Twitter & Reddit Aren’t Part of the Problem, They’re Part of the Process

In response to fearful posts about the negative effects of false information spreading virally via Twitter or Reddit, I say join the conversation, also known as the modern process of news.

Attempting to stop false statements on Twitter or Reddit is like trying to stop people from spreading rumors by word of mouth. Think of the impossibility of trying to monitor every forum or message board on the internet to make sure no one posts non-factual statements. It’s not only impossible but also a laughable concept that borders on the violation of our basic rights.

Since when has everything on the Internet been factual anyway? Since when has everything printed on paper been factual? Answer: Never.

It’s funny that some think that incorrect information posted online spells doom for the publishing industry that apparently, in their eyes, has never published mistakes. I’d argue that newspapers, those actually printed on paper, have more errors than their new online counterparts. Not only are newspapers a much less flexible medium and therefore less open for corrections, but their creators had less resources for investigation and confirmation of the so called facts.

Computers and the internet have opened up the newsroom for all to see. That process that was once kept locked up is now happening everywhere amongst everyone and that’s good for all of us.

If media entities want to complain about the effects of false information published on Twitter, they should look to themselves since they’re the reputable news sources that shared it and therefore made it a legitimate problem. Otherwise that false tweet would have remained just that.

The truth of the matter is that the majority of the public doesn’t even get their news from Twitter or Reddit and they don’t need to know it as it happens. Simply judging by the number of active Twitter users in relation to the total population, most get news from fact checked reports on TV soon after the event.

To believe random statements from random accounts is an error on the side of the consumer. You shouldn’t believe a statement from an unknown person on Twitter just as you wouldn’t believe the same from an unknown person off the street. Twitter is a place for conversation. The same goes for Reddit but in a slightly different form.

Don’t blame Twitter, just question the source.