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Guarding against misinformation: Simple steps to protect yourself

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BY KAHA G.

“‘When fake news is repeated, it becomes difficult for the public to discern what’s real.” Jimmy Gomez

This is a quote I couldn’t agree more with, and it plays a big role in most if not all of the issues going on in the world. In this article, I will discuss three ways you can be misinformed, how it spreads and affects us, and how to protect ourselves.

There are three types of ways you can be misinformed: misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation. Although they look the same, they all have different meanings.

  • Misinformation is false or misleading information shared without the intent to deceive, which means it could be an honest mistake, or misunderstanding.
  • Disinformation is false information spread to deliberately deceive or manipulate the public to obscure the truth.
  • Malinformation is information that is based on reality, and it is presented in a way to cause harm, like the information shared to damage someone’s reputation. An example of malinformation is when someone online—like a content creator— says something but people clip it (only show the peculiar thing they said), so it’s taken completely out of context to slander their name or get them “cancelled.”

Now, how does this type of information spread so fast on social media? According to https://today.usc.edu/, USC (University of Southern California) researchers found that social media platforms’ reward systems play a big role in spreading fake news. Instead of just being due to people not thinking critically, the study shows that 15% of frequent news sharers are responsible for 30% to 40% of fake news. Social media encourages people to share sensational content by rewarding them, similar to how video games work. This leads users to share information without checking if it’s true.

Furthermore, behavioural studies show that when people see misinformation, they are more likely to believe it and share it, especially if it’s to show support for a political group, criticize others, or gain attention. Expressing that people are more likely to share fake news if it matches their beliefs, is new, or causes strong emotions.

Misinformation spreads differently on social media than on TV, or in newspapers, which have more checks to prevent false claims. On social media, information can spread quickly with little oversight, and something called “echo chambers” where people only see views similar to their own, make it that much worse. Algorithms play a big role in this as they highlight emotional content.

Additionally, misinformation has a profound impact on the public’s opinions, and their beliefs and behaviour. For example, it can cause people to have wrong ideas about important issues like health, politics, or science. It can also make people more divided, as misinformation often plays on emotions like fear and anger, making people strongly support one side while distrusting others. This is a dangerous and disgusting tactic used by some governments in a time of conflict. Over time, this can lead to less trust in reliable sources like news outlets and experts, making it harder for true information to be accepted.

How can the public combat all this misinformation, and tell the truth from deception? It’s by thinking carefully about the information they come across and being cautious about what sources they trust. It’s important to check if the information is accurate by looking at multiple reliable sources before sharing it.

Fact-checking websites can sometimes help confirm if something is true, or false, but even those have to be verified. People should also be aware of their own biases and how these might affect their judgment. Following trustworthy news sources, avoiding echo chambers, and learning about common misinformation tactics can help recognize and avoid false information. Lastly, although commonly overlooked, taking a moment to think before reacting to emotional content can help stop the spread of misinformation.

In conclusion, it’s important to be careful about misinformation. We can protect ourselves from false information by thinking critically, checking facts from trusted sources, and being aware of our biases. Using fact-checking tools and being cautious about what we share can help stop the spread of misinformation. Staying informed and alert helps keep the information we see and share more accurate and reliable.

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Junior Contributors

Did you know that your brain actively shapes our reality based on what we focus on?

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Photo Credit: AI Generated

BY KAHA GEDI

How can the same day feel so different? Let’s explore two perspectives from Anna, a student, who experienced just that.

Scenario one:

“Today I had to wake up early for school, but I dreaded it because I slept late yesterday working on an assignment I procrastinated. Thankfully, I finished it before the deadline, but that didn’t stop my day from being ruined. I just feel like a failure for not doing better, and continuously letting not only myself down, but everyone else as well.”

“Additionally, I went through a lot today. I lost my wallet, which someone found, and if you think it can’t get any worse, my teachers gave me loads of homework. I just want to sleep and hope tomorrow will be a better day.”

Scenario two:

“Today, being mentally drained was an understatement. I procrastinated on a project and woke up quite grumpy this morning. However, I plan to do better next time and learn from my mistakes. I apologized to my loved ones for being cranky and irritable, which is a big step for me, because taking accountability is one of the biggest goals I’m working on.”

“Better yet, during my third-period class, I was called down to the office, and I was so scared, because I didn’t know if I was in trouble or not. When I got there, they said ‘Here’s your wallet, someone found it for you.’ I was awestruck. I didn’t even notice it was gone, and I’m even more surprised everything was there. This made my whole day that much better. I think things are looking up for me, I will try my best to work on myself, have a better day tomorrow, and deservingly get some rest.”

Anna had the same day, but these two scenarios produced very different outcomes. In the first scenario she focused on the negatives which completely clouded her day, but in the second she focused on the positives while also regarding the negatives as well. My question to you is, what kind of movie will you replay?

Did you know that our brain organizes our days into scenes like a movie? Just like how in movies, directors and editors decide when one scene ends and a new one begins. How does the brain choose? Christopher Baldassano (an Associate Professor of Psychology at Columbia University) and his team made a theory that it is caused by major shifts in our environment. Whether that be: from home, to school, or the different classes in between, to a movie theater, to a cafe, entering a new place our brains create a new scene or boundary between those memories.

