The Truth is in Crisis
Not long ago, the internet was seen as a resource to seek truth. It had instant access to information, and fact-checking became an important part of the internet. But in recent years, fact-checking has not been prioritized as much as it used to be, which causes misinformation to spread. Social media platforms have taken back their efforts, and internet users are growing more skeptical of fact-checkers. As a result, the internet is moving toward a post-truth era where engagement is more important than the truth.
When misinformation started to rise, fact-checking programs like PolitiFact gained prominence. Social media platforms introduced fact-checking labels and content censorship. But, over time, they have started to ease up on their enforcement. Meta, for example, has entirely removed its fact-checking program with the intent to make their platform “more personalized,” according to The New York Times. TuftsNow says that Meta will be creating “community notes” for its users to label if something is correct or not. How is anyone supposed to know if something is the truth just by some random user labeling it as correct?
The decline of fact-checking has real-world consequences. Political misinformation misleads elections and lowers trust in democracy. In an internet where facts are optional, the ability to make informed decisions is nearly impossible.
Ayden Archer, 12, often reads current news on the internet and says that checking the source is important and identifying any bias that a news source may have or who the author is can influence how the information is shown, “If an article tells me an alien spaceship landed on earth, I'm obviously intrigued, but I'm also not stupid, so I'll always do more research. It's crazy the amount of AI fake trash floating around on the internet. Every corner you turn, there is someone with an agenda trying to push false info on you.”
Reversing this trend will require significant effort. Stronger government regulations could hold platforms accountable for spreading false information. With the rise of AI, fact-checking tools could help find misinformation at scale without unneeded censorship. Schools (much like ours) could teach students to verify sources before using them. Overall, people should hold these major corporations accountable for their actions.
“It's tiring trying to wade through all the garbage,” Ayden added.
With the internet moving away from fact-checking, it’s creating a dangerous platform where people can be misinformed more often than they may think. If truth were to be restored on the internet, fact-checking must be reinforced—not just by companies, but by internet users. The internet should be a place where truth is prioritized over attention.
