In the age of social media, the credibility of content is an important issue | The Indian Express

In the age of social media, the credibility of content is an important issue | The Indian Express

Written by Osama Manzar |Updated: May 17, 2019 10:18:09 am

The writer is founder and director of Digital Empowerment Foundation

In the age of social media, the credibility of content is an important issue

The scale and volume at which misinformation is being created; we may need to develop large scale cadres of MIL experts (media information literacy experts) at community levels to reinstall our messaging patterns. If this isn’t done on a priority basis, our society is at a serious risk of information toxicity.

In the last one month, India has witnessed unprecedented levels of misinformation, lies, fables and manufactured statistics being fed to people through their mobile devices.

In the digital age, where copious amounts of free information is available in public domain, the menace of misinformation, propaganda and personal attacks is bound to exist. It is certainly not new in the world of social media. In the last few months, however, social media has been at its worst. At the same time, it is also struggling, taking baby steps towards improving itself.