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Is there actually a misinformation "problem," or is the issue overstated?

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Is there actually a misinformation "problem," or is the issue overstated?

Introduction

The issue with misinformation is that it is not overstated. It is a problem. It has been

particularly the case in a crisis, as observed during the COVID-19 pandemic around the world.

During the period 2020, when the pandemic struck the world, misinformation on social media

varied between 28.8% and 0.2% as a proportion of information disseminated online. There is no

restriction on information published on social media. Despite attempts by Facebook to regulate

fake news, there is still plenty of misinformation originating from the platform. During a crisis,

individuals tend to seek new information from conventional media, such as news channels, with

a mix of digital news from medial social platforms. Because of such tendencies, individuals tend

to expose themselves to a lot of information that becomes a problem for them to interpret and

check for credibility and quality, further facilitating misinformation. All this is happening

because social media has increased the pace with which individuals can share information online

with their peers in a pervasive way. Lack of information regulation, information overload, and

the ability of information to spread rapidly is a problem contributing to misinformation that

could undermine democratic rights and societal organization.

Discussion

Lack of information regulation

Proactive regulation should be implemented in a way that takes into account the

practicality of its objectives. That means evaluating who should be in charge of protecting

consumers, and whether or not restriction is essential whatsoever. A regulation should prove
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helpful before it can be enacted (Epstein, 2020). Regulators are historically designed to

safeguard or aid a society or a group inside a demography, and perhaps that is plainly apparent

below. Online misinformation is a great challenge, and there is a pressing necessity confront it.  

Misinformation can be opposed in three major ways: lack of regulatory oversight, self-regulation

by technology companies, or government laws. Because these three are not effectively

implemented, the problem of misinformation continue to mar our society.

It is also common for policymakers to be seen as the best option for dealing with internet

misinformation campaigns because of their size and resources. However, several government

institutions are reluctant to implement laws or strategies that would combat the spread of

misinformation through social media platforms around the world.  More than 40 countries have

taken necessary steps against the spread of false information on the internet since the beginning

of 2019 (Epstein, 2020). Despite that, only a handful, approximately eight countries

established measures aimed at discouraging misinformation coming, which shows that there is

still a serious need for concerted efforts from government to take appropriate measure to limit

misinformation in the society. 

With the help of sticky information, social media platforms, such Facebook, Twitter, and

YouTube are successful in keeping their users curious, engrossed, and active for as long as it

takes Such an information is bolstered by algorithms which influence the consumer experience

can also play a role in any policy matters that might be made (Epstein, 2020). Among the most

useful curators of content consumption on the web are algorithms.  On YouTube and Facebook,

which are among the most social apps for making false claims, uses such algorithms to

direct people to extreme content that contain misinformation. 

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Information overload

There is a fierce battle for individual’s attention due to the overabundance of information

(Menczer & Hills, 2020).  Long before the proliferation of internet and media tools, Herbert

Simon - an economist and Nobel Prize winner noted that, " What information consumes is rather

obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients.  Because of the "attention economy,"

consumer losing access to reliable and credible information (Menczer & Hills, 2020). Human 

unwillingness perceive everything in their social media feeds has caused them to share content

which are partially or entirely false, according to an OSoMe framework generated by the

research group.

Cognitive biases exacerbate the issue significantly. Human ability to comprehend

additional information is limited to the extent to which they can accommodate it into

their existing knowledge base (Menczer & Hills, 2020). It is common for individuals to sought

out, remember, and comprehend information that confirms their preexisting beliefs. It is difficult

to modify such an habit. Studies have indicated that even if presented with information from a

range of standpoints, individuals are more likely to critically examine their preexisting beliefs.

Furthermore, research shows that showing the same information to an individual with opposing

views on highly fraught issues like global warming strengthens their commitment to their initial

position. Individualized incentives given by internet and social networks are only going to make

the situation murkier (Menczer & Hills, 2020). Humans recognize information, which are most

likely to align with and shield them from information that could challenge their beliefs through

social media feeds. Divisiveness can attack humans just because of that.

Ability of information to spread rapidly

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The advancement of technology has increased the rate at which people receive and share

information online. Although, it is plus having transitioned from conventional society where

means of spreading news where only limited to Television and Radio. There are considerable

downsides to rapid spread of information. When information spreads rapidly, individual

tendency to curate reliable and credible information diminishes, which are already observed

earlier in the article. According to Fox 2018), the intensity with which misinformation spreads

in the society is alarming in comparison to reliable information. There are several factors that

contributes to this and one of them is the pervasiveness of information technologies and tools

that facilitate the spread of misinformation. Government and political entities and individuals

have taken the advantage to spreading misinformation on social media because of its ability to

reach the masses instantly (Fox, 2018). Such divisive tactics have become common particularly

with several messaging applications that currently people use for communication and

maintaining their social lives.

Conclusion

Misinformation remains to be a problem in the current technology world because of

factors, such as lack of information regulation, rapid spread of misinformation, and information

overload that democratic rights, and social progress. The widespread and development of social

media tools, such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter and messaging application are facilitating

rapid spread of information. As a result, individuals become overloaded with information, which

they cannot distinguish from reliable and quality information causing them to spread rapidly

because tech companies and government have not implemented strategies for regulating

misinformation.
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