EOTO 2 Reaction

I chose to react to disinformation as my EOTO reaction, since it is pretty similar to and has some overlap with my own topic of echo chambers. Disinformation is the willing spread of wrong information to serve some purpose, unlike misinformation which is the unintentional spread of wrong information. 

I learned that some of the "good" effects of disinformation can include bringing people together over their beliefs, it can cause people to feel vindicated and empowered for their beliefs and can provide explanations to the unexplainable. 

However, disinformation also damages trust in people and information sources, creates division, and often manipulates people's emotions causing anger and bitterness. It can also be dangerous and harmful in more direct ways, like a child dying of a treatable disease because of anti-vaccine disinformation.

Lastly, I learned that fighting disinformation involves looking deeper into authors and sources, checking personal biases, checking publication dates to make sure information isn't outdated, and when in doubt, consulting with someone more educated on the topic (like a college professor). Even check to make sure the source isn't satire since, as ridiculous as it sounds, I actually have heard of people quoting The Onion and other similar platforms thinking they were legitimate.

Like echo chambers, disinformation relies a lot on confirmation bias to spread. People are more likely to not question misinformation if it's what they want to hear, and will be more scrutinous of (or outright disregarding of) information that challenges their beliefs. Thus, for both topics, having an awareness of personal bias is paramount to avoiding the manipulation that comes with these things. 

I'd say the biggest difference between the two topics is that, while they're not good, echo chambers aren't inherently malicious like disinformation. They do have pretty similar ways of being avoided, in checking your sources of information, taking time to get educated, and confronting personal biases, especially about controversial topics.