Fast Facts Aren't Always True
From Encyclopedia books and newspaper routes to tweets and TikTok videos, the spread of news and information has drastically changed over the years. Although the internet and social media have improved our ability to access news and information in real-time, it comes with a flaw. Comparing our media sources to the story of the tortoise and the hare, is it always better to trust your news from the quickest source?
According to a Pew Research Center survey, about half of U.S. adults (53%) say they get news from social media “often” or “sometimes,” and this use is spread out across a number of different sites (2020). But the same study conducted in 2021 shows only 48% of U.S. adults use social media for news. So why the 6% decrease? Due to the fear and sharing of misinformation.
Facebook and Twitter were the beginning of social media news outlets, but now TikTok has entered the chat. The video app platform gained followership with dance competitions, restaurant and celebrity reviews, but now is adding live court hearings (J. Depp vs A. Heard), Russian war discussions, financial advice, and even healthcare recommendations. If anyone can make a video, and videos can go viral in just a few hours, how can we ensure that the information is accurate?
Ciara Czajkowski, one of our Gen Z employees, shares that Apple News and Twitter are her top picks for news consumption, but when it comes to TikTok videos, Czajkowski says, “I’m pretty hesitant to trust the information that comes from there unless it’s a video showing it firsthand. But if it’s someone just talking about something, I definitely don’t trust it as much, until I go to the comments and check out what others are saying.”
Unless the subject matter is spoken by a subject expert, we cannot ensure that the information being spread is true. Even with this, it’s always good to double check your sources and see if the matter is accurate across multiple platforms.
Let’s remember that sometimes the incorrect information isn’t spread maliciously, but more along the lines of the game “telephone”. It’s easy to become misinformed because the videos are entertaining and easy to ingest, and some people just don’t do their research. Here is an example of bad financial advice circulating on TIkTok.
We can’t say TikTok isn’t trying. TikTok is growing their efforts in warning users about misleading information by adding their mark on questionable videos, and creating a new filter.
The ability to access information in real-time is amazing, but as always, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is, so always double check your sources before making your decisions.
