By Dr Orna Young, Managing Director of FactCheckNI
We are all fortunate to live in a period when any information we want is in the palm of our hand. Expertise, data, and insights are a click away. Just as easy to find, however, are rumours, falsehoods and lies. It can be hard to know the difference.
Recently we’ve all witnessed the worst real world impact of bad information – riots in Northern Ireland, and elsewhere in the UK, show how bad information on social media can encourage and incite violent disorder on our streets.
Physical violence is perhaps the worst, and most shocking, outcome from internet falsehoods. However, it is not the only negative effect. Bad information, such as misapprehensions, untruths and lies, pollute public discourse at all levels. They disconnect us, eroding trust in reliable sources of information and undermining expertise. They increase apathy, and reduce participation in politics and democratic processes. Misinformation and deliberate disinformation place another hurdle between people and the accurate information and data they need to understand and relate to people and communities around them, issues impacting their lives and the ability to make informed decisions. Bad information makes people fearful. Good information counters this fear. In short, good information and critical thinking can challenge the basis for injustice and discrimination.
The past few years have seen events which have profoundly impacted the nature of debate and discourse online, much of it fueled by fear: Brexit; a global pandemic and wars; and broader economic insecurity. Bad information and its polarising impact thrives on that fear, and on the ability for so many of us to reduce complex and often grey issues to a few lines in a social media post. It’s a toxic cycle which amplifies the most extreme – and often inaccurate – viewpoints.
It has to be emphasised that these problems did not begin with social media. In Northern Ireland, rumours and false information have stoked tensions across community divisions for decades. Before Facebook or Twitter/X there were mobile phones. And there has always been word of mouth. The internet, social media in particular, has not created a new phenomenon, it has simply supercharged an old one.
Debates about the role of social media platforms are a huge part of public discourse presently. What role should platforms play in managing the information posted? Should they take a hard line on accuracy? Should they not intervene at all? What laws should governments put in place around social media? Should they take a hard line? A soft one? Not intervene at all? What about the things people say, more generally? Should there be international standards? How would that be applied, in practical terms? These are vital questions at the forefront of public debate.
So, what collectively can we do about it?
While fact checking can – and does – improve the accuracy of what you read online, the speed and immediacy of rumours and online falsehoods requires a broader response than is feasible for both fact checkers and the media. Checking facts via research is not always a rapid process. But making stuff up takes no time at all.
What about the public itself? What about you, as an individual? How can you best stand up for yourself in the modern world of information overload and have access to accurate information on which to base your opinions? Central to the issue of mis- and disinformation are people. People are, and should be, free to form their own opinions about anything. However, those opinions should be based on facts used in proper context, not on falsehoods or data shared to mislead. The key to this is empowering individuals and communities so that they know and understand how to access this information themselves
There is also an onus on public figures. We must demand that politicians and organisations improve the quality of debate and ensure they’re informed by accurate information. And when they do get it wrong – which we all do at some point – that they publicly correct the record.
We founded FactCheckNI in 2015 as a direct response to the issue of the impact of false information and rumours online in Northern Ireland. We work to support and empower communities in working against this dynamic. It is not overstating it to suggest that bad information is one of the greatest challenges of our time. It negatively impacts relationships, how we live and the choices we make. Good information – and the ability to access it – are the basis for a healthy, functioning and cohesive society, which can address issues of equality, justice and fairness across all issues and those which will continue to emerge. We must all do what we can to protect and promote it.
