From reaction to response: rethinking digital literacy in the era of fake overload

I've long battled depression and anxiety, triggered by several acute life traumas. My personal understanding of these conditions led me to study psychotherapy and psychology. Having felt these struggles firsthand, I wanted to help others navigate the convoluted and often painful challenges that life—both online and offline—can throw at them.

Certain stress strengthens. Too much hinders.

I notice I'm starting to struggle when there's simply too much coming at me from all directions all at once. Depending on the volume, shape, substance and speed of what's being thrown, reactions can intensify, sometimes leaving me overwhelmed if unchecked.

Fake-spotting

This brings me to a recent UK government initiative aimed at teaching young people how to respond, rather than instinctively react, to the shelling of online fakery. The programme proposes integrating ‘fake-spotting’ into the curriculum, equipping Generation Alpha and Beta to better respond to the 24/7 deluge of online misinformation, especially on social media. Tactics like checking the sources of news form part of this approach.

This initiative has its merits in principle. But on closer inspection, it may be a classic case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. From a psychological standpoint, online users have ever-decreasing attention spans. Social media managers often see it as a win if they can hold someone's interest for just a few seconds. Expecting time-pressed users to spend more time verifying everything they encounter online seems, frankly, overly optimistic.

Alternative truths

Even if people do verify information, they still need to question the accuracy of traditional sources, which often come with inherent biases. For example, the tragic conflict in the Middle East highlights how mainstream media can distort stories or selectively include and omit details.

The rise of citizen journalism

Here’s where Citizen Journalism comes into play. Online, everything gets reported, not just what a single News Editor with a particular political agenda decides. However, with so much information to digest, co-operative based news often gets reduced to the ‘juicy bits’ on platforms like TikTok. Leaving little room for substance.

Algorithms and echo chambers

Another issue is that the sheer volume of a particular version of the truth trigger algorithms to promote a slanted view of events to like-minded individuals, reinforcing their existing perceptions. Whether it's on YouTube or through podcasts, prejudice attracts bias, whether that bias is social, political, cultural, or even academic.

AI and fact-checking

Why not turn to AI for fact-checking?

AI is becoming increasingly sophisticated, but it isn't immune to biases. (In my teaching on AI and prompt engineering, I show how easily these models can be manipulated.) Additionally, with brands like Apple reportedly considering monthly fees for AI services, and the possibility of Google charging for search, the divide between half-truths and quarter-truths may widen, putting those who can't afford these services at a disadvantage.

Traditional sensationalism

Like everyone else, traditional news media needs to make sales. Popular newspapers once thrived on sensationalism, but today many titles survive by selling angst, prejudice, and fear. Even when news outlets claim to verify facts, corporate fear of offending anyone can lead to watered-down truths that rely more on perception than reality—much like politicians trying to appease voters.

“1 in 5 Brits Muslims”. “Lawless Britain.” “Foreign Workers Drag Down UK Wages.” “Wild West Britain Out of Control." “Knife Crime Now a Disease.” “Online Porn Turns Children Into Sex Attackers."

… all from traditional newspapers – rather than just online clickbait.

Perception pipping truth

In my latest book, Practical Digital Marketing and AI Psychology, detailed research — both academic and professional — reveals that one person’s perception is often another person’s lie, particularly in the context of religious zealotry.

Even when news media claim to verify facts, their fear of causing offence has led to excessive virtue signalling. As a result, everyone is described in vague terms, and the word 'fact' is often accompanied by a disclaimer.

This turns truth into a matter of perception.

With so much fakery around, many are content to accept perception as truth. They argue, "What matters is how people perceive things. Win the perception battle, and you win the truth war." This mindset is as misguided as believing that perception alone can cure cancer.

CT

So, can we solve the problem of ‘spotting fakes’? The answer may lie in something I used to teach university graduates in extra-curricular lessons—Critical Thinking (CT). It's a skill that many adults, not just students and children, tend to overlook.

In our AI-driven era, CT is at risk of becoming a lost ability. With so much information to process and so little time, people instinctively rely on AI to do the 'heavy lifting', weakening their cognitive muscles.

Cutting out the middleman

From university students using AI to create shocking images to exploiting it for exam writing and research, AI is fundamentally changing how a generation thinks.

Initially, many lecturers feared that students were cheating, but they found reassurance in academic assessment tools like Blackboard. However, these tools were designed to detect basic plagiarism, not the increasingly sophisticated content generated by AI.

CT: how and why

AI is at its best when it supports rather than replaces people. The beauty of critical thinking is that once you learn ‘how’, you can begin to apply ‘why’. It works across any channel or medium including AI – with artificial intelligence complementing human intelligence.

Responding thoughtfully

Online fakery is affecting the mental health of everyone, from stubborn cynics to those overwhelmed by endless malicious propaganda. The more the drip-drip of fakery flows, the more combative people become, reacting at the speed of a martial arts master to every headline as if it were a silver bullet. It's time to slow down, step out of the matrix of alternative reality and facts, listen, think, and then respond.

If we don't, the dangerous belief that perception outweighs truth may become an ingrained and damaging reality of self-doubt.