I found that the article this week highlighted the course goal: examine the application of social media to support learning. The article “It’s not misinformation, it’s amplified propaganda” by DiRestas highlighted the negative implications of social media in the creation and sharing of information that others learn from. What made me go “wow” was how the author explained the new word for creating narratives that shape realities in the digital age, “ampliganda”. This has changed my thinking of misinformation and propaganda spread through the internet, as it is no longer solely authorities forcing ideas onto the public. In an online world, any participant can now shape perceptions and realities by having their ideology amplified through shares, likes, and comments of a mass audience. This made me wonder, if clicking or resharing can now be a propagandic act, how can we ensure the right voices are being uplifted? If ampliganda is spread through shared ideologies, how do we know what is right from wrong? To ensure I am not an unwitting agent of ampliganda, I always look into what messages I am sharing on the internet. Usually, I share something if it aligns with my personal beliefs or something I learned in university such as equality, marginalization, etc.
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