Lam Thuy Vo, Documented
How to Avoid Being Overwhelmed by Information Online
Hello! (Hola!)
My name is Lam. I’m a reporter at Documented, a news organization that writes stories with and for immigrants.
Vocabulary Preview
Overwhelmed: having too much emotion or information coming at you at one time. I was overwhelmed with emotion when I saw New York City for the first time.
Algorithm: a set of step by step directions, like a recipe, to create something like a facebook feed. My facebook algorithm is filled with cute animals.
Epidemic: a sudden increase in the number of something (like disease cases). There is an epidemic of social media abuse with younger children.
Do Now! (Hacer ahora!)
Let’s begin today by sharing: tell us about the social media platform you use the most and what you use it for!
Empecemos hoy compartiendo: ¡cuéntanos cuál es la plataforma de redes sociales que más usas y para qué la usas!
How to protect yourself!
Temas de hoy:
Themes today:
Cómo protegerse de la desinformación
Information chaos
Caos de información
Information chaos!
Why we feel overwhelmed
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How we receive information
The information comes to us in large amounts and it spreads quicker than we can make sense.
Some people call this an infodemic, similar to an epidemic.
La información nos llega en grandes cantidades y se difunde más rápido de lo que podemos asimilar.
Algunas personas llaman a esto una infodemia, similar a una epidemia.
How we receive information
Much of that information is extreme:
The quality of most of this information is not good for making decisions.
The information is not neutral. It’s a lot of opinions.
Gran parte de esa información es extrema:
La calidad de la mayor parte de esta información no es buena para tomar decisiones.
La información no es neutral. Son muchas opiniones.
Examples
TikTok videos fuel fears of ICE raids
Fuente: Documented
Videos en TikTok aumentan el miedo de redadas de ICE
Este video muestra la remoción de personas, pero:
1) no especifica quiénes fueron detenidos,
2) no indica la fecha en que fue grabado y
3) afirma, sin aclaración, que los detenidos eran estudiantes de un colegio.
Fuentes confiables de información no tienen un reportaje sobre este incidente.
What kind of misinformation are we seeing now?
** Auto del NYPD
92.000 videos
con el hashtag #ICE en 30 días
¿Qué es el tipo de mala información que estamos viendo ahora?
This video shows the removal of people, but:
1) it does not specify who was detained, �2) it does not indicate the date it was recorded, and �3) it claims, without clarification, that those detained were students from a school.
Reliable news sources have no report on this incident.
Share with us
How does information you see online make you feel?
¿Cómo te hace sentir la información que ves en Internet?
Why is this information like this?
Algorithms!
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Why is this information like this? Algorithms
Algorithms | Algoritmos
Los algoritmos a menudo toman decisiones en torno a lo que ves (no una persona, solo datos)
Algorithms often make decisions about what you see (not a person, just data).
Why is this information like this?
Algorithms!
Algorithms are rules that companies set for what you see on your phone.
The rules are designed to keep you on social media. Many argue that social media is addictive.
¡Algoritmos!
Los algoritmos son reglas que las empresas establecen para lo que ves en tu teléfono.
Las reglas están diseñadas para mantenerte en las redes sociales. Muchos sostienen que las redes sociales son adictivas.
Let’s Practice
Testing our information system
Let’s Practice
Testing our information system
Your turn!
Testing our information system
For the next 10 minutes, you will look at your favorite social media platform:
How to protect yourself from bad information
Cómo protegerse de la desinformación
Choose your information! Don’t let it be chosen for you!
¡Elige tu información! ¡No dejes que otros la elijan por ti!
Choose your information
¡Es mejor elegir tus fuentes de información como una comida equilibrada!
The algorithm chooses �El algoritmo elige
You choose!
Lo que puedes elegir
It's best to choose your sources of information like a balanced meal!
How to choose information
Understand types of information sources:
How to choose information
News organizations: there are many organizations like https://documentedny.com but it’s helpful to think about these things.
Sourcing: News organizations should should tell you where their information is from — whether it’s a person, a research study or an institution.
Balance and thoroughness: A good news source will usually have many sources for one article and give various sides of an issue.
Transparency: A responsible news organization will give their audience a way to identify the authors of your article or find a way to contact the publication.
Dialogue
Person 1: Hi! How are you?
Person 2: Good, How are you? Everything okay?
Person 1: I am a little bit stressed out. I think that there have been some changes to immigration policies that might affect my family. I saw some things on instagram.
Person 2: Oh wow. Yeah, that can be stressful. But be careful where you are getting your information.
Person 1: Do you know where I can get good information?
Person 2: I would look for websites that end in .gov, or .org. You can ask your case manager at school or also ask at the library for good information.
Person 1: Thanks! That’s helpful. I’m going to ask my case manager to help me search for websites that end in .gov
Person 2: Oh one other great tip-when you go to google, click on the news tab. It’s more reliable.
Person 1: Great! Thanks!
Person 2: Good Luck!
Share!
How have you found good information?
What do you do when you come across bad information?
¿Cómo ha encontrado información de calidad?
Questions
Preguntas?