Opinion: How to survive the dangers of misinformation in the Digital Age

Just under a decade before the Revolutionary War would break out, future Vice President and President John Adams would write: “Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people, who have a right ... and a desire to know.”

He was not the only founder to believe that knowledge and understanding among the people was critical to the preservation of liberty. While serving in Paris first as trade commissioner and then as minister to France, Thomas Jefferson (later the third U.S. president) wrote to James Madison (later the fourth U.S. president): “Above all things I hope the education of the common people will be attended to; convinced that on their good sense we may rely with the most security for the preservation of a due degree of liberty.”

Madison himself would write in an 1822 letter supporting public education: “Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives. ... What spectacle can be more edifying or more seasonable, than that of Liberty & Learning, each leaning on the other for their mutual & surest support?”

We cannot uphold liberty, Madison explains, unless we also embrace learning — about our nation’s history, the many peoples that make up this great country, the candidates and issues of our day, the international and domestic concerns that surround us, and civic education broadly.

Today, in the midst of the so-called Information or digital age, we must preserve “Liberty & Learning” against the dangers of misinformation, malinformation and disinformation. It may come as no surprise, then, that when the Civic Thought and Leadership Initiative of Utah Valley University’s Center for Constitutional Studies held its annual Civic Educators Conference last month, the best-attended breakout session was entitled “Misinformation in the Digital Age.”

Related

• The weaponization of doubt

• Perspective: How the government is failing citizens in the digital age

Jennifer LaGrand and Darren Hudgins, in their book “Developing Digital Detectives,” have noted that “In a click-driven information landscape, all content creators want theirs to be the stories, videos and posts that go viral.” As a result, “the desire to like, share or comment is the most important urge any form of information can inspire. Triggering extreme emotion has proven an effective way to ensure that this happens.” We, as savvy consumers of information, must recognize this as the marketing manipulation it is and learn skills and tools to combat this click-driven information landscape.

One such tool is lateral reading. When something is triggering, we can apply something like the familiar “stop, drop and roll” protocol we learned when we were young in case of a fire. Now, when you come across something incendiary, try — “pause, open (a tab), and verify.” This simple tool is a skill called lateral reading, which is searching for more information about a source or topic to determine the credibility of information you have encountered online before you believe what you have read, and especially before you share that information online.

Lastly, it is not enough for us to be able to recognize when information is triggering for us individually. We must also be skilled at identifying why it may be triggering to others. We all have a responsibility in this information age to be accountable for the information we spread and the impact spreading that information has.

The significance of having access to high quality information — information that is credible, reliable and verifiable — is that Americans are empowered to make sound decisions, which in turn will lead to positive civic action in our homes, schools, communities and nation.

But the opposite is also true. When individuals do not have access to high-quality information — when the information they rely on is not credible, reliable nor verifiable — they will not have the “good sense” necessary for “the preservation of a due degree of liberty.”

The next time we feel compelled to like, share or comment, let’s also remember the responsibility that comes with “be(ing our) own Governors.” Let’s “arm (our)selves with the power which knowledge gives.” And let’s remember the connection between “Liberty & Learning, each leaning on the other for their mutual & surest support.”

Jodi Ide is the social-studies specialist for Canyons School District. She wrote and secured a civic-innovations grant funded by the Utah Legislature and awarded by the Utah State Board of Education to implement a project known as “Information Investigators.”

Lisa R. Halverson is a Civics Education Fellow at Utah Valley University’s Center for Constitutional Studies. She teaches “American National Government” and “Women in American Political Thought” at UVU. Lisa also serves as the advocacy director of research for Mormon Women for Ethical Government.