Journalism, as evidenced by its track record, illuminates systemic inequities and fosters positive change through the dispersal of information. Journalism has taken many forms from word of mouth, to written word, to newspapers, to radio, to cable television, and now to the internet. Certainly, opinions tend to permeate news and information but never with such intensity as they do online. Social media has permanently altered the consumption of news due to it’s lowered barrier of entry than larger publications and accessible formatting of information. Social media has made way for powerful stories to be told such as #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, and Climate Strike movements. These movements, originating online, give voice to the underserved and overlooked minority groups that support them. Despite all of its positive impacts, social media also contributes to extremism and the lack of censoring misinformation on large platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and X (formerly known as Twitter). There have been menial attempts by companies to flag false information as false, but many people tend to read something and perhaps ignore or forget that it isn’t true. This phenomenon is known as the illusory truth effect.
The Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021, stands as a poignant reminder of the destructive potential of misinformation, fueled by false tweets disseminated by former President Donald Trump. Driven by algorithms that prioritize engagement over accuracy, such misinformation fosters polarization, echo chambers, and violence, posing a significant threat to societal and political function.
Susceptibility to misinformation like this can be lowered with media literacy education and conducting the SMELL Test (McManus). It stands for Source, Motive, Evidence, Logic, and Left out or marginalized. This test helps media consumers critically assess the information they encounter, considering factors such as the source of the information, the motives behind it, the evidence provided, the logic behind the information shared, and what may have been omitted or marginalized from a piece of media. I encourage my target audience of students and educators to call their local congress. In 2022, a bill, “Educating Against Misinformation and Disinformation”, intended to promote media literacy education as a preventive measure against misinformation and disinformation. However, this bill only made it to a subcommittee and no further action was taken after. Encouragement to local congress members from students would aid in this bill’s reintroduction. My call to action was also to move movements from social media to the streets. Social media and the internet provide a great platform to spread messages but movements have even more impact on society when they are physical, because no on can just scroll past a protest or demonstration in real life.
This remix’s intention was to force viewers to confront their potentially flawed relationship or consumption of media. I also wanted to highlight the history that prefaced the path that journalism and media takes today. Misinformation is so prominent in mainstream media that many students, educators, and other citizens become desensitized to it’s impact. So, I wanted to bring awareness to the actual harm that misinformation poses as well as ways propose actionable ways to combat it.
Works cited:
McManus, John H. Don’t Be Fooled! A Citizen’s Guide to News and Information in the Digital Age. The Unvarnished Press.
The rest of the works cited can be found in the YouTube video linked.
Siena's Senses 
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