Pedal to the Medal...
Day 9: Time to get serious - if you aren't already...The Agapé Project
Now it’s time to begin (or continue) what will undoubtedly continue to be tough work. A day at a time, a small step at a time, a deep breath at a time. We are collectively working through despair, keeping the mantra of loving kindness and compassion as the guide to the work we are doing — and will continue to do.
You’ve had time to think about agapé. You’ve had time to think about the immense task ahead of us — nothing more than changing our world one small step at a time, one act of kindness at a time. Let’s begin.
Where do you get your news?
Seems a simple enough question.
Maybe even 20 years ago.
But the times have changed so drastically, and we Crones are keeping up with the technology as best as we can. I’ve discovered what is probably called tech fatigue. I can only take so much of web and sites and news and phones that do everything and trying to get through for answers from the Big Corporations.
But we have to keep moving forward, learning, reading, talking, vetting our sources.
How do you know what is going on in this country, your own state, even the world? Internet? Talk shows? Newspapers (relics)? Newsletters? Word of mouth? A friend of a friend? Influencers?
It’s time to look at where you get your news. The big questions are:
Can you trust your sources?
How do you know whom to trust??
Have you vetted their website?
Do the authors support their articles with research and sources for facts?
We know Facebook has promoted controversial material to increase engagement, so we recognize that Facebook should not be a trustworthy source. How can you verify what someone posts? Asking for someone’s sources can be a landmine ready to go off in the comment sections.
Here is a link from 3 years ago (almost to the date):
Fake News Gets More Engagement on Facebook — But Only If It’s Right-Wing…Wired Magazine
Three years ago - this is what was happening for news gathering and reporting. As I read it again, I was stunned by how much more collecting and reporting news has changed.
First, let’s look at reliability and bias - something we should all be doing on a regular basis. (charts)
This next graph is a look at overall media sources and their biases. Fascinating overview.
Here’s the link to the interactive chart -
Now if we go further in the Facebook article, we come across a source called CrowdTangle. I had no idea about this group. Here’s a screen shot from two years ago about what they can do.
Here’s the link. There are some very good uses for these tools, but the potential for misuse is huge - as we have seen in the previous two years.
Then there’s CrowdTangle, which I find disturbing. I haven’t personally worked with it, but in on overview of what it can do, I have strong reservations on usage. This is all available on their public site.
That sounds simple enough. Remember that Meta is the new Facebook name. Let’s look at more.
In this next screen shot, I have a particular concern with statements three and four. Who’s checking the checkers? What’s the process for handling disinformation?
This is just the beginning. My challenge to you is to dive deeper into the sites/people/media you depend on. What do you know, and what DON’T you know?
Share your findings in the comments so we all have more information at our fingertips. What have you discovered that you want to share with the rest of the Crones? Don’t assume we already know this information. We’ll be revisiting addition sources all along our path.
Linda, March 2024
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