Reading 10

Prior to this reading assignment I was familiar with the concept of fake news but did not really understand how wide spread it is. The term is tossed around by everyone and it is often used as a scapegoat for when someone does not share a common belief with another. The Cambridge Dictionary defines “fake news” as false stories that appear to be news, spread on the internet or using other media, usually created to influence political views or as a joke. With our world becoming more and more online and social network driven, it is becoming very important to double check what you are reading and what others want you to believe. To me, it is amazing to see how effective some fake news articles can be, appearing to look and sound like an actual event or story.
I think that fake news is mostly annoying but believe that in some circumstances it can be very dangerous. I think that some people are too quick to judge and ultimately are very gullible and do not fact check stories that seem like they may be embellished or outright false. In these cases, those who have been tricked are not able to provide an educated opinion on the topic which could ultimately lead to them voting for someone they otherwise would not have in an election, for example the 2016 Presidential Election. Even though I do acknowledge how dangerous some fake news stories can be, I do not believe that technology or social media companies should be able to monitor or censor these stories from their websites. If we allow these companies to do so then we set a precedent for them to filter stories and possibly only provide their users with one side of the story.
When scrolling through my Facebook or Twitter timelines, I do often come across fake news. However, I am well aware of this and hardly ever read them. When I do read them, it is solely for entertainment purposes and I keep in mind that whatever the story is saying is not necessarily true. I do not believe it is Facebook or Twitters responsibility to censor these stories and remove them from their website, instead, I believe it is the readers responsibility to fact check the information themselves. In my opinion, it is foolish to let one story sway your beliefs that much, and that we can avoid this by check multiple sources to see if they present the same facts of each story.

I found the Ted talk on Filter Bubbles was very interesting. The idea that if two people can search for the same thing and get different results based upon past searches and interested is troubling. I believe that everyone should have access to, and immerse themselves into different cultures and ideas. By doing this, people are able to make decisions having seen both or all view points on a topic. By filtering what people see when they search for something, tech companies are impeding on this process.

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