According to livescience.com, alongside that theory, they further hypothesized that “These boundaries are created by our own past experiences and feelings about certain events, or environments. So, while a change in environment can affect the segmentation of someone’s day, it’s possible that this influence can be overridden by our priorities and goals.” Which is what I was portraying in the beginning of my article.

To explore this hypothesis, they experimented. The study involved 16 short audio narratives, each featuring four locations: (a restaurant, a lecture hall, a grocery store, and another restaurant), and four social situations: (a business deal, a “meet-cute,” a proposal, and a breakup).

Volunteers listened to these narratives while their brain activity was scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The researchers focused on tracking changes in brain activity, particularly in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), which is responsible for perceiving and interpreting moment-to-moment input from our surroundings. They found that mPFC activity spiked when the key social events in the storyline changed, such as when the business deal was closed, or the marriage proposal was accepted. However, if the participants were instructed to focus on features of the locations instead, such as sitting down at a restaurant and ordering food, their segmentation of the events changed, as did their brain activity.

The study also revealed differences in how the volunteers remembered the narratives after hearing them. When the participants were asked to recall the part of the story, they were not asked to pay attention to, they forgot many details. This shows that our brain doesn’t just record what happens to us; it actively shapes our reality based on what we focus on.

I would like to conclude this article with a knowledge question provided by Christopher Baldassano himself. “To what extent does this [shift in focus] change the way that we either frame a story, or the kind of details they include?”

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Junior Contributors

The 3-3-3 Method; Stay focused, productive, and stress-free from start to finish

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Credits: Diana Grytsku

BY YAHYA KARIM

The 3-3-3 method is a simple yet effective way to structure your workday, helping you stay productive while avoiding burnout. It breaks your tasks into three phases: starting with the hardest, moving to fairly challenging tasks, and finishing with the easiest. This gradual approach allows you to stay focused without feeling overwhelmed by your workload.

In the first phase, you tackle your most difficult or important tasks when your energy and focus are at their peak. This is the time to handle complex projects, make important decisions, or complete any work that requires deep concentration. By getting the toughest tasks done early, you set yourself up for the rest of the day and avoid the stress of avoiding what matters most.

Once you’ve completed the hardest tasks, you move on to the second phase: work that is fairly easy and urgent. This might include tasks that are still important, but less mentally frustrating, like: replying to emails, attending meetings, or organizing information. By this point, your momentum is already built, making it easier to continue being productive even as your energy starts to dip.

In the final phase, you finish with light tasks that require minimal effort. These might include organizing your workspace, responding to non-urgent emails, or planning for the next day. Ending the day with easy tasks helps you wind down while still feeling accomplished, and it ensures that your day wraps up on a positive note.

One of the great things about the 3-3-3 method is its flexibility. You don’t need to stick to unmovable time slots, or hours for it to work. If you’re more productive in the afternoon, for example, you can adjust the timing to suit when your energy peaks. The important part about this method is the structure, starting strong with focus-heavy work, then gradually easing into simpler tasks as the day goes on.

Overall, the 3-3-3 method introduces a balanced routine to your day. By having distinct chunks of time for different levels of work, it helps break up the lack of variety to a typical workday, making it easier to stay focused, productive, and stress-free from start to finish.

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Junior Contributors

It’s a clever way to grab attention and make us want to eat

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BY KHADIJA KARIM

Have you ever been to a restaurant and suddenly felt hungry because of the delicious smell in the air? This isn’t just a coincidence. Like many fast-food restaurants, chain restaurants use scent to make us want to eat there. It’s a clever trick that uses our senses and makes us crave things we haven’t even thought about. Let’s explore how restaurants use scent to entice us. Why is it so effective?

Smell is one of our strongest senses. When we smell something, our brains can instantly associate that with memories and emotions. That’s why when it smells like freshly baked cookies, it reminds us of home, or a holiday. Restaurants know this and use scent to stimulate hunger and mood. It makes us more likely to stop and buy food.

Think about the smell of a pizza shop. The smell of melted cheese. Spicy pepperoni. Fresh, irresistible dough. You don’t plan on buying pizza, but the smell can change your mind. Like a bakery with the warm smell of bread and desserts. It makes your mouth water before you even look at the food.

Sometimes the amazing smell we notice doesn’t even come from the food being cooked. Many restaurant chains use machines to remove artificial odors. This way, the odour can travel further and be stronger than it would naturally. Popular places like Subway can use scent machines to make the surrounding area smell like freshly baked bread. Even if they weren’t cooking at the time, it makes a passerby suddenly want to stop and eat a sandwich.

These synthetic odors can be controlled and spread through vents, or even sprayed outside the restaurant to attract people. It’s like a restaurant sending out a message saying, “Smell this amazing food! Why don’t you want it? Eat here?”

Restaurants use scent to attract us because it works! Smells come to us before we even look at the food or look at the menu. Smells like those that attract what we see or hear affect us immediately and can make us hungry even if we’ve never been there before. It’s a clever way to grab attention and make us want to eat.

Chain restaurants use scent to attract us and make us crave food. Whether it’s natural odors from cooking, or synthetic odors pumped into the air. This strategy works. Smell has a huge effect on our brain and mood. The next time you walk past a fast-food restaurant and suddenly feel hungry, think about real food, or smells, they make your stomach growl.

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