Misinformation In The Information Era

As the internet has become more entwined in our daily lives, information, and our access to it, has skyrocketed. But how has this led to the spreading of misinformation? This week we consider how misinformation has become widespread in the age of the internet, and what this means for the future.

Truth and the internet

When the development of the internet was in its early stages, many news sources were optimistic about the opportunity for the internet to spread truth, and prevent the development and sharing of misinformation. At that point, it appeared as though the internet could rectify problems of misinformation that occur in word-of-mouth situations. Yet, misinformation can spread easily online. But why?

The internet is overloaded with information, and our access to it is unlimited. The internet is also largely social, meaning that the word-of-mouth instances of misinformation that existed before the development of the internet are still able to snowball online. In fact, in some instances, misinformation can reach more people than verbal misinformation ever could. As we have become overloaded with information, it is common to fall into cycles of feeling overwhelmed by the amount of information out there. Beyond this, due to algorithms and increased data collection, the internet can create echo chambers of biased or incorrect information.

How is this damaging?

The spreading of misinformation can be particularly damaging online. Not only can misinformation spread quickly and reach a large audience, but when information is shared online, people are more inclined to perceive it as truthful. In certain situations, this can be dangerous. For example, when misinformation impacts industries such as the healthcare industry, it can directly impact people’s health. Another issue with misinformation online is that it can exacerbate tensions and divisions between people, such as mistrust between patients and healthcare providers. As information can be posted and shared so quickly, it can be difficult to police information shared online, and many people are unlikely to question the validity of things they read online.

How can this impact the future?

It is unclear how this can impact the future, as misinformation online can affect a range of situations. The problem of misinformation online is not new, in fact, it has existed since the internet was first developed. In 2016, the word of the year was “post-truth”, which Oxford Dictionaries defines as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” As the accessibility of the internet has increased, there has been a range of benefits which have deeply benefitted our lives – the access to information is a large part of this. However, as more and more people can access the internet, and the more it is used, the more likely it is for the spreading of misinformation online.