When the President of the United States leads a hate movement targeting journalists, seeking to inoculate his partisan supporters against unfavorable reporting or events, he acts as a cancer within our body politic, further eroding the shared facts necessary for collective action to address systemic ills.
Our union is now reaping the whirlwind of years his systematic delegitimization of journalism, government institutions, and the calculated pollution of our public discourse with misinformation & lies.
We need to inject guidance from governors, mayors, doctors and scientists into our feeds to have any hope of inoculating the American people against viral disinformation.
That starts with our press changing its practices: put lies into epistemic quarantine. Switch to an emergency setting.
But it’s going to to rely on politicians, tech companies, and the public to practice good information hygiene, too.
Offline, we wash our hands so we don’t catch or pass on a disease. We emphasize physical hygiene to our kids.
Online, we need to teach them how to use technology and social media responsibly.
It takes 20 seconds to wash your hands properly.
It takes 30 seconds to check info before you share.
How?
“SIFT” it.
Stop.
Investigate the source.
Find better coverage.
Trace claims, quotes, & media to original context.
The more social interactions we have, online or offline, the more responsibility we have not to pass on a virus. Help contain the infodemic.
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