Gelisim News

Warning not to share unconfirmed information on social media, Istanbul Gelisim University (IGU) Department of New Media Assist. Prof. Dr. Deniz Akçay said: “The urge to be an influencer makes people obsessed about making the first and continuous shares. Do not share falsifying and unconfirmed news on social media. Especially, the technology of artificial intelligence with rapidly developing information and communication technologies has become capable of making news which are plausible and convincing. It is pretty important for us as a society to be aware of trolls that produce infollution, that is, fake images and false news, information and documents, and artificial intelligence technologies’ capability of producing realistic news.”

Citing that different sources should be utilized in case of information pollution, Dr. Akçay said: “First of all, we can make it a habit of confirming news from traditional media's digital platforms and reliable news websites.”

In order to prevent information pollution, new media literacy training should be taken not only for students in the educational institutions but also for the whole society, Akçay said: “Before sharing news that may cause panic and fear in society, one should investigate the news from different reliable sources to ensure its accuracy regarding that this sharing can negatively affect the psychology of society. We should not forget that social media is a phenomenon that will take place in our lives not temporarily, so we should learn to use it ethically.”

Psychiatrist Onur Okan Demirci, stated that trolls on social media take action on common issues concerning all citizens of a country such as elections, war, economic crisis and counter terrorism and said: “These are the exact moments that they always look for turning them into an opportunity, as these issues provide the best ground for the dissemination of false news shares. Since people are more interested in these common social issues than ever before, their shares are paid much more attention and are taken more seriously. With the increase of the social sensitivity and perceptual selectivity, the sharing of the current issue makes widespread and taken seriously regardless of whether it is true or wrong.”

Demirci, stating that trolls on social media target the sensitivity of the citizens in such cases, said: “Because of the sense of anger, the trolls aim to reach a wide audience. Even shares made by some people for a simple joke cause the joke to be taken seriously in social issues. Human psychology tends to evaluate all the shares in social events according to the seriousness level of the current event. Social media trolls who want to take advantage of this psychology's deficit play an important role in directing the public.”