake news on the web, the reality is quite different. Experiments conducted by researchers have determined that only 37% are able to do so. And it's not a question of age...

At the heart of the misinformation problem is the 'confirmation bias', well known in social psychology. For specialists in the field, it is clear: we tend to favour information that confirms our opinions, and to neglect or ignore information that contradicts them.

Researchers have found that content that generates strong emotions spreads fastest on our social networks. So it's not surprising to learn that creators of fake news are trying to scare or shock us.

In addition to our tendency to prefer content that confirms what we already think, algorithms contribute to lock us in a bubble where nothing penetrates, except the information we adhere to. Experience this by clicking only on videos of cats. Soon, your news feed will be invaded by cats!

It is often assumed that the fight against misinformation will be achieved by implementing regulations or by Facebook, YouTube or Twitter taking steps to eliminate the problem. However, the solution also lies with us! First, we need to do some collective soul-searching and recognize that many of us react to an article... that we haven…

Even if social networks remain rather opaque as to how their algorithms work, it is obvious that they favor photos, videos and memes rather than in-depth articles.

Social bots, often referred to as 'bots', are actually algorithms programmed to complete a series of tasks and simulate human behavior on social networks. For example: finding friends, following accounts, liking a page, responding to comments and relaying information that is not always credible.

'A lie can circle the earth by the time the truth puts on its shoes!' We may never know who, between Mark Twain and Jonathan Swift first uttered this quip, but it does illustrate the situation today.

Checking the source of an information, who is the author and on what type of media it is published, is the basis to know if an information is credible. Sometimes, you have to go further and go out of the site to know who you are dealing with, especially if you are asking about an important or controversial subject.

Someone you know shares a fake news story on their Facebook page. Are you risking a storm if you tell them about it? Some studies have shown that correcting someone who shares fake news can have a boomerang effect.

On social networks, we read, listen and watch what our friends like, comment on and share. Researchers believe that this type of tribal functioning makes us more vulnerable to misinformation, since we are more likely to trust information shared by someone we know... even if we suspect the information is false!