Technology and "Alternative Facts"

Technology today allows us to easily communicate with others near or far. We can text or send a friend a message through Facebook or other means if they sit three chairs away or even thousands of miles away. However we can see how the technology we use on a daily basis can have mixed consequences. As stated by Baym, "As technologies are integrated into everyday life, they come to be seen as offering a nuanced mix of both positive and negative implications” (Baym 46).

            With the rise of social media use we can easily see how news spreads so quickly that people are not sure of what is truth and what is opinion or false. Everyday we see people posting “news” articles about a major topic from sites that are not considered to be major news sources like Fox, CNN, or CNBC. Instead we see people posting articles from very liberal or very conservative based websites that will spread news that is either heavily edited to fit within what they want the people to hear. We can even see people using articles from the parody news site, The Onion, and believe what its being written about. With the election and inauguration of Donald Trump as the President of the United States, we have seen “news” about laws that he has signed into effect using executive orders. The most recent law banning people from certain countries into the United States has created a lot of backlash and confusion about what is going on and how the law effects people. In the Los Angeles area Instagram posts have popped up saying that, “claims of deportation checkpoints, which have surfaced on Instagram and other social media platforms, have unnerved some in the U.S. without proper papers” (Rocha and Winton). These claims have since been proven false by both Los Angeles police and the government. However, one can see how the internet allowed this rumor to spread so quickly that people began thinking it was actually true because it looked like it could actually happen. This event also shows how the people are more willing to accept things as fact if they look legitimate and do not look into the source in detail.

            Technology can help people see what is wrong with the world and try to change it by any means possible but technology can also “accelerate certain trends, magnify cultural weaknesses, and fortify social structures while eroding others” (Baym 44). Just looking at how quickly the memes about the election took off and how the use of the phrase “alternative facts,” shows how the internet is so powerful that it can make those things part of daily life within a matter of days instead of weeks or months or even years.

            Overall, social media does have a big role in how people are getting their news. The idea of being able to log onto Facebook or Twitter and immediately get news is helpful, however the idea of people only getting their news from social media sources can wreck havoc with society and make false news spread like wildfire. Spreading news on social media is not the only reason why people are misinformed but the ease in which one can access the false news is one of the reasons people are open to having this be their way of getting news.

Works Cited:

Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2017.

Baym, Nancy K. "Making New Media Make Sense." Personal Connections in the Digital Age. 

Cambridge, UK: Polity, 2010. 22-49. Print.