This election season, the airwaves, print publications and social media are full of information, but beware – not all of it is true. Barbara Laimins, co-chair of the League of Women Voters of Illinois task force on the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation, said there is a way to sort through the tropes, memes and outright lies.
Laimins shared her insights with members of the League of Women Voters of Homewood-Flossmoor on Sept. 20. She went through a litany of ways the public unwittingly is taking in false information through fabricated content, imposter content, misleading content and false connections.
“We really, really, really have to slow down and be our own investigators, and then we have to evaluate things,” she said. “Is this source credible? Does it follow journalistic standards, and what was the purpose of the article? Was it trying to sell me something, was it making me laugh? Is it propaganda? What are they trying to convince me of in this article? Investigate the source.”
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Laimins said the term “fake news” has fallen out of favor “because that connotes false information, whereas disinformation is meant to discredit opposing viewpoints, cast doubt on opposing viewpoints, controversial issues and even some media outlets.”
In 1949, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted the Fairness Doctrine that mandated viewpoints be aired from both sides of an issue. In 1980, media conglomerate entertainment divisions started buying up news divisions. News was expected to be profitable, and opinion was added to news programs, Laimins said. In 1987, the FCC abolished the Fairness Doctrine.
Traditional media sources are no longer the top source for news, according to Laimins. Today, most young people get their news from social media, and often they are reading only the headlines and not the stories.
To prove the point, Laimins said National Public Radio posted an April Fool’s item on Facebook with the headline: “Why doesn’t America read any more?” It got hundreds of likes and reposts, but it proved that few bothered to click to the content. Had readers gone further than the headline, they would have read that there was no content, just an April Fool’s message.
“Anyone can post and viewing (posts) is endless,” Laimins said. “Social media mixes fact and opinion together, and the more outlandish the story the more clicks it gets.”
Fabricated content looks real but is meant to deceive, imposter content takes advantage of trusted sites, manipulated content is when genuine information or imagery is manipulated to deceive the viewer.
Laimins said in addition to these recognized approaches to disinformation, artificial intelligence is now part of the mix. AI is being used to make people believe something is real when it isn’t. She gave an example of two photos side by side, but one had Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar inserted into it, yet Klobuchar was not part of the event where the photo was taken.
Checking that websites are credible takes time. She warns that headlines that appeal to emotions and fears are probably leading you to false information. Also, look for excessive capitalization and exclamation marks.
If you’re on what appears to be a news site, “Look closely whether there are (reporter) bylines or (legitimate) stories. Websites create flashy headlines and hope you will share with others without looking for content,” she said. Algorithms also are shutting you out from different sources of news. Break the cycle of these filter bubbles, she warns, by having “a healthy skepticism.”
Double check the information and look for sources other than yours so you can verify what information you have is true.
LWVIL.org has links on its site to an election facts tool kit where 19 questions on voting are addressed. The page also has a voter guide, and a place to report disinformation to get it removed from a website.