Featured image: “Fake News and Media Literacy” by Brian Britigan
“False witnesses arose, not because they sought truth, but because truth stood against them.”
— Augustine, Sermon 201
The reality of the battle for truth
The human mind is, as Locke once put it, a tabula rasa or blank slate that is shaped by its experiences that it internalizes and evolves from. However, there is much incentive and opportunity in today’s world to utilize the means of misinformation to meet one’s political end. It is therefore important that we must critically evaluate not only where the ideas and information that are presented to us come from, but also what their underlying purpose may be. Aristotle noted that “the mark of an educated mind is one that can entertain a thought without accepting it.” Today, however, misinformation preys on the minds that lack the knowledge or ability, or are perhaps simply too naïve or trusting, to critically evaluate every headline that passes before their pupils each day.
The events of January 6, 2021, in the United States starkly illustrate how unchecked misinformation can disrupt society. Allegations of electoral fraud, spread by political figures and amplified on social media, led many to believe their democracy had been stolen. A Reuters report revealed that numerous individuals arrested admitted they were incited by former President Trump’s claims. Alas, to this date there is still not much actual evidence supporting these claims, and the potential 475 cases of electoral fraud are negligible in the face of the millions of votes cast. But the damage was done nonetheless—four died, while hundreds were imprisoned over politically motivated speculation.
This issue extends beyond the United States. During the COVID-19 pandemic in India, platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook became conduits for dangerous rumors. Outlandish claims—from denials of the virus’s existence to bizarre “cures”—spread unchecked. In a bout to bolster their reputations, news channels rushed to dispel misinformation about the virus and the vaccine with vigour. When Kerala experienced the infamous floods of 2018, misinformation thrived. A clip of an unidentified man claiming the Mullaperiyar Dam was about to burst circulated widely on WhatsApp. He asserted that the information was sourced from the PMO, urging residents to evacuate. Amid heavy rains, this news fueled fear and panic in Ernakulam.
However, we cannot always rely on news agents to dispel claims or Artificial Intelligence to sift through the rubbish.
The former is more often motivated by increasing their viewership, and tends to become the perpetrator of fearmongering and an agitator of public sentiment that quickly branches uncontrollably into speculation and finally misinformation. I am describing a style of reporting that prioritizes sensationalism over facts, an attitude historians have labelled as yellow journalism. The start of the Spanish-American War of 1898 exemplifies this.
The United States’ entry into the war was largely driven by public outrage fueled by yellow journalism during Cuba’s fight for independence from Spain. Sensationalist newspapers, especially those run by Hearst and Pulitzer, published exaggerated or false stories of Spanish atrocities, inflaming American sympathies for Cuban rebels. The turning point came with the mysterious explosion of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor in 1898, killing over 260 sailors. Though the cause was unclear, headlines screamed “Remember the Maine! To hell with Spain!”, pushing the U.S. toward war.
“It was an accident, they say. Perhaps it was, but accident or not, it would never have happened if there had been peace in Cuba, as there would have been if we had done our duty. And it was an accident of a remarkably convenient kind for Spain. Two days ago we had five battleships in the Atlantic. Today we have four. A few more such accidents will leave us at the mercy of a Spanish fleet.”
— New York Journal, 17 February 1898
The then acting President McKinley asked Congress to declare war, which they promptly did. While the press may not out rightly misinform, in pursuing sensationalism it may unintentionally breed speculative theories that may crystallize into misinformation.
The second obvious solution is utilizing Artificial Intelligence, but AI makes mistakes and largely feeds off human-written information (which, if written with aims to sensationalize), it acts as an effective exacerbator of the problem. Although AI models like Grok have earned a reputation for ruthlessly fact-checking users on X, there is little they can do in private WhatsApp groups and biasedly moderated subreddits. The algorithmically induced polarization through the construction of echo chambers that is present on every social media platform (as seen in the documentary The Social Dilemma) effectively spreads misinformation faster and more effectively than any AI can cut it down.
Why the next generations are the most vulnerable.
The greatest threat lies in the vulnerability of our children. In India, 90% of rural children aged 14 to 18 own smartphones, yet the gap between their access to technology and the education needed to navigate it is staggering. We give them powerful devices without equipping them with skills to discern reality from illusion. Although we would not grant a child a pair of scissors without proper training, many parents today give them a key to access the rest of the world with no training on its dangers whatsoever.
The risk of inaction is profound: the current generation represents our future. A January 2022 survey revealed that 18- to 25-year-olds constituted the largest share of social media users in India, with 31% using six to nine platforms simultaneously. If they cannot distinguish truth from falsehood, they risk being radicalized—sometimes to violence.
The solution is not to shield children from these platforms or enforce bans on using them entirely; instead, we must equip them to confront and engage with the digital landscape. A ban on access might seem like a remedy, but it is a band-aid that permits the growth of a much greater ailment. For there will come a time where they will grow out of these obstructions, only now more vulnerable and useful to the bad actors than ever before.
Optimistic Solutions
Our education systems must adapt to include critical assessments of the information students encounter online. To achieve this, we need a robust educational framework comprising several essential pillars. Schools should implement comprehensive programs that teach students to evaluate sources and identify misinformation. Practical exercises involving real-world examples can help develop critical thinking skills. The state of Kerala is already doing this, but the rest of India needs to step up as well.
We could try and instill a sense of responsibility regarding online behavior, covering ethical technology use, protecting personal information, and the consequences of sharing misleading content. It’s also vital to address the psychological effects of social media. Curriculum components should discuss the impact of online interactions on mental health and self-esteem, possibly featuring guest speakers who share insights on these issues. We could take responsibility for combating misinformation within our spheres of influence. If we enforce any of these proposals, we will at least no longer be throwing our children in the deep end of the pool on day one. And perhaps in the long run, this may produce a generation resistant to the wiles of misinformation from the get-go.
Framing it this as a choice would be misrepresenting the issue, for when lies are fully matured, they become pseudo truths, which hold the power to friends into enemies, nations into battlegrounds and by extension peace into war.