Blog post #1: 24-Hour Media Diet: Spotting Misinformation
8:00am – I woke up and checked my phone for messages and anything important. Then I scrolled on Instagram for about 5 minutes. I am trying to be better about being on social media first thing in the morning. Most of the content that is on my feed is fitness, fashion, and lifestyle related. I sleep with rain noises on the TV playing on YouTube, so I always turn that off, and then I turn on jazz. Specifically, I have been listening to these videos that show drawings of cats with soothing jazz in the background.
9:00am – I made breakfast then watched a little bit of The Bald and The Beautiful Podcast with Trixie and Katya while I ate. I will confess that I double-screen sometimes and scroll on my phone during ad breaks.
While I was scrolling, I saw this post from @archived.spaces claiming that today’s Apple buildings look similar to Soviet architecture from the 1960s and 1970s. The caption stated, “Apple just showed up later with the technology to finish what they started.” It caught my attention because they do look similar, but I felt like I needed to research it more based on how the post was set up. The post does acknowledge that Apple has never said these Soviet buildings were references, but it still heavily implies that Apple’s designs came from directly. from them. The side-by-side photos make that connection seem convincing at a quick glance and scroll, but two buildings looking alike does not prove that one inspired the other. Looking into it further, one example the post used was the Sochi Bus Station, designed by architect Vyacheslav Morozov in 1966. Descriptions of the building specifically mention its wave-shaped roof and combination of glass and concrete, and Apple’s Aventura was built way later, but it does have a similar-looking exterior. I looked up the architect of the Apple buildings’ explanation and found something the Instagram post is definitely missing which is that it states the building’s design was inspired by Miami’s Art Deco architecture and the city’s nautical roots. The buildings and similarities are real, but the caption shifts from simply observing similarities to implying a connection it cannot prove, and there is evidence contradicts it. Also, stating in the caption that Apple “showed up later with the technology to finish what they started” makes it sound like Apple purposefully created this off the work of Soviet architects, which there really isn’t anything to establish that connection.
I feel like there are many posts like this I would have scrolled past and maybe taken as fact if I had not had this assignment in the back of my mind.
10:00am –I got ready and went to the gym. I listened to a house music station on Spotify during my workout. I occasionally scrolled through Instagram between sets, but nothing significant stood out to me. Most of what I looked at during this time was content posted by my boss or content from the Instagram account that I help run for work. I try to multitask in these moments. This did make think more about the fact that not all of my social media use is just for entertainment because social media is something I use every day for my job.
11:15am – I got home from the gym, sat down and scrolled through Instagram some more. This time, a post immediately caught my attention. The graphic claimed that Disney’s new CEO had “eliminated gender-neutral language,” brought back “ladies and gentlemen,” and fired 1,000 employees to “restore common-sense culture.” This post seemed even more questionable because of the type of language used, phrases like “common-sense culture,” and there are many different claims in one headline, so this seemed more like a political interpretation than straightforward news reporting. I decided to fact-check further and found that the 1,000 layoffs were real, but that they were due to restructuring and streamlining operations. The way the headline worded it made it seem like the layoffs were connected to a cultural or political reason at Disney. There is no evidence confirming that connection. As for gender-neutral language, Disney did change the “ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls” introduction to their fireworks to “hello everyone” in 2022. Then claims that Disney has brought back the “ladies and gentlemen” started to pop up, but they are just various videos from 2022-2026, and the language hasn’t suddenly returned, and the new Disney CEO has not announced that the company is reversing that language policy. This post is definitely misleading and combines a variety of information and presents it as though it is all part of a decision from Disney’s new CEO, but that is not true.
After that, I showered and got ready for work. I went to film a Puppies & Pilates event and spent some time looking through the Instagram page for the rescue organization we were partnering with.
2:00pm – I finished working the event, and I briefly checked my phone for messages and notifications but did not spend much time consuming any media.
2:45pm – I got home and read my book to decompress. This was probably one of the longest periods of the day when I was consuming media without looking at a screen or any social media.
4:00pm – I stopped reading and took a break. Then I worked on some assignments.
5:00 p.m. – I went grocery shopping and then came home and cooked dinner. I checked my phone occasionally but did not spend significant time scrolling or come across anything notable.
6:30 p.m. – I watched The Lizzie McGuire Movie. I actually watched the movie without spending much time on another device at the same time.
9:30 p.m. – I got into bed and scrolled through Instagram for about five minutes before putting my phone away and reading my book again.
10:45 p.m. – I went to sleep and put my rain noises on YouTube.
I think what I found most interesting from this assignment was that for both of the posts that stood out to me, neither one of them was a fully fabricated story. Both have information that is partly true. These examples point out something really important, which is that misinformation is harder to recognize when it contains some level of truth. These posts look professional and include claims that make them seem believable, and I feel like you’re more likely to question something when it sounds complelty rediculous/fabricated. This type of post is something I see all the time across platforms, and it has become increasingly important for me to fact-check what I see and not just scroll past and absorb information that might not be true.