Name: Origins of Misinformation and How it Spreads
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NOVA Science Studio

Watch as a piece of false information about llamas spreads across social media and gets disproved, only to have the story continue to circulate.

We're vulnerable to sharing misinformation because of the way that we communicate.

Alex Clark is the Digital Video Producer for the NOVA Science Studio. He produces original videos for the program and leads video production training for site coordinators and students. Alex is a video journalist, cinematographer, and instructor of documentary filmmaking and he holds a degree in journalism from Columbia University. He has created TV and digital content for PBS, NBC, and NowThis. A lover of all things science, he produced and co-hosted Vox’s Emmy-nominated YouTube series, Glad You Asked.

Watch as a piece of false information about llamas spreads across social media and gets disproved, only to have the story continue to circulate.

Origins of Misinformation and How it Spreads

We're vulnerable to sharing misinformation because of the way that we communicate.

Body & Brain

Origins of Misinformation and How it SpreadsPublished: March 16, 2021Alex Clark: So one of my favorite videos on the internet goes like this. There's a group of guys who are hardcore, flat earthers. They don't believe the earth is round. So they designed an experiment to prove the earth is flat. It's pretty simple. They want to shine a powerful light through boards from far away enough that if the world was truly round, the curvature of the earth would make it impossible to see light held at equal height. Because if the earth is flat, they're going to see a light shining through both holes in the boards because there's no curvature of the earth, the experiment, however proved the opposite. That the earth is round.Male in Video: We don't see you, Enrique. Lift up your light way above your head.Clark: Despite all of the evidence they refused to believe the facts. And instead, continue to spread misinformation. Sharing this information is a by-product of human connection. Our need to communicate can be more important than making sure that all the facts are in place. Last episode, we talked about why misinformation is believed. But let's talk about why it's spread and how. For that, I have an example and it's all about llamas.Let's say I wake up in the morning and I find egg on my car. It got all over my windshield. It got all over my Llama for Congress bumper sticker. That's the new candidate, by the way, it's a llama named Llama. So I text my neighbor and he responds, "No way, dude! They clearly don't want llamas running for Congress!!!" That's right. They must have seen my Llama for Congress bumper sticker and retaliated. So I tweet out a picture of my car with the message, "We're getting egged over here!! Llama intimidation, much?" It gets 50,000 retweets in just a few hours. Within a week, signs start popping up all over the neighborhood. Other Llama supporters are posting this.So I'm going along my business until one day I hear something. And I find a small nest of chickens chirping on the awning above my car. It appears that their eggs simply rolled down and fell onto my car. So I tweet out once again, guys "It wasn't #Anti-Llam!" It was chickens. But some people on social media continued to share the false claim. Even some people who saw the retraction and the correction. A major news agency, even report some, all the signs of the residents in the neighborhood fighting back against Llama intimidation. But fortunately no other eggings occur. So yes, the car had egg on it but it wasn't a political attack. It was just a rogue egg from a chicken.Chicken: Chicken!Clark: So why did the misinformation spread? I simply reported a fact to my neighbor, but then I jumped to conclusions and shared misinformation online. Some people then shared this misinformation because it also confirmed their belief of an anti-Llama bias. Lastly, concerned neighbors posted flyers promoting the misinformation. Then it all just got out of control. Even in the simple case, placing all the blame on a single group for misinformation is impossible. But back to reality. As a society, we've wrestled with intentional misinformation for years.Dr. Brian Southwell: An historical example of, you know advertising around snake oil sales, right? Well, it turns out that's a phrase that people are aware of, the notion of being a snake oil salesman. But it actually was a real, it was a thing.Clark: Okay, that's Brian Southwell and he literally wrote this book on misinformation. And here's something you probably didn't know. We use the term snake oil salesman refer to swindlers who intentionally mislead others. But the original snake oil salesmen were Chinese immigrants in the 1800s. And one product they brought with them to the States was yeah, a snake oil that was rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Which are found in many fish and can contribute to cardiovascular health.In the late 1800s, however, a traveling merchant named, Clark Stanley, began selling a product that he called snake oil. But it didn't actually contain snakes. Instead it had mineral oil. It was unlikely to have any positive health effects. Why is misinformation something that it seems we just can't rid ourselves of?Southwell: When we're trying to think about explaining the diffusion of misinformation, it's important to realize all the reasons why people talk to one another. All the reasons why people engage with one another and sometimes those reasons aren't necessarily focused just on the factual truth. Sometimes people are connecting with one another, because of reasons of identity or reasons of community.Clark: Dr. Southwell and others in the field, liken information to a kind of currency that gets traded in normal conversation. But what should we do when we see someone trading in counterfeit currency or misinformation?Southwell: We've seen lots of evidence of people willingly sharing you know, misinformation online, no in recent months. And it's something that's worried a lot of people. The first step we can take is actually one of empathy. And to realize that we're all in this together. We all under certain circumstances are vulnerable to misinformation. We've all made mistakes and what we've shared.Clark: So be more empathetic to those around us. And then also slow down and take the time to kind of verify the sources that you're looking at.Southwell: Which isn't necessarily bad advice for life in general, right? So slow down, not necessarily spend, you know a week investigating, you know a piece of information or misinformation you found online. But at least taking five minutes. At least taking a moment to verify, triangulate, to try to get other sources of information.Clark: So that's the deal. Science misinformation has been spread for thousands of years. And we are particularly vulnerable to sharing it because of the way that we communicate. Next time the real fun begins. We'll examine click bait and misinformation in the news. And by the way, the earth is round.

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Origins of Misinformation and How it Spreads

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