Ma Moe Wathan (21) feeds her daughter Pan Ei (1.8 year) in their hostel room in A Lal village, Hlaing Thar Yar township, Yangon, Myanmar. Credit: UNICEF/Nyan Zay Htet
By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 25 2024 – With the emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and social media, the dissemination of public information moves at a faster speed than ever before. Social media platforms have become an integral tool for users of younger generations to access the news. Although this shift has led to public news being more accessible to younger users, it has also led to an overall decline in media literacy.
According to a study by the Pew Research Center, approximately 54 percent of U.S. adults get their news from social media platforms such as X (formerly known as Twitter), Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
In an increasingly digital age, media literacy has seen a significant decline. Experts have attributed this to the rise of social media, which has led to shorter attention spans among younger generations. Gloria Mark, PhD, professor of informatics at the University of California, states that the average attention spans recorded in 2004 were about two and a half minutes. In the last five years, this has dwindled to about 47 seconds.
Social media platforms offer users a rapidly changing and endless flow of content, which has a negative impact on attention spans. Constant switches from one source of stimuli to another have adverse effects on the default network of the brain and its functions, making it difficult for users to maintain attention.
A study published by the University of British Columbia titled Mind-wandering as spontaneous thought: a dynamic framework, states that “attention and the focus of thoughts frequently shift back and forth between the internal and external environment; there is often a simultaneous deactivation of the DN (default network of the brain) in many different task paradigms”.
While news organizations have social media accounts in an effort to spread the truth and get more engagement, they find themselves being overshadowed by content creators who can more effectively captivate the short attention spans of internet users. These users often incorporate sensationalized language and spread false narratives.
The same study from the Pew Research Center reports that 64 percent of adults surveyed reported feeling confused on what is real or not due to the misinformation or ‘clickbait’ that runs rampant on social platforms. 23 percent reported that they shared false information either knowingly or unknowingly.
Misinformation, while not always intentionally harmful, can have negative effects on the relationship between experts and the public. “Polarization on topics such as climate change and vaccines has damaged public trust in science, which makes it harder for scientists to serve society,” said Dr Ataharul Chowdhury, an agricultural scientist at the University of Guelph.
The rise of generative AI in media spaces has added a layer of complication, as social analysts describe it as an amplifier for misinformation. The field of AI is largely unregulated and offers users the tools to create hyper realistic images and photos that could easily deceive viewers.
As Gita Johar, the Meyer Feldberg Professor of Business at Columbia Business School, Columbia University explained, the presence of AI and the “amount of misinformation” created in social media sites is going to multiply.
“People have started realizing that AI is behind a lot of this misinformation. Over time, they’re not going to know what to trust anymore, plus there’s such a deficit of trust in society as it is. As AI does more and more, even if you have disclaimers saying such and such was produced by AI, what you’re going to see is consumers becoming more skeptical of information,” she said.
The effects of the decline in media literacy has significant ramifications on the ways that people conduct their daily practices, inlcuding when it comes to food. Facts about the relationship between the meat industry and food production have been largely divisive among the American public.
According to the United Nations (UN), the meat production industry is a significant contributor to the climate crisis, emitting more greenhouse gasses than the world’s biggest oil companies. Additionally, meat production is responsible for dwindling water resources and exacerbates deforestation.
A 2023 survey conducted by the Washington Post-University of Maryland reports that 74 percent of Americans think that meat production and consumption has little to no detrimental impact on the environment.
A report published by Changing Markets Foundation (CMF) used opinion mining and language processing algorithms to detect over 948,000 tweets from 1 June 2022 to 31 July 2023 that contained misinformation about meat production and its impacts, as well as false statements about alternative practices such as adopting plant-rich diets and consuming poultry instead of red meat.
CMF summarized the main sentiments found in misleading posts that focused on meat production and consumption. 78 percent of users disparaged alternatives of meat and dairy products and discredited their potential benefits for the environment and public health. 22 percent of users tweeted that meat consumption is wholly beneficial for the human body. Many users also attempted to refute scientific data on the environmental impact of global animal agriculture.
Misinformation surrounding agriculture and plant consumption has become widespread in the past two decades. Genetically modified crops and organic farming have been points of significant contention for both farmers and consumers in recent years.
While there are supporters for both sides of the argument, it is farmers and marketers who appeal to the consumer’s fears of health concerns and environmental damage to convince people to buy their products. “Agri-food misinformation creates anxiety, uncertainty and confusion among farmers and consumers,” says Chowdhury.
Transparent advertising is essential for the agriculture industry, especially in today’s climate where people do not know if they can trust the food that they are eating. “Businesses can lead the way here. Advertisers need to work together to make this happen. It’s good for them, and it’s good for society. It’s really a win-win. Then they can actually force platforms to abide by some kind of rules and procedures and make sure that they’re actually monitoring and trying to prevent the spread of misinformation,” says Johar.
IPS UN Bureau Report
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