Ethics of Sharing Information Online - Introduction

Authenticating Information

Thanks to the internet, today we’re not just consumers of news but broadcasters as well – and our friends and families are counting on us to only share accurate, reliable information. 

In fact, half of us pay more attention to who shared a story with us than where it originally came from.[1]

Just as news organizations have a responsibility to check the accuracy of what they report – and to publish a correction when they're wrong – when we share content on social media, we have a duty to be responsible broadcasters of information.[2]

[1] Ou, M., & Ho, S. S. (2024). Factors Associated With Information Credibility Perceptions: A Meta-Analysis. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 101(2), 346-372.

[2]  Chen, S., Xiao, L., & Kumar, A. (2023). Spread of misinformation on social media: What contributes to it and how to combat it. Computers in Human Behavior, 141, 107643.