Conversation

Important reminder that scientists have studied the spread of misinformation through "breaking" news accounts - they are often hoaxes. Wait for confirmation from known reputable sources before sharing

Quote Tweet

Kate Starbird

@katestarbird

Jan 8, 2020

We published a paper in 2016 that discussed (among other things) how “breaking news” accounts propagate rumors during crisis events. It appears that this dynamic has only grown more pervasive (and possibly more intentional). faculty.washington.edu/kstarbi/CSCW20

JSON Baumgartner

@jasonbaumgartne

Replying to

@liminalphase

The problem is some people's internal definition of "reputable." There's way too much appeal to authority on social media.

12:19 AM · Jan 9, 2020Twitter Web App

Replying to

True that often these hoax news accounts claim authority by saying someone "on the ground" is a source. Or spend time discussing MSM so followers only listen to them. My personal metric is if multiple MSM outlets are reporting as confirmed then there is fair confidence

Replying to

and

Er dissing not discussing