Did the Internet bring more good or evil? Justify your opinion.

In my view, Internet brought a lot of good to our lives, making it possible for us to
save time and money on various areas of life. Firstly, it is a limitless source of
information. Every time we can’t figure something out, we are one click away from
finding out the answer to a troubling question. Additionally, a range of entertainment
sites varying from the ones offering movies to watch to those focused solely on music
never fail to please even the most picky user. Apart from that, working from home
has become a reality.

But we can consider Internet as an invention that has been more harmful than useful.
Probably its main drawback is the fact that it is highly addictive which can lead to
neglecting other aspects of life and people that had up to this point been put first.
Other than that, it has become incredibly difficult to control the online activity of
children who are, after all, most prone to acquiring wrong patterns of behaviour and
then pursuing them in real life.

A great deal of easily accessible and widespread 'fake news' is also

a threat, especially in our pandemic times.

The disinformation spreading on the Internet is a big problem for both the creators of
the content and its recipients. "Fake news' is nothing more than arbitrary, imaginary
and completely untrue information on a subject which is important for many people.
The term 'fake news' is also associated with the term 'deep fake', meaning a false
image of companies generated by machines and algorithms. "Fake news' spreads
very quickly through people who believe in it, which is fostered by the social media.
The incidence of false messages is increasing as the Internet becomes more
accessible.

I found the latest “fake news” concerning coronavirus pandemic

which appeared on the Polish Internet.

1. Ban on the sale of alcohol after 19:00 - Minister Schreiber denied the
rumours that the government was planning to ban the sale of alcohol after
19:00.
2. The Norwegian Prime Minister apologised for the lockdown - The online
graphics are false, the Norwegian Prime Minister, Erna Solberg, has never said
such words. Erna Solberg did not apologise for the lockdown, according to the
manipulated graphics. The Prime Minister did not admit that the Swedish
model was right, nor did she mention that she was 'stunned by propaganda'.
3. Belarus was offered a lockdown bribe - For more than a month now, there
have been videos circulating on the web which, in the words of the President of
Belarus, base a new conspiracy theory that an organised group consisting of
the IMF and the WHO has bribed the governments of many countries to
persuade them to introduce a lockdown. No, first of all, it was Belarus that
came to the IMF, not the other way round. No one proposed measures to
Belarus, the country applied for them itself, but the terms of the loan did not
match. However, it obtained funds from another source. Unfortunately,
Lukashenko is not the leader that some would have liked to see him. The
whole affair seems to be just an attempt to build the image of a tough leader.
4. Obligatory hospital surveys - On 7 August, a post from a man appeared on
Facebook, which shown a photo of the survey from the hospital in Włocławek.
The author of the post suggested that the obligatory survey could be used to
"conquer statistics". Surveys carried out before entering the hospital are
intended to facilitate the assessment of who may be affected by COVID-19 in
order to refer patients to the right entrance. The information about forcing
people to fill in questionnaires in order to raise statistics is completely false. It
results from a misunderstanding of the situation and a lack of willingness or
inability to explain it on the spot.
5. Coffins in the Bergamo church - On the Internet, this picture was very
popular, accompanied by a description that the deceased in coffins are victims
of COVID-19 disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection in Italy.
No, this photo does not show the coffins in the church in Bergamo. This photo
was taken in the hangar at Lampedusa airport in October 2013, after a
shipwreck that cost the lives of over 300 people of African origin. As a result of
the sinking of the boat, 366 people died and 155 were rescued. Twenty people
were declared missing.
How can we check the accuracy of the information? And how to
avoid “fake news”?

1. If the information appears to be overstated, do not share it with your

colleagues and friends
2. Check a reliable source of information, there is a site like fakenews.pl