Illusory Truth Effect v. Fake News

Many Americans spend hours on social media gathering their daily news. Millions of tweets, Facebook posts, and articles sharing the world news. This is the primary source of news for many people. But not every article on the internet is accurate or remotely true but many people don't bother to even fact check social media posts before clicking the share button. The war on fake news has been brewing for several years, but the illusory truth effect has made this fake news even more dangerous.

The illusory truth effect is the theory that someone is more likely to believe something the more often they see it. For example, many people believe that carrots are good for your eyesight because we've seen this advertised and said many times. But in reality, carrots alone cannot approve your eyesight. Because this message has been seen over and over again, people tend to believe it more than one scholarly article that says kale is better for your eyesight.

The problem with the illusory truth effect is that many people just remember the message and not the source. People will see ten messages about how President Obama is not a US citizen from unreliable sources and will be more likely to believe that than if the message were only published once. Fake news articles are accidentally posted and shared all the time, so the likelihood of someone seeing a false message many times, is very high. When people get their news from social media, they are less likely to read the full article or do any further research. They subconsciously trust the message and the person who shared it, and thus fake news is spread like wildfire.

Fake news is dangerous, especially surrounding politics. Politics is such an opinion based system that any false truth shared can completely change public opinions on important subjects. It is imperative that journalists and reporters post articles that are easy to understand and not misleading. It is also the responsibility of social media platforms to prevent normal users from altering headlines and text in published posts. No matter how educated or knowledgeable one is about a subject, seeing repeated messages will still subconsciously impact how we perceive new information. Every person is susceptible to fall for fake news, and it is everyone's responsibility to make sure that all information shared is as accurate as possible.

The Rise of Revenge Porn

In the day and age of smartphones and social media, the line between public and private information is quickly getting blurred. Some of the common information being shared on the internet now would make people fifty years ago cringe in embarrassment. Between check-ins on Facebook, mommy bloggers sharing the intimate details of raising their children, and the millions of people tweeting their innermost thoughts daily, there is almost no line left uncrossed on the internet. Recently, revenge porn has been in the news as one of the leading types of cyberbullying.

The name 'revenge porn' is very misleading and does not accurately definite the crime being committed. The word 'revenge' implies that the victim has done something to entice or hurt the offender. The victims of revenge porn are often victims because they denied advances from abusive and controlling partners. These victims did not incite this act or cause this to happen to them. Secondly, the word 'porn' is defined as sexualized media for public consumption, whether that be TV, magazines, or on the internet. These victims did not take these explicit photos and videos with the intentions of the world seeing. These photographs were taken for private use, between consenting adults. Describing it as 'porn' makes it seem as if these victims "had it coming" or "deserved" what happened to them.

Revenge porn is very difficult to police between consenting adults. The cases are black and white when it involves impulsive teenagers because sexual images of minors are illegal and all actions involving the pictures are heavily penalized. But pictures that two consenting adults share (especially if they are married or in a serious relationship) are very hard to prosecute. It is often assumed that the partners have a right to the pictures that they have received and because they were sent with consent, then the images can be shared as well.

Revenge porn is not a victimless crime. The victims of these crimes often fall into depressions or attempt suicide because they feel that their lives are over. Their future spouses, parents, children, future employers, all have access to these private images. Not all sexual photos are taken with consent either. Some are taken while people are asleep, intoxicated, or simply in secret and published and these images ruin their lives. Revenge porn should require offenders to register as sex offenders and be raised to a felony charge. No one has a right to share private, sexual images of others without their consent. The victims of these crimes are regular people that have to live with the aftermath of their damaged reputations and endure months of legal proceedings and searches deeper into their private lives. Revenge porn is more than just leaked nudes, it a tarnished reputation and a lifetime of dealing with the consequences.

The Rights of Whistleblowers

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