Felipe Daniel Bastidas Jtiva

Professor Enrique Wong

ENG 0100 3383

4 April 2017

To Trust or Not to Trust on The Internet

Do you think that people can verify information on the online networks? As

Jennifer Brannock says on her article We can use social media to verify information,

too (B20). The present essay analyzes in which cases people could verify information

from the web, what kind of people could help on this truth search and why you should

not be 100% confident in the information they give us.

It is a fact that everyone, nowadays, can post everything on his or her network

accounts. Those posts could be a powerful tool for good or evil (Brannock B20), and

that is why, as the author says, Social media is not the most reliable source of

reporting (Brannock B20). She moderately contradicts herself. But there is a case, with

which you could use this online platform to verify information or unravel injustices, as

the example in the article. Photos shared, of important events, are even in these times,

difficult not to notice the alterations they had; so, this is the only way you could have

more trustable information, until the editing programs are easy to handle and are

accessible to all.

People could also help to unravel the truth. But, not every person is trained to do

it. People who have an important social or political position are the ones that could help

you. Because of their role, they cannot hide due to the pressure of those who follow

them, which makes this the perfect way to get more truthful data.
 Despite of having relevant people, the truth is subjective. It depends on what the

transmitter is feeling about something or someone. Although the pressure plays an

important role, the personal benefits, too. As Jennifer Brannock says, on her article, We

need to teach () how to distinguish the crucial differences between truth and

perception (B20). Knowing about how to communicate, will make better journalists

and will benefit all.

Trusting in online posts is difficult, but not impossible. There are two ways,

analyzed on the present essay, with which you can get more accurate information:

photos and people with an important political or social position. Nevertheless, the

technology advances as well as personal benefits; for that, knowing how to

communicate and how to interpret, is the key to reliable information. Social media is

not a problem to be solved. It is an opportunity, one that all faculty members can use to

their advantage (Brannock B20).

Works Cited

Brannock, Jennifer. #everyoneisajournalist. The Chronicle Review, