Proof or Propaganda
Social media has forever changed how information is spread - for better and for worse - and we are experiencing major shifts in politics because of it. We can immediately converge behind Serena Williams to call out sexism on the tennis court, bipassing a lag in reporting which would amount to cooling off period and would otherwise dampen the impact of highlighting the persistent unfair treatment of women and blacks in society. Conversely, in the interest of keeping up with the fast paced onslaught of headlines, memes and politically charged shockwaves of hashtag movements, we have forgotten (or were never taught) how to apply critical thinking to the words and images scrolling in front of our faces. What is to be believed? How can we know what is fake and what is fact? How can we make society better?
There are no shortcuts to lasting self-improvement and whether it's by baby steps or large leaps, the most important part is, as my father would say, "Do the best to your ability." And the thing is, practice will improve ability, so when it comes to becoming information and media literate, here are few tips to get started.
1) Before getting caught up in post, meme or thread, check the creator/author/owner and look for organizational names including words like, unbiased, freedom and truth. Most often, they are, in fact, behaving in the opposite manner. It often only takes a minute to search for additional biographical data (or find none at all). Actions should match the words, so if they are not backing up their self aggrandizing titles with substance, you know to disregard and move onto better things.
2) Falsies are a nickname for false eyelashes. They cover up lack of substance and fill in gaps that exist in real life in order to showcase features the owner wants you to see. In some cases, they even create something from nothing. Totally fine for makeup, but for online content...notsomuch. Think of links and images in terms of falsies with this example: a recent post came across my screen which had a few bullet points followed by "Source:" and a link to a Washington Post article. I clicked on the article and found it had absolutely no relation to the content written in the post itself. The creator simply put a real link to make it appear as if the "facts" were coming from a mainstream news outlet. The link was nothing more than a bit of makeup. Don't be fooled by falsies.
3) Mainstream is neither an absolution nor a death sentence. It's an indicator of its relation to common knowledge and recognition. YOU still need to examine its context and apply meaning. Something may be mainstream adjacent, exist far on the fringes or it even may be going against the current. That is the context worth exploring, but you don't have to go down a time-sucking Internet rabbit hole. A few minutes searching online can either uncover corroborating information or come up empty. If something is announcing they are the only ones telling the truth and they are really the only ones saying it...there's a reason they're alone.
There are many more nuances to being information literate than there are clear cut rules, but the good news is that you can practice and improve as you progress. If you see something that looks like a large floating head with spurts of green fire yelling at you, take a second to look for a curtain. Chances are you'll find it fairly quickly. Then, before long, you'll get good at it and won't even have to bother pulling back the curtain. You'll be able to see the whole thing for what it really is and you'll know that you don't need a wizard to tell you what to think. You already have all you need. You just need to use it.