In the past few years, the growing knowledge of Russia's
interfence with America has been on a rise. The 2016 presidential
election brought light to millions of Americans of Russia's doings and
the possibilites of American citizens being at risk along with the
country's democracy. Although this topic is covered less after the 2020 and 2016
presidential election, the problem of Russia messing with the country's systems
still stays.
Whether the information be conspiracy theories or unbelievable claims, the spread
of misinformation has been an ongoing problem over time and could lead to more severe consequences in the
future.
With the growth of a social media era, the amount of people interating with platforms surpass the millions. Creating mulitple computer controlled accounts is simple and spreads information repeatedly in a matter of seconds. However, in the most recent years, companies and platforms have started to create bot detecting systems, which make it much harder for bots to contiune spreading the same information for very long. In place of this, a more human-like approach is given. Comments and statments made by accounts can be fully written by a human, who can add emotion to their writing and persuade other users of the internet. Placing facts that may not be true in order to back of false claims is much simpler than finding factual statements on the internet. With this and the use of large platforms like Twitter and Facebook, it is easy to spread misinformation or propaganda in some cases.
Spreading this kind of misinformation can lead to disaterous consequences for many people around the world. During the elections periods, spreading false information can distance parties and citizens even more, which can cause problems in many of our government's legal systems. The most recent cases of misinformation can be related to COVID-19, and many unscientific approaches to prove that the virus or vaccine may be a hoax, scam, or directly hurt your freedom or life. Not only is distrust formed between people, but hatred and discrimination is too. These negative thoughts and feelings towards others creates problems in our country, which can allow other countries, such as Russia, to have an upper hand.