With new and important events happening all over the world every day, people want the latest information the easiest way possible. Social media is one of the quickest and easiest ways to receive it. 

Almost 5 billion people have social media on their devices, and 53% of people get news from social media. This means that not only do journalists have an ethical duty of avoiding two things whenever they post, promote, or advertise content on their own platforms — misinformation and disinformation — so do average social media users. 

The problem with social media today is misinformation and disinformation is frequently spread. Misinformation is unintentionally sharing wrong information. Disinformation is false information deliberately and often covertly spread in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth. 

Although social media is not fact-checked, certain websites offer such services. FactCheck.org is a nonprofit website that describes itself as “consumer advocate for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics.” Politifact is a non-partisan website that focuses on the verity of statements withinAmerican politics. Snopes is a website that sorts out myths and rumors on the Internet. 

It is important to make sure that the information being given to the public is accurate.

Misinformation or disinformation being fed into the minds of students is dangerous because it causes them to trust false information that will harm future generations. It also gives accurately informed teachers an extra responsibility to ensure the students know the facts. 

“The conspiracy theories and the brazen nature in which people discuss them is the worst it’s ever been, and social media certifiably plays the biggest role in the prevalence and promotion of these dangerous untruths,” social science teacher DJ Cook said. 

Take, for example, celebrities talking about politics or any type of news. A celebrity’s large following does not guarantee that the content they share is factually correct. However, because of their large social standing, any misinformation or disinformation spread may have a wider and deeper impact; in other words, false information spreads more quickly and is believed by a greater number of people. 

“The amount of time that students spend on social media is also changing the neurochemistry of their developing brains and the results are not good. No one had this trash fifteen years ago and we were all better off for it,” Cook said.

Although social media can be fun — posting pictures, sharing videos and messaging celebrities in hopes they respond — we must be cautious of the dark side of social media. From fake news to fake accounts, be careful and responsible with how you consume content and how you use your platform.