1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:03,279 Speaker 1: Hey, y'all, quick heads up. This episode deals with suicide. 2 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:10,440 Speaker 1: You're listening to Disinformed, a mini series from There Are 3 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:17,200 Speaker 1: No Girls on the Internet. I'm Bridget Todd. On this 4 00:00:17,239 --> 00:00:20,520 Speaker 1: week's episode of Disinformed, we heard from Nora Benavidez, free 5 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:23,239 Speaker 1: speech attorney and the director of US re Expressions Programs 6 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:26,160 Speaker 1: at Pan America Foundation. Now, as much as we talk 7 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:28,800 Speaker 1: about the steps platforms could be taking to keep inaccurate 8 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:33,120 Speaker 1: information from spreading online, Nora, who runs digital literacy trading programs, 9 00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:36,160 Speaker 1: really highlighted the role that individuals can play in curbing 10 00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:39,000 Speaker 1: its spread. Her number one tip was that we all 11 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:42,519 Speaker 1: just slow down and we're online. Instead of smashing that 12 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:45,640 Speaker 1: retweet on things without really thinking it through, we should 13 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:48,360 Speaker 1: all start asking ourselves how we feel when we're online, 14 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 1: Like are you feeling anxious when you read things? Are 15 00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:56,960 Speaker 1: you angry? A lot of times disinformation will thrive because 16 00:00:56,960 --> 00:01:00,160 Speaker 1: we're emotional and we often want to share things, want 17 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 1: to engage with people quickly, and so we'll accept something 18 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:07,119 Speaker 1: without fact checking it, without thinking about or asking ourselves, 19 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:09,880 Speaker 1: you know, who wrote this, where did it come from? 20 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:11,800 Speaker 1: Why am I seeing it? So if you can just 21 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:15,480 Speaker 1: sort of pause, like that is my number one recommendation 22 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:18,880 Speaker 1: pause to ask a number of things, but just pause, 23 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:24,040 Speaker 1: um and from slowing down. I think we actually could 24 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:28,200 Speaker 1: all benefit. Just this week, I was leading a disinformation 25 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:30,559 Speaker 1: workshop and somebody asked me if I had ever shared 26 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:33,760 Speaker 1: something that wasn't totally accurate online, And the answer is, 27 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:38,399 Speaker 1: of course I have. In fact, every disinformation researcher, activists, advocate, 28 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:40,800 Speaker 1: or expert that I've ever talked to has admitted to 29 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:44,400 Speaker 1: getting fooled by false information on social media at least once. Seriously, 30 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:46,480 Speaker 1: it happens to the best of us, and even the 31 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:50,520 Speaker 1: extremely online are still susceptible. Now, it's easy to think 32 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:53,200 Speaker 1: about the spread of inaccurate information as something that other 33 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:56,040 Speaker 1: people are doing, but it really warrants us all taking 34 00:01:56,080 --> 00:01:58,800 Speaker 1: a closer look at our online behavior, yes even me, 35 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:02,320 Speaker 1: not just the about the problematic social media behavior of others. 36 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 1: And that can be really tough sometimes, because, like Nora says, 37 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 1: news news stories on social media, it's all wrapped up 38 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:11,120 Speaker 1: in our quick emotional responses to things. Think of the 39 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:13,360 Speaker 1: way that Facebook even spells this out what they're like 40 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:16,320 Speaker 1: love care reactions, and it's hard to think through your 41 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:19,560 Speaker 1: emotional responses to things, especially when you're quickly scrolling your 42 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:22,560 Speaker 1: social media feed. But a little mindfulness can go a 43 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:25,160 Speaker 1: long way. So this is the story about the last 44 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:28,080 Speaker 1: time that I shared something that wasn't true on social media. 45 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:31,320 Speaker 1: The tweet seemed innocuous enough. A friend, somebody I trusted 46 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:34,240 Speaker 1: in no one in real life posted suicide figures are 47 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 1: up two dent since the lockdown started. Could two followers 48 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:40,959 Speaker 1: please copy and repost this tweet. We're trying to demonstrate 49 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:45,959 Speaker 1: that someone is always listening call one hundred to the 50 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:49,560 Speaker 1: number for the suicide Prevention hotline. Now demonstrating that someone 51 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:51,639 Speaker 1: is always there for you and giving people a resource 52 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:54,120 Speaker 1: they might need during a quarantine. Why not share it? 53 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:57,520 Speaker 1: So I did. I spent maybe all of five seconds 54 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:00,760 Speaker 1: thinking about it. I do recall feeling pretty mugly pleased 55 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:03,040 Speaker 1: with myself, and I was dedicating a whole tweet to 56 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:06,040 Speaker 1: providing resources to others, which pretty much made me feel 57 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:09,160 Speaker 1: like a modern day Twitter saint until I got my 58 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:11,760 Speaker 1: first reply, And could you believe it? It was from 59 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:16,000 Speaker 1: somebody not praising me for being so altruistic, but actually 60 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:19,400 Speaker 1: calling me out for spreading an accurate information. I know 61 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:21,840 