Learning Journal 6

 Santos Nwachukwu

Part 1: Social Media Laws and Ethics

• In all honestly, I found this week's readings and materials to be very interesting. The topic of fake news has been thrown around like a slur so much in news these days, and it is getting a bit difficult to derive the whether or not a source is legitimate or not. Fake news in it's most basic form is misinformation that is spread and it can lead to serious consequences when it comes to the decisions that people make based on what they believe is real information. One of the biggest example talked about in most of the articles in this week's readings were fake news when it comes to that of politics. From banning TikTok (I knew that cesspool of an app was going to get in trouble one of these days) due to the app using Fake news to push Chinese agenda to Russia spreading fake news about the war in Ukraine to the 2016 elections , one can tell misinformation can cause a lot of potentially irreversible damage. Another thing that I feel that has become a big trend today is social media outlets purposefully giving out fake news or in the very least not the whole story to pander to a side or political party.

Part II Discuss Social Media Lies and Propaganda

• I honestly think that if laws aren't set into motion to regulate the misinformation that the media spreads (and I don't mean misinformation that one political party thinks is misinformation) then we are on a downward spiral towards something bad. Learning from these week's readings has never really changed my view on how I use social media and how I decided what is real or not. Usually if I see something on social media (whenever I'm actually on it) and it piques my interest, I usually check a bunch of different sites to fact check, because unfortunately with humans, people can lie and will lie whether it benefits them or not. People as stated before lie for things such as clout, pushing an agenda, etc.

Zuidijk, D. (2022, March 4). Putin's propaganda machine undercut by social media blackout. The Japan Times. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/03/04/world/putin-propaganda-social-media/Links to an external site.

Collins, B., & Collier, K. (2022, March 14). Russian propaganda on Ukraine's non-existent 'biolabs' boosted by U.S. far right. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/qanon-ukraine-biolabs-russian-propaganda-efforts-boosted-us-far-right-rcna19392Links to an external site.

Tech's crackdown on Russian propaganda is a geopolitical high-wire act. (2022, March 1). NPR.org. https://www.npr.org/2022/03/01/1083824030/techs-crackdown-on-russian-propaganda-is-a-geopolitical-high-wire-actLinks to an external site.

Seeing isn't believing: The fact checker’s guide to manipulated video. (2022). The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/politics/fact-checker/manipulated-video-guide/?utm_term=.cd779e27a0d0&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1Links to an external site.

Kumar, D. (2023, April 6). TikTok, other apps now banned on most Florida university campuses. Tampa Bay Times. https://www.tampabay.com/news/education/2023/04/06/uf-fsu-usf-board-of-governors/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_content=%40TB_TmesLinks to an external site.

 

Replied to Hung Ngyuen and Alex Gremer