Social Media Misinformation Cascades
Source: Paris Attacks Give Rise to Fakes and Misinformation
This article talks about how recently, and numerous times in the past, rumors went viral on social media pages, even though these rumors were not true. The most recent incident of this is many rumors that spread after the terrorist attacks in Paris. One example is a photo of the Eiffel Tower with its lights turned off, accompanied by a caption saying that, in response to the tragedy, this is the first time they have been turned off since 1889. However, the lights are turned off regularly, and had nothing to do with the attacks. Another, darker, example of a false rumor is a photo of a man in a turban, wearing a suicide vest and holding a Quran. This photo was spread, making people believe that Islam promotes these attacks. However, this photo was actually a photoshopped mirror selfie of a man holding an iPad, not a Quran, and not wearing a vest. The man was not even Muslim. However, social media got ahold of this photo and it spread like wildfire, and even appeared on the front page of a Spanish newpaper.
These incidents of misinformation being spread rapidly on social media sites are examples of information cascades. After huge world events, such as the attacks on Paris, people are much more susceptible to contributing to these cascades. People attempt to share the most up to date information, and when they see a very interesting photo or post, which already has a huge number of shares, they assume that this information is true. So, they too will share the post. In the case of misinformation, they have continued the cascade of misinformation. In situations like this, where stories are spread so quickly, people instinctively believe they are true, and it takes a while before the truth actually comes out and breaks the cascade.