Transcript
SPEAKER
What are filter bubbles? What do they have to do with fake news? Or Filter Bubbles and Fake News. Language is central to the way we understand the world. It mediates everything from the way we see world events to how we understand the big issues of the day.
But it’s not only newspapers and television programs that shape our understanding of society. Our friends also play a part. We tend to be friends with people who have the same views as us. And this creates an echo chamber effect where we mainly just get to hear opinions that we already agree with.
This issue has become very noticeable in the era of social media. And it’s further reinforced by the way personalisation algorithms on sites like Facebook feed us stories based on what we’ve shown a preference for in the past. These algorithms create what are known as online filter bubbles, which can have the effect of shielding people from opposing viewpoints.
And from the comfort of our filter bubbles, it can come as quite a shock when large groups have very different opinions to our own. But judging by Frank’s experience, these algorithms don’t always work. This is because most people’s friends on Facebook come from a wide range of backgrounds, so there’s always a lot of diversity in our online networks and lots of different opinions.
But people don’t usually want to get into arguments on sites like Facebook. After all, they’re supposedly friends with the people they interact with. When they realise someone’s regularly posting views they disagree with, the tendency is not to engage with them in debate but to quietly unfriend them or block them.
One of the big implications of filter bubbles is the spread of misinformation or fake news. Fake news refers to stories which are purposefully circulated for money for propaganda or just for fun. Fake news can spread very quickly on social media because of its culture of sharing and the fact that there are no editorial checks to slow things down. And if people only get one side of the story and only speak with people who share their views, they’re unlikely to spot or challenge these inaccuracies.
So Frank, what have we learned? The only real way to deal with fake news is to be aware that it happens and to look at more than one source. And just as language mediates the way we see the world, so does technology. It’s crucial to understand how social media can distort the information we receive before we make up our minds.