Speaker 1: you mean well, the tweet said, but what's the source 62 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:24,320 Speaker 1: for this? This figure doesn't sound right to me. I 63 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:25,880 Speaker 1: need to say that I am not proud of my 64 00:03:25,919 --> 00:03:28,160 Speaker 1: initial snap reaction, but I want to let you know 65 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:31,239 Speaker 1: where my head was at. My first response was, who 66 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: does this guy think he is trying to call me 67 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:35,360 Speaker 1: out like this? You know, I felt kind of attacked 68 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:37,480 Speaker 1: and a little bit dragged, So I was definitely on 69 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:40,400 Speaker 1: the defensive that I thought, well, I'm trying to share 70 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:43,320 Speaker 1: something helpful. Even if this figure isn't exactly accurate, it 71 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:45,400 Speaker 1: could still be a helpful resource for somebody who needs it. 72 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:48,120 Speaker 1: But the more I thought about it, the worst I felt, 73 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:50,760 Speaker 1: so I did a little digging. It turns out he 74 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:53,800 Speaker 1: was right. An article on fact check dot org said 75 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:57,560 Speaker 1: the figure about suicides being up isn't corroborated by any 76 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:00,160 Speaker 1: actual data. In fact, at the time when I tweeted this, 77 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:03,960 Speaker 1: data about suicide figures under quarantine hadn't really started being 78 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:06,280 Speaker 1: collected yet. The tweet had gone viral in both the 79 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:09,200 Speaker 1: UK and the US, but the hotline numbers swapped out, 80 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:11,600 Speaker 1: so it wasn't even aiming to paint a portrait of 81 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:15,480 Speaker 1: suicide figures in one specific country. Pretty dubious, Okay, but 82 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:18,000 Speaker 1: it's sharing an accurate information like this? Really that bad? 83 00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:21,039 Speaker 1: The sentiment could still be helpful, right. I did some 84 00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:23,720 Speaker 1: more digging. I found a piece in Slate by Shannon 85 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:26,680 Speaker 1: Paul's that viral tweet about suicide rates in the pandemic 86 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:29,120 Speaker 1: is wrong and dangerous, and in it she makes a 87 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:32,039 Speaker 1: really good point. First of all, that tweet is designed 88 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:35,080 Speaker 1: to be alarming, and connecting a dubious rise in suicide 89 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:38,520 Speaker 1: with COVID lockdown provisions is not a neutral statement. It 90 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:42,479 Speaker 1: goes against media recommendations for responsibly reporting on suicide because 91 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 1: it presents suicide as a common or acceptable response to 92 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:48,880 Speaker 1: hardship and speculates on the reason for suicides while misrepresenting 93 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:51,839 Speaker 1: the actual data. A rise in suicide has also been 94 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:55,640 Speaker 1: used as a political argument against COVID lockdown measures. Trump 95 00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:58,320 Speaker 1: even claimed in March that there would be quote suicide 96 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:01,680 Speaker 1: by the thousands if lockdown contin new. So not quite 97 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:04,440 Speaker 1: the innocuous, helpful message I intended to share my feed, 98 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:06,440 Speaker 1: and maybe if I had spent more than five seconds 99 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:08,599 Speaker 1: thinking about it before posting, I would have seen that. 100 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:11,480 Speaker 1: So am I telling you this? Well? The fact is, 101 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:13,520 Speaker 1: even though we spent a lot of time focusing on 102 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:16,200 Speaker 1: big time conspiracy theorists. You do not need to be 103 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:18,320 Speaker 1: fully down a Q and on rabbit hole to share 104 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:21,160 Speaker 1: bad information online. It happens to the best of us. 105 00:05:21,839 --> 00:05:23,400 Speaker 1: And if we all just spent a little more time 106 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:26,800 Speaker 1: thinking about our online behavior and as Nora says, slowing 107 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:29,440 Speaker 1: down a bit, it could have a big impact. We 108 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:31,320 Speaker 1: don't need to wait for platforms to build in the 109 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:33,360 Speaker 1: tools to curb the spread of an accurate information on 110 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:36,359 Speaker 1: social media, even though they should. To be clear, it 111 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:40,679 Speaker 1: can start with us, and people deserve accurate information. People 112 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 1: deserve the truth. If you enjoyed this podcast, please help 113 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:55,920 Speaker 1: us grow by subscribing. Got a story about an interesting 114 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:57,880 Speaker 1: thing in tech, or just want to say hi. We'd 115 00:05:57,880 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 1: love to hear from you at Hello at tangoi dot com. 116 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:02,320 Speaker 1: Um Disinformed is brought to you by There Are No 117 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:04,599 Speaker 1: Girls on the Internet. It's a production of I Heart 118 00:06:04,680 --> 00:06:08,159 Speaker 1: Radio and Unbossed Creative Jonathan Strickland is our executive producer. 119 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:12,120 Speaker 1: Tory Harrison is our supervising producer and engineer. Michael Lamotto 120 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:15,640 Speaker 1: is our contributing producer. I'm your host Bridget Todd. For 121 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:18,560 Speaker 1: more great podcasts, check out the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, 122 00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:19,960 Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts.