When was the last time you sat down for an hour to watch the news or read the daily newspaper? My answer would be about two to three weeks ago. I use social media for news more often than other outlets. I will occasionally use my phone and search for breaking news on google and find articles to find out what is going on around the world/nearby.
I hate to admit that I use social media more than any other source to get the news, but it is the most convenient for me since I am always on my phone. One thing I do worry about is that social media is not always a reliable news source compared to watching the news/reading the newspaper. I never fully trust a news source without doing my own research. Social media may be an easy outlet to discover news, but you never know what is 100% true unless you do your own research
According to the Pew Research Center, "Most Americans continue to get news on social media, even though many have concerns about its accuracy". News from television, online, and newspaper seems to be more trustworthy to Americans, but social media is the most prominent outlet where people get their information (even if it is not as trustworthy). News on television and paper can have more reliable sources because of reporters, witnesses, etc.. Social media can be trustworthy in my opinion if it is linked to a reliable source and other sources have similar stories.
Social media is not one hundred percent a reliable news source in my opinion. I believe that it is 50% accurate and 50% inaccurate. I usually trust news more (social media wise) if it is on Facebook or YouTube. The reasons are that YouTube can show videos of the event and people share news on Facebook. However, I never fully trust news on social media (news on TV as well) until I do research on it though to confirm its accuracy.
The Statistics Portal did a survey on the "perceived level of accuracy of the news seen on social media in the United States as of March 2018". The results revealed that 34 percent of consumers stated that they believed 76% or more of the news on social media to be inaccurate.
Personally, I will look at least 5-6 articles on the topic on social media and then check news sources. If there are similar stories, then I will usually assume it is true. It is pretty easy to find out if it is false information by doing that research. I never fully trust a news source without researching. Social media may be an easy outlet to discover news, but you never know what is 100% true unless you look for the information yourself.
According to John Hopkins, "Social media can provide instant news faster than traditional news outlets or sources and can be a great wealth of information, but there is also an ever increasing need to verify and determine accuracy of this information." Many people wonder how they can spot and avoid being given false information. I have a few key tips I found that will help you be able to quickly determine false and truthful information being spread.
Here are the key elements to look out for provided by John Hopkins:
#1. Location of the source - are they in the place they are tweeting or posting about?
#2. Network - who is in their network and who follows them? Do I know this account?
#3. Content - Can the information be corroborated from other sources?
#4. Contextual updates - Do they usually post or tweet on this topic? If so, what did past or updated posts say? Do they fill in more details?
#5. Age - What is the age of the account in question? Be wary of recently created accounts.
#6. Reliability - Is the source of information reliable?
As I have stated before, I get most of my news information from social media as well as many Americans. However, it is always important to do your own research if you want to be positive that the information you are reading is completely true. It never hurts to do more research. Everyone has the time to scroll through their social media feed, so there is enough time to pause and ask yourself "is what I am reading the whole truth or am I being lied to?" It doesn't hurt to do some extra research and find out if it is all true. In the end, social media is a great way to get fast information in my opinion. I just like t get all my facts before sharing my knowledge with friends and family.
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