In an era of outright lies from the government, confusing media coverage, panic on social media, and general chaos, it is more imperative than ever to verify everything.
Trust no one, verify everything
Tag: social media
Social media conspiracies can be actively dangerous
The growth of social media in the United States has brought about a number of alarming phenomena, including the tendency for false information to propagate rapidly through networks like Facebook, but one huge issue is the rise in conspiracy theories. Some are kind of ridiculous, laughable, and harmless, but others are actively dangerous, and it’s […]
Can we stop with the Facebook memes yet?
While I maintain a public Facebook—follow it here, I say in a shameless social media plug—I didn’t delve into the personal side of the site until relatively recently, when I was dragged on kicking and screaming because it was the only way to stay in contact with old friends. That alone is evidence of the […]
Deleting offensive Tweets doesn’t make the problem go away
Every other day, the internet is up in arms about something a corporation has posted on a social networking site, often with good reason. Some companies post really awful things, and it’s important to talk about those things when they happen — to discuss the problem, to challenge companies on why they thought it was […]
Corporations shouldn’t be able to suppress employee speech
In what many are fond of calling the social media era, social media clauses are becoming routine on employment contracts, particularly with more staid, traditional firms like financial institutions. Employees may be restrictively informed that they cannot have social media accounts at all, while others are told that they aren’t permitted to talk about their […]
Think before you share: disability
One of the most interesting things about joining Facebook, for me, has been exposure to the phenomenon known as the ‘share,’ the linking of something or relinking of something someone else published. Shares circulate merrily across the internet (Facebook is a major traffic driver), they get scores of likes, people post thousands of comments. There’s […]
The Dangers of Blithe Internet Activism
If you’re on social media, you probably encounter them frequently: images of missing people, often girls, with a note saying that someone’s daughter/wife/sister is missing and a plea for anyone who sees her to get in touch with the original poster. Such images are widely circulated, often with a load of guilt attached — if […]
Internet, We Need to Talk About Inappropriate Uses of Social Media for Charity
‘For every RT, we’ll donate $10 to [cause]!’ ‘Like us on Facebook and we’ll donate to [cause]!’ ‘Help us reach 5,000 followers on [Pinterest/Facebook/Instagram/Tumblr] and we’ll donate to a user-selected charity!’ I’m seeing these statements popping up more and more these days, and they are giving me a case of the chills followed by irritation […]
Creators, Fans, and Social Media Relationships
Earlier this year, Rob Thomas broke all kinds of records with a Kickstarter campaign to make a Veronica Mars movie. When I first saw the campaign and the ambitious goals, I wasn’t sure if he could do it. He ended up meeting his goal within the first day, blowing far past the amount of money […]
Opt In, Opt Out, and When the Private Goes Public
Social media creates a strange environment for many of us. Even as we are broadcasting information to the world, we seem to forget, sometimes, that this means the world can read it. If you say something on the Internet, theoretically anyone can find it, especially when it is attached to identifying information like your name, […]