Media Studies: My Top 10 Takeaways
- Disinformation Station
After watching the New York Times documentary, “Operation Infektion” I was shocked at the longstanding history of creating and spreading disinformation. I knew several conspiracy theories have historical origins but learning how the KGB had agents spending 25% of their time spreading disinformation really surprised me! The tactic has certainly not gone unnoticed.
2. Facebook: the Digital Final Frontier
Although I knew Facebook had its issues, after reading some of the findings that came out due to whistleblower Francis Haugen, I decided to deactivate my account. In order to combat hate groups on the site, Facebook assigned a team to monitor and control hate. After the 2020 election, they disbanded the group. Causing violence and some say this contributed to the January 6th insurrection. The Facebook files also revealed they know that the use of Instagram is harmful to teen girls in particular.
3. Wikipedia: Let’s Talk About It
Going down a Wikipedia rabbit hole is my kind of night! I love the website but prior to this class I had never posted anything or even really gone into the “Talk” page. I had such a great time learning the ins and outs of Wikipedia and now finding myself frequenting talk pages much more. Many people think Wikipedia is not a reliable source but in fact, there are many safeguards in place and you always have to be able to cite your sources in an article.
4. Propaganda: Yes, It’s Still All Around Us!
When I first learned about the concept of propaganda, much like many others, we learned about it in history class in terms of the world wars. However, propaganda occurs all around us every day. From memes, to Youtube videos, it is everywhere. I enjoyed using the Mind over Media gallery to upload my own examples of propaganda, but also to see global examples from people’s everyday lives. By recognizing the role propaganda plays in our consuming of culture, we can try to be more aware of its impact on us.
5. President Messiah?
For me, the most impactful paper I read this semester was, “The Rise of Presidential Eschatology” by Bond and Shepard. Presidential eschatology is a term meaning that there is a shift from “presidents appealing to god to presidents becoming a messiah figure.” This term helped me make sense of Trumpism and why it is he has such intensely loyal followers. By putting him on a godlike pedestal, followers are willing to accept nearly anything.
6. Post Truth Epistemology: Facts? Who needs them!
Learning about post truth epistemology also really helped me make sense of current events particularly alt-right movements like QAnon. Some people just will always reject the facts to better serve their narrative. With COVID, we see this constantly. People often prefer to believe based on faith or intuition, but this can be dangerous.
7. Algorithms: Helpful and Hurtful
While shopping for Christmas gifts this year, I got so many helpful ads on my social media for gift suggestions. This excited me because it was a big help, but also frustrated me after knowing what I learned about algorithms this semester. Algorithms are extremely invasive and also can be inherently biased. When people with preexisting beliefs develop these algorithms, they can unintentionally pass those beliefs along. Racism is very prevalent in algorithms, they are not made equally. I often wonder how to proceed with the infusion of algorithms into every platform in an ethical way, is it possible?
8. Alt-Right Playbook: Rabbit hole of Radicalism
We watched a lot of great content but the video, “The Alt-Right Playbook” by Innuendo Studios felt very powerful to me. Particularly the part on how people like, “Gabe” fall into alt-right ideologies. Often, people on the right and on the left have similar view points. In the video they gave the example of workers being overworked/underpaid, but rather than joining a union people on the right blame immigration. I find it almost ironic how close to the point they can get, but then totally taking an extreme way to help the problem!
9. Bots for sale, bots for sale!
Every so often I get messages from spam bot accounts online but they are typically easy for me spot out. However, I had no clue how intense the organization behind bots can be. Did you know people will buy bot “decks” of 100–200 bot accounts? They then use these to push the agenda of whoever is paying them! I always assumed it was a more automatic process and did not really understand how the bot industry worked.
10. Facial Recognition: Say Cheese!
The idea of a device being able to recognize and identify you solely by image sounds a bit distopian for me. This is why I’m glad Facebook removed its image recognition system. I think users should be able to consent to facial recognition or not, anytime it is used. After all, it is your body! Seeing how it is implemented in schools, workplaces, and on social spaces is a little too much for me personally.
