Inaccurate Information Cascades in Social Media
This article discusses several instances of of incorrect information being widely spread very quickly using information. They mention many lies that were adopted by popular culture as truths. The post mainly focus on widespread beliefs in the wake of tragic incidents, such as the Paris terror attacks and Hurricane Sandy. They go onto explain that this phenomonon can be explained with a concept we recently learned in class, information cascades.
What is interested here, is that the article goes onto discuss many external factors that promot or start an information cascade. The first thing they mention is a concept called “anchoring”. They go onto explain that it is cognitive nature to hold onto the first piece of information a person acquires, and that belief is hard to overturn. This would be similar to to someone not wanted to adopt a knew technology because they learned and trust their first piece to be best. This can be both the cause and effect of an information cascade. People and media outlets want to be the first to report, so that their story will be trusted and spread, and all ones that come after will be at a disadvantage to being adopted. This, as one can assume, can cause information to be released before it is known to be 100% truth.
The last part of the article touches on another interesting factor that we can relate to the adaptation cost of a new technology. The adaptation “cost” of posting an article on social media is essentially zero, and the benefit is positive in the form of likes/views.shares/etc. This social approval value means that people have only things to gain from sharing potentially incorrect things first on social media if they are popular, as they assume no risk in the transaction.
Overall an interested article that not only provides a good real world example of an information cascade, but also expands on some intricacies of the topic in a way that is easily digestible.
https://www.engadget.com/2015/11/19/paris-and-the-trail-of-social-media-misinformation/