English: Infographic on how Social Media are being used, and how everything is changed by them. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
As social media has become somewhat reliable in informing us of the latest news, it has also become a web of lies. I admit, that I use social media websites such as Facebook to get the latest news, either from around the world or in my community. The way in which people who are social addicts tend to not only post about their daily life’s but they also post about other news that are occurring.
My sister for instance, is as I like to call her a “Sports freak” or rather I say a “Soccer freak”, to be more precise, because it is a daily routine for her to tweet or facebook everyday about what is currently happening in the soccer world. She Tweets and facebooks nearly 5 times per hour. Most of her information though, is 100 percent credible since she constantly posts links or graphics to the topic she is discussing or informing in her status.
Although many people may serve as “reporters” in social websites, some use the them to their advantage by using false information or making false stories. There has also been false websites that report false news stories such as the story that was reported in 2010 about Bill Cosby’s death. Bill Cosby himself explains that the source who provided this was none other than “an internet hoax.”
Or the story about Samsung paying 1 billion to Apple company in nickels. It is said that the story was fabricated by a Mexican website called, El Dorado, which falsely reports news stories.
But not all false information is false. There has also been stories/news posted that are simply misunderstood and are interpreted differently. Social media tends to liberate those who feel the need to have their voice heard, and the comments or opinions on a specific topic can cause others who have not heard of the topic, see it in the way that the person who posted the comment wrote it causing misunderstandings amongst people eventually creating into problems.
I do not believe there is a technological solution to this problem other than cutting social media websites completely, but that is obviously not going to happen.
The only advice I would give others and that I follow myself is to only believe a news story if I have heard elsewhere reliable or if the story follows links or graphics to make the news more credible.
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- Facebook Is Rigged: Why Personal Promoted Posts Are Bad for Users (mashable.com)
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Marisol 
Professor Leach Said:
on October 6, 2012 at 9:50 am
Great job providing insight into the problems that may exist with news through social media being fabricated and also how others may use credible sources and evidence to post information online.
Good job incorporating a video into your post.