Once you’ve found information online – or someone has shared it with you – how do you know if it’s true, or at least credible? In other words, how do you verify the information? The internet is a unique medium in that it allows anyone – not just experts – to write on any topic and to broadcast it to a wide audience.
As we grow, we pass through distinct stages of moral development in which our ethical thinking is based on different principles: the desire to avoid punishment (Stage I) and the desire to obtain rewards (Stage II), which are then followed by a wish to fit in and conform in order please others (Stage III) and a duty to follow rules, laws and social codes (Stage IV). Last comes the sense of participating in a social contract (Stage V) and, finally, a morality that looks to universal ethical principles of justice and the equality and dignity of all people (Stage VI).
One of the hardest things about being a responsible sharer is to be aware of your own biases, the reasons why you might be more likely to believe something without evidence. These are aspects of the way we think that can lead us to accept false statements, reject true ones, or simply not ask enough questions.
Two of the most important kinds of information we look for online are about health and science: almost half of Americans, for example, report seeing science content in the previous few weeks, and a third follow a science-focused page or account online. However, nine in 10 Canadians, have seen misinformation on at least one of those topics.
If you’ve found that the source is reliable enough to be worth your attention, you can now read it more critically.
As in other media, 2SLGBTQ+ people have gained a greater and more widely visible presence within the advertising world, with ad agencies courting the “Pink Dollar.” This is not surprising, considering that the 2SLGBTQ+ audience is estimated to be worth around $917 million in buying power.[1]
Internationally, a wide range of legislation has been developed in order to manage and protect individual’s personal information. Canada’s public and private sector are governed separately in terms of privacy protection.
With younger children, the best approach is to have a clear and consistent set of rules, both at home and at school, about sharing other people’s content.
The following fact-checking videos have been produced by teens for teens. The viral claims they chose to fact-check touch on a range of topics from the environment, health, science and food to beauty products, social media trends and even presumed “weird” local bylaws that caught their attention.
The internet has become a prime means of communication worldwide and this unprecedented global reach – combined with the difficulty in tracking communications – makes it an ideal tool for extremists to repackage old hatred, raise funds and recruit members. As the internet has grown and changed, hate groups and movements have adapted, creating websites, forums and social network profiles, becoming active in spaces such as online games and even creating parallel versions of services such as Twitter, YouTube and GoFundMe.