Misinformation on the Web

People are social learners. We develop most of our core beliefs from parents, teaches, and friends. People are able to spread information that is wrong. As social media has grown so has the spread of misinformation. Misinformation posted in this way, on social media, spreads faster that it would if it was in a newspaper. One person sees the information then shares it with friends and family who share it with friends and family, and then it keeps spreading in this manner. Once the misinformation as spread like this it is hard to change what people think. You can post about the correct information with the facts and evidence to back it up but it will not change how the misinformation is spreading. For a more in depth look at how misinformation spreads read the article, How Misinformation Spreads–and Why We Trust It.

AI and Misinformation

Artificial Intelligence is speeding the spread of misinformation and can help in creating articles that seem factual but are not. AI makes it easy for anyone to create an article that might contain misinformation. Some people may not even realize that the article that they just had AI make is not true. AI is being called the “next great misinformation superspreader” because it can generate so many articles that people post in one day. Sometimes it is hard to know if what you are reading is misinformation made by AI or a person, or if it is factual. There are some websites that have AI articles between regular articles. For more information read the article The rise of AI fake news is creating a ‘misinformation superspreader’.

My interaction with Copilot

I chose the title “Navigating the Web of Lies: How AI Influences the Spread of Misinformation” because I felt like it conveyed what I was writing about well. My post centered on how misinformation spreads and why it is so easy for people to believe it. The title I chose also includes the AI portion of the post. Overall, I felt like this was the best choice because it was what I was talking about.

Sent by you:
Create a title for this blog post
Sent by Copilot:
Sure! Could you provide a bit more context about the blog post? For example, what’s the main topic or theme? This will help me come up with a more fitting title for you.
Sent by you:
Misinformation on the wed and how AI affects the spread of misinformation
Sent by Copilot:
Got it! Here are a few title suggestions for your blog post:
“Navigating the Web of Lies: How AI Influences the Spread of Misinformation”
“AI and Misinformation: Unraveling the Digital Deception”
“The Double-Edged Sword: AI’s Role in the Proliferation of Misinformation Online”
“Truth vs. Technology: The Impact of AI on Misinformation in the Digital Age”
“AI and the Misinformation Epidemic: Understanding the Connection”
Do any of these resonate with you? If you have any specific preferences or additional details, feel free to share!

Reasons for False and Inaccurate Information Online

The internet is full of a lot of information for a wide variety of things. That being said, a lot of stuff one may encounter is not necessarily true. Not only are there misinformation and disinformation being presented as fact online by humans, but there are also scams and bots presenting incorrect information. The false information one can find on the internet is typically eye catching and surprising, for example ‘Clickbait Headlines.’ Because of the shocking information typically presented within these stories, they are spread throughout social media reaching an even wider audience than perhaps intended. This habitual sharing is further explained in USC Study on the Key Reason why Fake News Spreads.

Impact of AI on Misinformation and Disinformation Online

The Overall Impact

AI can generally be a helpful tool, but it can also have detrimental effects on the information we take in. One of the cons of AI is it’s ability to create stories that are entirely false, yet people still believe them. This article, Overblown Fears of AI’s Impact on Misinformation, explains how as AI is continually progressing, so is the quality, quantity, personalization, and plausibility of it’s abilities. Essentially, as AI is updated, we are setting ourselves up for an inevitable spread of misinformation. On the other hand, AI can also be used to detect and control this same misinformation. Overall, AI is a controversial issue as it has both positive and negative effects on the information one is exposed to.

My Interaction with Copilot

I chose the title ‘Truth in the Age of Clickbait: The Online Misinformation Epidemic,’ as it summarizes my post pretty well. I focused on the spread of misinformation through social media use and clickbait. I feel that this title gives a somewhat dramatic description of what I discuss. Despite everything I discussed, in terms of the spectrum of truth and accuracy, I think that this title could be considered a form of clickbait; it explains what is being stated, but in an exaggerated way to gain more attention.

