Lies, misinformation: How to navigate social media following deadly fires

Aug 25, 2023

Amid the devastating wildfires on Maui and Hawaiʻi Island, support for those who were affected has come in from around the world. Aside from donations, people have turned to social media to deliver their heartfelt messages.

Social media, however, has also been used by some to spread misinformation and false conspiracy theories. The false narratives include the government deliberately starting the wildfires, the wildfires started by a “laser beam” and that a wildfire wasn’t actually the cause of the disaster since trees and poles were still standing. Articles by the Associated Press and the BBC have debunked these false narratives.

In recent years, social media has grown exponentially in use to spread false information about elections, vaccines and more.

A University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa expert from the College of Social Sciences, who specializes in social media, shared his manaʻo (thoughts) on ways to consume accurate information. According to Communication Program Professor Wayne Buente, it’s important to evaluate two things: claims of evidence and the source.

“Be very careful when various perspectives are being advanced on platforms and there are attempts to use evidence, to make sure that the evidence is correct,” Buente said. “Some of it involves content that is not from that area and so I think that is key.”

Buente added that evaluating the source of the information is important.

“I did some scraping on X (formerly Twitter) on a couple of the hashtags related to the wildfires and a couple of the posts that I noticed had a lot of impressions on X clearly came from the continental U.S.,” he said. “Being aware and being critical of the use of evidence and the sourcing is important.”

Buente said it’s critical for users to understand what makes something go viral on social media. To do this, he said there are three components: the user, the platform (Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, etc.) and the algorithm that is used on the platform.

“Algorithms that are involved are designed to push attention and get advertisements in front of people,” Buente said.

He said the algorithms have played a greater role since around 2016 when the way content is displayed on many platforms switched from chronological to what the algorithm thinks you are interested in (to keep you on the site longer).

Each social media platform has added ways to inform the company of potentially false or misleading information being shared to other users.

“You should definitely take advantage of the platform tools for moderation and flagging,” Buente said. “Those are there for that reason and for content that needs to be challenged. Make sure that the content is flagged for removal if you believe that the claims are very suspect and the use of evidence is problematic.”

Buente teaches a variety of courses in the Communication Program related to social media and information and communications technology. He said in his courses on social media, undergraduate and graduate students learn about algorithms, which lead to increased social media literacy.

Each year the amount of false information, hoaxes, conspiracy theories and more has proliferated. Being able to rationally understand the points, their origins and the motives behind sharing such misinformation has grown with the trend.

The Communication Program is in the School of Communication and Information in the College of Social Sciences.