As search and rescue teamsin TexasContinue searching for lost people in extreme flash floods and communities tried to piece the life together, claiming what happened and who was convicted, spread quickly.
Many people blamed on the leftTrump administrationCut in national weather service. On the right side,Keyboard warriors accused Cloud seeding technologiesThe cause of disastrous floods. Other people of the community spread newsMiraculous existenceAmong some of the people caught in the flood.
These claims and allegations have been calledFalse newsIt is usually understood as “wrong” or “misleading” information. Floods in Texas have affected the news cycles with a wide discussion as to what the misinformation is, how it works, and what can happen to its effects.
It is not surprising that Americans are concerned about misinformation. Recent voting by the Cato Institute shows that Americans believe that wrong information isBiggest threatFor their freedom. This discovery is perfect for Republican and Democrats, although they probably consider misinformation for different reasons.
Other elections have stated that 80 percent of American sees wrong information as a major problem. And according to2023 Pew pole55 percent of Americans believe that the US government should take action to restrict false information, even if it limits freedom of information.
Research on misinformationHowever, it shows that it is not as serious as it is as much as it is, and we should be careful that in our efforts to address it, we do not make the matter worse.
Incorrect information is an incredibly subjective issue for which people respond in complex ways. In fact, misinformation is most often adopted and spread by people who are already predetermined to believe it, as we can clearly see in recent events in Texas.
This cycle is familiar: politically inspired actors spread false or misleading information that was very good to check because it strengthened their beliefs. Similarly, the locals were expecting some good news and believed in the information that they wanted to be strictly true, but sad it was not. And as often occurs during important disasters, false or misleading information spreads due to the rapidly developed nature of the tragedy – we often do not know what the truth is yet.
Therefore, while misinformation can be harmful, it often exceeds a symptom than a disease. research shows This misinformation often does not change the beliefs and actions of those who face it; Rather, it strengthens existing beliefs or behaviors. In that sense, misinformation does not have a powerful effect whose media and political world usually speak.
Unfortunately, despite this evidence, despite reducing its influence and power, today the clouds of wrong information on our society are big. Americans have been told for years that we are in the middle of a “infodedmic” of powerful misinformation that infects our brain like a virus. For example, last year, World Economic Forum Risk report In the next few years, AI-managed misinformation and disintegration were labeled as the biggest threat to the world. In the last decade, the number of educational research, books, journalism and fact-tie resources has increased.
Instead of nervous about misinformation and opening the door for government sensorship, the danger of wrong information should be addressed from the ground instead of the top. For tech companies, it means Reconstruction user trust And help users to be a better consumer of information. Community notes such as equipment-like X, Meta, Ticketk, YouTube and other platforms are being adopted or tested in a rough form-the users are likely to be helpful in relying on the facts and relying facts that they are seeing. And through better media literacy, “pre-bank” efforts for misinformation will help users to empower.
When the government started funding for counter-mesinformation research, things get angry. This may seem upside down, but we often disagree with what wrong information is and favor our political prejudices, as seen in the news around the Texas floods. So when the government withdraws money to research wrong information,It is essentially funding those prejudicesWhich contributes to polarization over time and lack of trust in our institutions.
Similarly, the US government should limit what it considers “foreign disintegration” to include only the most clear-cut and harmful cases. When not carefully handled, such efforts can be converted into government attacks on speeches and political ideas of Americans – seeIntelligence specialistHunter biden laptop story wrong – more polarizing and humiliating the trust of Americans in its leaders.
Flood water is coming again in Texas, but the storm of misinformation is still within our society. Instead of doubling the wrong nervousness on wrong information, we should help the trust and Americans to discover the truth instead. More speech, more discussion – less speech and more government control – the way we sort through information and find a bright tomorrow.
David Inserra Cato Institute has a Fellow for Free Expression and Technology.
