The Rationale: False Information on the Web
When considering the question: “What is real on the internet?” It’s common knowledge that the internet is full of, what is commonly referred to as, “fake news”. However, there is more to inaccurate information than just news articles. To illustrate, with the overwhelming success of social media, all types of disinformation and misinformation have a tendency to spread like wildfire. With that being said, the common themes behind the development of flawed information on the internet is for marketing and profiting, as well as entertainment purposes.
Considering this, here are some reasons behind the proliferate false information on the web that we see everyday:
1.) The information being used as a way to further persuade a specific audience, party, etc. Typically used for political purposes.
2.) “Clickbait” or information being shared for profiting purposes – making money based off of the amount of clicks on skewed information.
3.) Incorrectly quoting an actual piece of information, quote, etc. – misinformation.
If interested, you can learn more about the expansion of false information on the internet through the BBC Website.
AI’s Contribution to False Information on the Web
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an exceptional topic of conversation. AI is helpful and beneficial in many aspects. For example, AI models can help spark creativity and different brainstorming perspectives on a wide-range of topics. This can be anywhere from helping produce marketing advertisements, headlines, etc. to introducing innovative ways of prioritizing school-work in a hectic schedule. Speaking of school-work, this is where artificial intelligence has shown its flaws. Although AI is incredibly beneficial in suggesting unique ideas, certain systems like ChatGPT, have been used by individuals to generate papers, news articles, blogs, etc. on specific topics. Considering this, AI does not produce original thoughts or ideas. Thus, anything that AI presents is blended information from a variety of different sources that have already been published on the internet – regardless of the source’s accuracy on said topic. Therefore, AI can, and has produced misinformation and disinformation on topics based off of mixing sources that are not credible. Without the user giving the paper, article, etc. a second look, flawed information is then produced. Thus, where a lot of the “fake news” you see everyday is constructed! You can read more about how AI affects all different aspects of our lives on the News Literacy Project Website.
Microsoft’s Copilot Blog Title on False Information
Here is my conversation with an artificial intelligence model, Copilot from Microsoft, helping me produce a title for this blog post:
You
Sent by you:
Write a title for a blog about false information through the internet, and how the power of AI contributes to this.
Copilot
Sent by Copilot:
How about this for a blog title:
“Navigating the Digital Maze: The Role of AI in the Spread and Detection of Misinformation”
Does this capture what you had in mind?
You
Sent by you:
What about something a little shorter?
Copilot
Sent by Copilot:
Sure, how about:
“AI and the Spread of Misinformation Online”
Does this work better for you?
You
Sent by you:
Maybe something that is more catchy?
Copilot
Sent by Copilot:
How about this:
“AI: The Double-Edged Sword of Misinformation”
Does this catch your interest?
You
Sent by you:
Can we add a play on words?
Copilot
Sent by Copilot:
Absolutely! How about this:
“AI: The Byte-Sized Truth Behind Misinformation”
Does this play on words work for you?
You
Sent by you:
Do you have any other title ideas?
Copilot
Sent by Copilot:
Sure, here are a few more catchy titles with a play on words:
“AI: The Misinformation Machine”
“Truth or AI: Decoding Digital Deception”
“Bytes of Lies: AI’s Role in Online Misinformation”
“Fact or Fiction? AI’s Influence on Internet Truths”
Do any of these resonate with you?
I finally decided to go with “Truth or AI: Decoding Digital Deception” as my blog post title. I chose this one because I loved the fact that it included both the insinuation of falsehood on the internet while also including a huge aspect of the topic, artificial intelligence. Additionally, I loved the alliteration in “…Decoding Digital Deception” – this is extremely catchy and exactly what I was looking for! As far as my title and where it falls on the “truthfulness” scale, I think it’s pretty moderate. I think the title is eye-catching, while not overwhelming the content of the post. My post consisted of how false information through the internet develops and why, how AI plays a role in spreading inaccurate information, as well as sources the reader can explore to find other ways to identify flawed or skewed information online.
