The Dangers of Misinformation in a Social Network
Following the recent attacks in Paris, it was no surprise that social media was flooded with news and concern over the tragedy. Equally unsurprising was the wave of misinformation that initially surrounded the story as it broke across social media. Within hours of the attacks, all sorts of hoaxes, bogus leads, and fabricated scandals scandals amongst the confusion, further complicating the struggles of those caught in the attack. As discussed in the source article, this problem of mob mentality and the fast-and-reckless mass-adoption of ideas is deeply rooted in the principles of taught in Networks — or, more specifically, in the concept of the information cascade.
Perhaps one of the most frightening characteristics of information on the internet is its ability to rapidly and overwhelmingly cascade across the titanic social networks that comprise today’s social media infrastructure. Under the right conditions, a single video can easily spread to millions over sites like Facebook and Twitter in a matter of hours and potentially bring any idea into the forefront of a global conversation. Moreover, as the article suggests, the urgency and confusion of a developing crisis provides the perfect environment for this phenomenon to occur. In an emergency, every bit of information can mean the difference between life and death, but this level of urgency is also precisely what leads people to quickly adopt and relay whatever they know instead of devoting the time to carefully fact-checking every detail they hear. In other words, it is likely that the confusion and panic surrounding the November 13th attacks raised the incentive for those affected to share and adopt new information. Because of this development, the threshold for people in a network to adopt new ideas was likely driven down as people scrambled for new information. When a community in crisis begins to adopt this strategy, the likelihood of an information cascade skyrockets and any idea or detail is suddenly liable to being spread across entire networks.
In short, while the scramble for information is always going to be a part of any emergency, it is critical to remember how easily misinformation can spread during these times. If there is anything that the recent waves of rumors and false stories can teach us, it would have to be the upmost importance of keeping a level head, even in the face of confusion and panic.
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/11/19/paris-and-the-trail-of-social-media-misinformation/