2-3 Blog: Social Media and Truth

How do I know what I know? Is it too pretentious to turn philosophical when answering this question to say I am the sum of my experiences, and that is the only way I know what I know? Yeah? Yeah, that's what I figured. 

But it is true - I know what I know because of my experiences. My experiences in education, my experiences stumbling through life, my experiences observing others. And much of that observation today takes place on websites like Facebook, Twitter, online forums like Oh No They Didn't (a celebrity gossip site that is a guilty pleasure of mine), LinkedIn, and even in the comment sections of mainstream news websites.

Here's a specific example of something I learned through social media, and the steps I typically go through when encountering information like this:

Without getting too much into detail, the subject of GMOs/Monsanto/Organic food is very important to me. My fiance and I are Paleo and have made a conscious effort to further change our diet to eliminate High Fructose Corn Syrups, only consume local, organic produce from farms we can actually visit here around Nashville, only consume meat and eggs from animals that are free-range/cage-free/no growth hormones/no antibiotics/fed their natural diets and not stuffed with corn by-products, etc. 

So while I am already predisposed to be more receptive to information from sources sharing my views, I still do my research. I found this on the Occupy Monsanto Facebook page, which I follow, but I'm aware that so much information out there is subject to the special interest and affirmation models of journalism, especially now. One of my favorite quotes states, "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations.*" I like to use this as a reminder to myself to be skeptical when reading information presented to me as "news."

When I see a graphic like this, I read it. I try to get past my own personal feelings of wanting to pump my fists in the air, scream "VIVA LE REVOLUTION!" and run to the nearest supermarket to topple over the tables of obvious yet unlabeled GMO food displays. And once I get past all of that, I begin researching each point made before even thinking about sharing it. I look up the basics of crop rotation, because I don't fully remember what I learned in high school social studies; I look up the basics of biology and pollination  I do so because the moment I share it, I take responsibility in disseminating this information - if its false, I share responsibility in spreading propaganda and false information, so I need to research. Those words become by own, and I have a personal standard of speaking truthfully.

I think new media is a great way to discover general concepts of new information. But just like Wikipedia, it should be treated as a point by which you can begin research trails to verify information and find out for yourself what is truth and what is just rabble-rousing.

*This quote is traditionally credited to either William Randolph Hurst or George Orwell. I've never been able to find a definitive answer on who is the actual source of the quote, but does it really matter? Its so true.