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Beyond the Headline: How We Decide What to Believe

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EXPLAINER @jorgebscomm for @empowervmedia Photo: Lisa Fotios via Pexels · Pexels License Seeing, sharing and believing are different activities. Understanding their relationship helps explain why information can circulate widely without becoming reliable knowledge. S omeone shares a sensational headline on social media. It receives hundreds of reactions, travels through several group chats and eventually appears in a discussion about public policy. What does this tell us? We know the message circulated. We cannot conclude that everyone who shared it believed it, understood its evidence or intended to persuade others. A person may forward an article to question it, express concern, entertain friends or signal membership of a group. Communication behaviour does not have a single meaning. This is where epistemic communication becomes useful as an analytical perspective: it asks how claims move between people, what gives them...
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Context Collapse: When Social Contexts Converge Online

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Produced for @empowervmedia Edited & fact-checked by @jorgebscomm Context collapse flattens the usual boundaries we manage in everyday life, making it hard to tailor our message to each group.   (📷:colostate.edu) Context collapse occurs when formerly separate social contexts all come together into one audience space [1] [2] . In physical life we adjust our behaviour based on who we’re talking to (we speak differently to a boss than to old friends). But on social networks, those circles overlap. For example, a single Facebook post or tweet might be seen by your family, college friends, coworkers, and even strangers all at once. This is what Jessica Vitak calls “the flattening out of multiple distinct audiences” [1] . Because of this, information can suddenly spread far and wide (a casual comment intended for friends might end up reaching colleagues or acquaintances) [3] . 'Context Collapse' ▶️2m02s In practice, this mixing of audiences can be jarring. As one blogger v...
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Location: Australia
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Disinformation vs. Misinformation: A Psychological Primer

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Produced for @empowervmedia Edited & fact-checked by @jorgebscomm Emotions such as fear and outrage make us more susceptible to false news.   (📷:universityofcambridge) B efore diving into psychology, we must define our terms .  Misinformation  is misleading or false information that is spread, regardless of intent . It covers everything from honest mistakes to urban legends. In contrast, disinformation  is a form of misinformation that is created and shared on purpose  to mislead or manipulate people . In practice, experts often consider disinformation as a subset of misinformation, because it can be hard to know the originator’s intent . For example, a viral hoax about a miracle cure might be pure misinformation (someone misunderstood a fact), while an organised campaign spreading false health scares to sow panic would be disinformation. In either case, the core problem is that the information is false and can have harmful effects on people and society . ...
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Location: Australia
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