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8 Information
In the age of social media, the notions of truth, information, and knowledge are all changing. These notions were once amorphous and invisible – the kinds of airy, invisible topics only philosophers and a few scientists studied. But today truth, information, and knowledge are all represented, constructed, and battled about online. Page views, shares, and reactions clue individuals and companies in to what spreads from machine to machine and mind to mind. Content editable by users online is negotiated and changed in real time. In this chapter we’ll look at the problems and opportunities afforded by social media in relationship with truths and knowledge.
Knowledge is always based on multiple pieces of information, and usually involves finding coherence across them when they conflict. (Image: human_knowledge_gears, Lightspring, https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/teamwork-leadership-education-symbol-represented-by-81043615, CC0)
“Fake news” and “post-truth”
Much has been made in recent years of “fake news.” This is a term, favored by the President of the United States among others, that circulates ubiquitously through social as well as traditional media. In 2016, Oxford Dictionaries presented “post-truth” as its “word of the year.” But what do these terms mean, and what do they have to do with social media?
To understand these terms, we have to look closely at what we expect with the word “news” and notions of truth and “fake”-ness. These conversations start with the concepts of objectivity and subjectivity.
From Horse Travel to Human Touch – Speedy News
Student Content
Years ago, news and ideas spread day by day rather than in seconds with one click of a button. Newspapers and letters were the way that people were informed about the latest news and drama. Now, with technology advancing and spreadability, things are changing.
We, humans, are always moving fast, looking at the easiest way to do things and with social media and the internet, it seems like spreadability is at an all-time high. There are many positives that come with social media and the rate at how fast word can travel such as texting your parents whenever you miss them or face-timing your significant other when doing long distance. If you were to go back to the 20s you would see that people would read the newspaper to hear the latest news or wait for letters to see how a loved one is doing. Nowadays within two minutes of a celebrity’s death, the whole internet is informed. If a political party is angry a hashtag can bring them all together to meet at a destination and begin a protest. With easy access to information, whether it is true or false, the way that social media spreads has a huge impact on society. Some people would say that the world is the most divided that it has ever been because of this while others say that social media brings us togeth