How do you know what you know? Name one new thing you learned using a social media site today and explain why you believe it is true. What source did you use to acquire this information? At times, are social media sites reliable for obtaining credible information?
One unfortunate thing I learned from social media today was that a missing Arcadia Firefighter was found dead. I saw a few tweets about the story and then went to a link via Twitter to the Pasadena Star News with a story about it. I usually trust the sources I follow on social media because most of them are legitimate news stations that I trust. This particular story also attributes information to a sheriff's official, "The body of missing Arcadia firefighter Mike Herdman was found Friday by rescuers in the Sespe Wilderness, Ventura County Sheriff’s Capt. Dan Aguilar said." Attribution of sources make it obviously much easier for me to trust a story and its sources.
#BREAKING — Missing Arcadia firefighter's body found, authorities say. Story developing here: http://t.co/31BWLFr77d
— SGV Tribune (@SGVTribune) June 27, 2014
I believe most of the times social media sites are credible sources of information, at least the ones I follow. Again, I tend to follow mostly well-known media outlets and organizations that I trust. I also follow reporters and journalist that I've worked with or am friends with. Social media is full of legitimate news organizations, and if I do follow a "blogger" or an individual, I always get a second source, at least, to confirm any information I'm interested in or doing research on.
I have the same approach as you with social media: only follow well-known media outlets and credible sources. I think that is the best way to ensure that the information I am receiving is accurate and true. I do not follow random news outlets that I cannot trust because what would be the point? Nowadays every media outlet has a social media site, so I find accounts for the ones I have trust all my life, and when I go to their sites I know for sure that the information they are posting is true.
ReplyDeleteRyan,
ReplyDeleteI really need to get into Twitter. I am only 26 but for the life of me I can not figure it out. The one thing I like about Twitter is that you can see the origin of every post. It gives you the opportunity to know if the post came from a credible source or not. Facebook on the other hands is sometimes confusing about where the actual story came from.
I really enjoyed your blog. It is nice that you took the time to explain your verification process to your readers. It lets me know that as a journalist that you desire to be ethical. I appreciate the fact that your have a background in journalism and that you are not afraid to draw from your experiences. It is even nicer that you have network of friends in journalist that you can count on for good information.
ReplyDeleteHi Ryan,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that there are plenty of legitimate news stations out there on social media. Twitter makes it even easier to tell the true stations from phony one with the "blue check" verification process! for me, I'm still trying to find a station or news source I trust. I feel that I am definitely too critical at times and often need to see the same story from a variety of sources to believe it.