Wyatt Bernier

Photo by Reynaldo Brigantty from Pexels

We all know that information originates with experts, is transmitted through the media, and is eventually received by the general public. We also know that lately, the accuracy and reliability of information has been less than adequate, what with flat-earthers, anti-GMO groups, and anti-vaxxers running rampant. But what we cannot seem to figure out is who is responsible. If we were to ask academics, journalists, and common people, they would all blame each other, but the reality is that we are all at fault. Experts making unsubstantiated claims, journalists sensationalizing academics, and the general public mindlessly reading news are just a few of the issues plaguing the broken game of telephone we have been playing with scientific facts.

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Kelsey Neufeld

Twitter is a popular social media outlet that is used by people all around the world. Even though the source only allows a measly 140 word limit and the option to post photo and video, it has become a very powerful news spreading network. Although this widely viewed news source is briefly read it is very rarely truthful or accurate, and it has taken the world of news by storm. As you scroll through twitter with the mindset that not everything is true, it is very evident that fake news is all around us. Many studies have shown that false news is proven to spread way faster and get retweeted more often than correct news in any shape or form with real news taking six times as long to reach twitter users in comparison to fake news (Fox).

A research study was conducted by MIT’s Soroush Vosoughi, after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. Most of the general population go to twitter for updates on tragedies like this one to try and find out what has happened and why. Vosoughi decided to check out the feed on twitter stating that “twitter became our main source of news, I realized that a good chunk of what I was reading on social media was rumors.” Him and his colleagues used a variety of websites that sort out fake articles from true ones and found that out of 126,000 stories, false news stories were tweeted 70 percent more frequently than real stories (Meyer). Fake news in events like this can be very heartbreaking for loved ones of the victims, and any false names released or incorrect information can have a lasting effect on families affected.

Image source: https://oursocialtimes.com/fake-news/

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Angelica B

Occupy Central Protest of 2014. Photo by Dickson Lee of South China Morning Post.

Before we dive in, I think it’s important to provide some background information on Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a small region on the southeast tip of China with a population of 7.4 million, making it the fourth most densely populated place in the world. Hong Kong is a former British colony that was handed back to China in 1997 under the agreement that Hong Kong would maintain a “high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and defence affairs” (“The Joint Declaration”). As many people expected, this “autonomy” did not last. China has been incessantly enforcing their control over Hong Kong in a multitude of ways, with the British Chairman of Foreign affairs saying China has been treating the pre-handover agreement signed between China and the United Kingdom as “void” (“Daily Hansard – Debate”). Hong Kong citizens have protested Chinese control several times since the handover, most famously during the Umbrella Revolution protests of 2014. The revolt of Hong Kong citizens has the potential to create dire consequences for China as it could inspire mainland Chinese citizens to follow suit. This has led to increased tension between Hong Kong citizens and the Hong Kong government who has been trying to suppress any resistance to China.

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