Information Overload is Fueling Fake News on Social Media Platforms

 

The term "fake news" was popularized during the presidency of Donald Trump, referring to false or misleading information being presented as legitimate news. Cognitive biases feed into people's belief in fake news, particularly when this information comes from their trusted "in-group". While this phenomenon isn't completely unavoidable, social media platforms have been purposefully used to exacerbate the issue. 

In order to make a profit, news companies and influencers have one job: get as many people to click on as many articles, tweets, posts, etc. as possible. When you open an app like Facebook or Snapchat, you are instantly overwhelmed with a barrage of information, some of it contradictory. We can't possibly process all of this information at once, so our cognitive biases decide what we pay attention to and fill in the gaps for us. Social media sites have a similar goal: keep you engaged with their platform for as long as possible. Despite their overwhelming success in doing so, users tend to only see the top few posts in their feed at a time. According to researchers at Indiana University Bloomingdale, this is how the "winner-takes-all" popularity pattern thrives. A post or article gains traction quick, becomes viral, and is inevitably shared by well-meaning people despite being false or partially untrue. 

Adding cognitive bias to the mix only makes things worse. Through confirmation bias, our minds are constantly trying to adjust new information to fit what we already know. Because of this, we often seek out information that further confirms our beliefs. This isn't something that's easily fixed - studies show that even when people are provided with balanced information from various perspectives, they still tend to find supporting evidence for their pre-existing beliefs. Combined with the emotional storm that hot-button topics and social media fuel, people become even more attached to their original perspective. Social media algorithms reinforce this by giving personalized recommendations to users, creating an echo chamber for belief systems to grow even more extreme. 

So how can we combat this? Curbing online manipulation is our best hope. Apps like Fakey and Hoaxy train people to spot manipulative tactics, false information, and bots. They also help users find their weaknesses so they can become less vulnerable to target fake news. Applications like BotSlayer track social media posts and flag users that may be a bot or fueling false information. 

Overall, there is great reason to be concerned about how constituents are getting their political news online. Misinformation fuels extremism, furthering the political divide in the United States. (Source)