You
Sent by you:
can you give me a title for a project that is about the way misinformation and disinformation is spread online
Copilot
Sent by Copilot:
Sure! Here are a few title suggestions for your project:

“Unmasking the Web: The Spread of Misinformation and Disinformation Online”
“Digital Deception: Understanding Online Misinformation and Disinformation”
“Echoes of Falsehood: The Dynamics of Online Misinformation”
“Web of Lies: Analyzing the Spread of Disinformation in the Digital Age”
“Truth in the Age of Clickbait: The Online Misinformation Epidemic”
Do any of these resonate with you, or would you like more options?

You
Sent by you:
the last one is perfect! thank you
Copilot
Sent by Copilot:
You’re welcome! I’m glad you liked it. If you need any more help with your project, feel free to ask. Good luck with “Truth in the Age of Clickbait: The Online Misinformation Epidemic”! 📚✨

Reasons Behind False and Inaccurate Information

When looking for any information on the internet, whether you are searching for why your stomach hurts, who Justin Bieber is really dating, or what movies are recommended for three year olds, you will get a variety of answers: some of which are helpful, and some of which are completely inaccurate. One reason behind this inaccurate information is the public eye, as anyone is able to post anything. This leads to opinions being mistaken as facts, or rumors being spread because of a misinterpretation. Some information is purposely spread incorrectly, as people may find it funny or find satisfaction in deceiving others. Other information is mistakenly spread incorrectly, as the publisher may think they have the facts, but they do not. Either way, the information is spread rapidly, which is one way we receive wrong details. Responses to false information can be dangerous, as and Event Caused by Fake News in the US is described to prove why spreading inaccurate information can be harmful.

Impact on Misinformation from AI

The Impact

As AI is heavily relied on by our age group, it has impacted the misinformation spread on the internet both positively and negatively. AI have become effective in detecting when information is incorrect. People use these platforms for help in identifying fake information. However, the AI algorithms cannot be heavily relied on in the sense that they have the potential to amplify this fake news. It can be used to help spread the information and create difficulty in distinguishing what is real and what is not. While AI can be used to differentiate accurate from inaccurate, it is also used to rapidly spread the inaccurate and make the situation worse. AI is two sided, as it can benefit us when understanding what information is false, but it can also add to that inaccuracy.

Web of Lies

I chose this title because I feel it introduces my project very well as I discuss the impact false information on the internet has, but I also spend time describing and analyzing why false information occurs. This title not only sounds appealing, but also introduces the concept of my project. On the spectrum of truth, I feel it is exaggerated, as someone may find the title more interesting than the information within it. However, this project holds information that the title introduces, just not to the interesting extent from the otuside perspective.

My Interaction with CoPilot

You
Sent by you:
What is a title for a project on inaccurate information spread on the internet
Copilot
Sent by Copilot:
How about these titles for your project?

“Digital Deception: Unraveling the Spread of Misinformation Online”
“Web of Lies: Investigating the Impact of False Information on the Internet”
“Truth vs. Fiction: Analyzing the Proliferation of Inaccurate Information in the Digital Age”
“Fact or Fake: Understanding the Dynamics of Online Misinformation”
“The Misinformation Maze: Navigating Falsehoods in the Digital World”
Do any of these resonate with you? If you have a specific angle or focus for your project, I can tailor the title even more!

You
Sent by you:
yes thank u
Copilot
Sent by Copilot:
You’re welcome! I’m glad I could help. If you need any more assistance with your project or anything else, feel free to ask. Good luck with your project! 😊

The internet is open and accessible for a majority of the world’s population. However, openness and accessibility are a spectrum. Information on the web is not one hundred percent open or accessible to all persons.

Openness

Presenting information on the web is powerful. This sense of openness allows viewers to actively read, watch and use the information as well as change it to benefit the publisher or themselves.

Why Openness?

Brad Frost speaks about how the web was built on open standards and is meant for everyone in his TEDx Talk Creative exhaust, the power of being open by default. He states, “It’s not about what you do or your published finished product it’s about what you enable other people to do.” Publishing information is just as beneficial for the people viewing it than the publishers themselves. Viewers can gather ideas to benefit their work and collaborate with the author to showcase the very best product. The publisher can receive modifications to their work and advice from a diverse audience. This forces the author to think outside the box when making decisions on what to share to the world.

How Openness?

Some people aren’t comfortable sharing an unfinished product because they don’t want criticism or harsh feedback. However, this is all necessary to present a successful product. Openness can be accomplished by designing within a software that allows viewers to collaborate with the author and come up with solutions to problems that come up along the way. Ideas can be tossed around, putting together the most beneficial information for the people reading or watching. For example, a publisher can post an accurate how-to video after they’ve collected information from other sources. This allows them to present the most efficient way of completing the action in the video.

Accessibility

The goal of publishing something on the internet is for people to access and benefit from it. The more people that engage with the work, the better it succeeds. Designing something in an accessible way means it can reach a much larger audience in a variety of ways.

Why Accessibility?

Equality is an important concept to think about when determining who accesses web designs. According to Ditte Hvas Mortensen and Frank Spillers from the article 3 Reasons Why Accessible Design is Good for All, there are legal, moral, and business reasons for designing for accessibility. In most instances laws require publishers to cast designs that are fully accessible, or they are at risk for lawsuits. The reason of morality references creating something that everyone, no matter their abilities, has equal access to. Lastly, broadcasting information on the web, in the most user-friendly way, helps designers expand their user base. Often, doing this for the benefit of disabled persons also has a positive effect on able people in completely different ways than intended; this is defined as the curb-cut effect. There are several more pros than cons to publishing accessible designs with the pro, “It’s just the right thing to do,” at the top of the list.

How Accessibility?

The specific organization of content on a website and the inclusion of written words from a video or presentation are examples of making content more accessible. The tool screenreader can not only help impaired people read screens but can also aid in navigating a website with ease (curb-cut effect). If the publisher did not include alternative text with an image on an article, then a visually impaired person would not be able to consume the information in the way that everyone else can. Including written text with a video helps the hearing impaired but can also benefit persons that have a hard time focusing. Using headers throughout a website allows the reader to efficiently find information but also allows listeners that are using screenreader to acknowledge that a different topic is being presented. With these extra steps information can reach and benefit all people in different ways.

Openness

Why?

The more open information is on the internet the more you can know. The more people that can access your page the more knowledge you can spread. Regardless of education level, having the ability to see pages on the internet allows everyone to gather information that they wouldn’t have had access to thirty-five years ago. Years ago, it was basically a “requirement” that you had access to a set of encyclopedias. If you didn’t have a set in your home you had to be able to get to a library. References and other information were not available at your fingertips. Having the openness and availability of the internet it makes everything available any time of day and any day of the year.

How?

You are able to make your page more open to everyone by not making payment a requirement. Openness can be as simple as social media. If you follow anyone on any kind of website you, I am sure have seen, everyone’s opinion that they share openly. Creators should think of this as more of a way to improve their content. Sure, there are some that will spread nothing but negativity, but as a whole information that is shared could be used as improvement.

Accessability

Why?

Having accessibility within sites on the internet makes it easier for individuals to access information. Accessibility is not only recommended but, in my opinion, should be mandatory.  Have you ever had to sit through a training or a meeting where they gave out the presentation packet prior doing the presentation?  Then you have to sit through the entire presentation even after you’ve read the packet?  Or sat through a meeting the whole time thinking, this could have been an email?   To me, these things go hand in hand with adaptive reading.  I am a learner that can retain information better if I hear it.  It allows me to take notes and feel like I have a better grasp on what I am learning.  Accessibility on the internet is along those same lines.  It allows people to pick out what they feel is important within your site and be able to process it.  It can be something as simple as a font color or the way something is laid out. 

How?

This could be as simple as design layout.  Is the site easy to understand and navigate through.  Changing font size or colors is a simple way to promote accessibility.  If you have some kind of informative video make sure that there is an option to see the transcript for those who opt to read rather than listen. Choosing to include alternate text is also a simple way for users who might be visually unable to see an image to have it used as a screen reader or if images don’t load properly it tells you what the image was.  The webiste WebAIM shows how alternate text can assist people. You have to make sure that your site is easy to use, understand, and navigate within.

Openness

Why?

Openness is important because it allows people to learn new things and find quick solutions to their problems.

How?

One way to do this is by publically posting your content online and not requiring people to pay to view it.

Accessibility

Why?

It’s important to make accessible content so all people can view your content. Here is a link to an article about why accessibility is so important on the internet

How?

One way to make content accessible is making sure the text and background are contrasting colors. For example, having a white background and black text.