Social Media: Propaganda Goggles Required?

I came across this article on digg.com, entitled “Is Social Media Being Used to Spread Misinformation?”  The article itself and all the comments make for one irritating read.  The title question of the article is a good one to ask, especially for us as educators who hopefully will be implementing the use of these sites in our classrooms, but, unfortunately this article is not the unbiased exploration of social media I had hoped.  The writer falls prey to the same activities he condemns.  Instead of discussing how and where propaganda is disseminated in social media, the writer discusses one specific story involving Rush Limbaugh’s radio show involving a story of a “phony soldier” which “the leftist” “anti-war movement” used to benefit the cause.

The writer of the article, credited somewhat dubiously as Steve D., boils his argument down to the following:  “Because they can not fight the facts they are doing everything they can to malign the truth speakers. Because they know a large number of impressionable youths use social media sites they are using these sites to spread their propaganda.”  Like most shoddy arguments, he seems to be allowing the reader to turn a discussion of a single instance into a blanket accusation of some body of people labeled “they.”

After many more particulars and bashing of digg comments, he finishes the article by saying, “If you use social media (or are a member of Congress) it is imperative that you not fall for the propaganda put forth online and pushed on social media sites. Instead you should do your own fact checking and think for yourself. Just think, if Dan Rather had done some fact checking rather than believe the story he was handed he would still have a job and not be suing his former bosses for millions of dollars.”

This isn’t an “important” story, clearly.  For one, it’s about (or claims to be about) social media, something that hasn’t dripped into the mainstream quite yet.  Secondly, the few reasonably minded people in the world already know that the political discourse that goes down in the media is questionable by definition, as evinced in the writing of the article itself.  But, however briefly, the writer does remind us of a good point:  “a large number of impressionable youths use social media sites.”  Now, more than ever, with the rabid proliferation of internet news and discussion outlets, our role as teachers in fitting students with a critical eye when scanning the web and, particularly, social media sites, is increasingly important.  Biased information concerning politics is to be expected, but now there are stories all over the web blanketing their politics in stories with misleading titles which are highly ranked on the social media sites.  It is becoming easier and easier to waste more and more of your time reading garbage on the internet and increasingly difficult to find useful, credible sources.  As I learned with this article which I found via its popularity on digg.com, we need to make it clear to students that popularity and pervasiveness do not necessarily make an article worthwhile.  I’m still learning the ropes with using social media sites myself, and I love the potential of social bookmarking and networking and sharing with friends and classmates, but I’m finding that browsing digg for articles can be a tremendous waste of time, even if you have a search focus.