Spread Information

Today anyone with a smartphone or a laptop can spread information and video around the world immediately. This new-found power can play a vital role in our understanding of events in places that have been cut off from traditional journalism. As in Syria, where the effects of the violent civil war are captured by citizens who are often trapped behind the firing line. In this digital age, it is nearly impossible for tyrants to mask their cruelty and anyone can speak about oppression to a global audience. But digitalization has a dark side. Social media, like Twitter and Facebook, often release information to the public that has not been verified, or long before a legitimate news organization would release it. So, it is possible for erroneous information to spread quickly. Take the case of Veerender Jubbal. Several European news outlets named the Canadian Sikh as a possible suspect for the November 2015 Paris terror attack. They even published a photo of him wearing a suicide bomber vest. But Mr. Jubbal was completely innocent. Someone had manipulated a photo on his Facebook page and posted it on social media as a joke. It quickly spread, causing Mr. Jubbal to suffer extreme damage to his reputation and a lot of emotional distress. This is a dramatic example but think about it. How many times have you fallen for click bait -- those deceptive ads that lure you to click with gossip or untrue information? For example, those ads that imply a famous celebrity has died or suffered a terrible tragedy?