How Can We Stay Informed During the Overwhelming Age of the Internet?
Graphics by Halima Jibril
With the boom of the internet, everything has been made available to us with a mere click of a button. Now newspapers are no longer the primary source for information on current events. Due to the abundance of content online, there is a race to be the first to capture audience attention. In a bid to gather interest, clickbait, sensationalism, and fake news has created a sense of distrust in the media. Nowadays, we must be smarter and more diligent in how we navigate the web to obtain information. I am not writing from the perspective of someone who has mastered this skill, but I am willing to learn and have formulated ways to help me and others stay informed.
Mindset
Before beginning this journey, I suggest analysing your mindset going in. What is your current political stance? Who do you vote for and why? There is an online test called the ‘political compass test’ which asks you a series of questions to determine your political bias. Understanding the various political ideologies is useful when trying to make sense of your beliefs. It also helps develop that same critical thinking when looking at other people’s views and deciding if you align with them or not.
Furthermore, it is also important to be open and prepared to change your mind. If you find compelling information that contradicts your current stance, fight that urge to resist it. Changing your mind is not a sign of indecisiveness but rather demonstrates a sense of awareness and curiosity. While there are issues that are non-negotiable, sometimes there is not a clear cut ‘wrong’ or ‘right’ opinion to have. It could help to understand how and why others have come to different conclusions as you.
After establishing your mindset, look at your current methods of staying informed. A couple of years ago, I decided that I was going to actively try to keep up to date with politics and current events. However, I can now recognise my efforts were not good enough. There were too many occasions where I was ill-informed or lacked the knowledge to speak about the issues that I was passionate about. This conflicted with my desire to be more vocal online. I had to take a step back and re-evaluate how I obtained information and formed my opinions.
2. Opinions are not fact.
I began identifying where not to look for information. I found the immense amount of content to wade through intimidating, and it was convenient to rely on sources that have already done it for me. However, there is a risk of exclusively consuming content where you either: like what is said, or like who is saying it.
Two examples of this are pundits and comedians. Pundits are people who use the media to offer their opinion on a specific topic whether that is politics, technology, or sport. Typically, they would be people already considered an expert in that area. However, with social media and platforms such as YouTube, anyone has the ability to voice their opinions to a wide audience. Popular media personalities and comedians that tackle social and political commentary now fall under this umbrella. Outspoken, charismatic or even controversial figures like Joe Rogan or Piers Morgan can now influence public consensus on these topics. Between providing the full context and telling a joke, the latter is the most desirable way to garner attention. Since their content is best appreciated when you are already familiar with what they talk about, indulge in opinion-based media after you’ve acquired the information.
Now the question becomes, where do you look for this information? News sources are more credible but can still be just as bias. Right?
3. Bias is not the enemy.
Whether it is blatant or discreet, everything has a bias. The fear is that biases may encourage dishonesty or hypocrisy. I find that a good way to combat this is to not consume news sources that only appeals to your personal bias. Read from a variety of sites with different stances. This is why I found the political compass test useful. By recognising my own views, I could identify which news outlets had similar or opposing perspectives.
Centre-right/Conservative – The Times, The Daily Telegraph, London Evening Standard
Liberal – The Independent, Financial Times,
Centre-Left – The Guardian, The Observer
Right-Wing - Daily Mail, Daily Express
Non-Political – Metro, Daily Star
Also, consider the fact that the owner of these newspapers may also affect their content. The Guardian and The Observer are both owned by Scott Trust Limited. Lord Rothermere owns Metro and the Daily Mail. Rupert Murdoch owns The Sun, Sunday Times, The Times amongst many others. During the 2011 Leveson Inquiry (An investigation of the British Press after the News International phone-hacking scandal) a former editor at the Sunday Times, Harold Evans, had said that Rupert Murdoch interfered with the content of his papers. Evans stated that he was often rebuked for “not doing what he [Murdoch] wants in political terms.”
Independently owned papers could be a good way to escape the billionaires’ domineering ownership of mainstream news outlets. Some to look up are:
- ByLine Times – Run by a small team, they provide a platform for freelance journalists to report on issues not covered elsewhere.
- MediaLens – They check the media's version of events against credible facts and opinion provided by journalists, academics, and specialist researchers.
- openDemocracy – Leading independent global media organisation that reports and analyses social and political issues.
Foreign news sources or sites that write from a non-Eurocentric perspective is another good way to develop a well-rounded opinion.
Asia/Middle East – Asia Express, The Diplomat, Al Jazeera
Africa – The Voice, AllAfrica
Europe - Politico EU
After all of this, what can you do to make yourself even more informed?
4. Fact Check
To further verify the information you have acquired, you could follow up on the resources that are cited, or fact-check it yourself if it is not provided already. That is not to say you need to distrust every source completely. But if you want to make sure there is sufficient evidence behind certain statements, FullFact (UK’s independent fact-checking charity) is a good starting point when doing this. If it is basic knowledge, a simple google search will also provide adequate results.
5. Reach out to people
Seeking out people you know with direct experience of the topics you are interested in is a valuable way to get more accurate inside information. Put your knowledge into practice and get more comfortable articulating your opinions. Discussions with your friends and family are good but also find people who have alternative viewpoints. If they do not persuade you, your own opinion tends to get stronger through debating. That being said, I've been in enough dead-end debates to know that when having these discussions, it's important to pick your battles. The other person also has to have an open mindset and be equally willing to listen to you and vice versa. Without that, then you will both be talking in circles. At best, these conversations can be a way of coming to an understanding. At worst, it will be frustrating and emotionally draining. You will come across stubborn people that will only double down on their problematic views no matter how offensive they are. In those instances, it's okay to disengage and refuse to encourage their rhetoric. You shouldn’t feel burdened to fix the ignorance of others as there will always be racists, sexists or transphobes that will never alter their mindset. However, we can try our best to inform people through open and honest dialogue. All in the hopes of creating an environment that prevents those harmful thoughts from turning into harmful actions.
Ultimately, everyone’s pursuit to stay informed is going to vary and these are only suggestions that I think might help. We are living in an increasingly politically polarising environment. The voice of our generation is getting louder than ever, especially with the issue of climate change, the current pandemic and uprising of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. As the voice of the future, it is imperative that we seek our own truth and learn to decipher the misinformation prevalent online.
“For me, I am driven by two main philosophies: know more today about the world than I knew yesterday and lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you.” ― Neil deGrasse Tyson
By Alisia Usher
(she/her)
Instagram: @manukaali
Edited and Graphics by Halima Jibril (@halimaa)