Social Media’s Influence On The News: Don’t Believe Everything You Read On The Internet

The rise of social media means more and more people are turning to apps like Instagram and Twitter for their daily news. Richmond Pulse surveyed people about how they vet their news on social. “If I were to see a tornado warning in my area on Twitter, with a live feed of a funnel cloud near the city, I’d probably believe it just as much as I would if I saw it on my Fox 90 news,” said Billy Miars, an avid social media user. Still, others are skeptical about the information they see on social networking sites. “If it is a random user, then, yeah, you can ignore them, but if it is an organization, you should see who’s funding them. Are they funded by governments who are known to spew propaganda like China? Or are they privately owned? It all depends on the background of that person or group telling you news,” said Anthony Jimenez, another internet user. To read more, visit Richmond Pulse.