Still bogged down in stuff! But as promised, I did put some actual effort into the header this week.

ProPublica recently chronicled a story about misinformation. The focus was on wildfire risk maps in Oregon, which insurance brokers used to blame homeowners for cancelled coverage. This led to escalating conspiracy theories, exacerbated by right wing news outlets, and even though the map was withdrawn, the damage was done. And attempts to fix the map and introduce a new one led to similar results. Despite the very real risk of wildfires, pushback from homeowners amplified by misinformation led to the map effort being pulled entirely.

Misinformation is everywhere these days. We all fall for it. Recently I did not do my own due dilligence in sharing a story about AI models being used in Vogue (technically true, but they were used in an advertisement and not by Vogue journalism itself). Everywhere around us there are people baiting us into believing things that are half-true at best, or outright wrong at worst.

And that’s a major problem. There’s so much information out there these days, coming at you so fast and frequently. Who has the time to check all of it? But information literacy is a key component of a healthy society. It’s vital that you stop and think before you share something. Can you find the original source of the information? Does that original source, and other corroborating material, support what you saw? Or is there more to the story? Who’s sharing the information? Are they trying to farm engagement? Get you angry?

I’ve been exhausted lately, and I’ve particularly been exhausted by the news. Information is everywhere. News is everywhere. And you can’t always escape it. But sometimes, if you need a break, it’s better to step away rather than keep getting drawn in. The more exhausted you are, the less vigilant you are, and the more susceptible to misinformation.

So do what you need to do, but think before you post! Check those sources. And be kind and thoughtful today. Cheers.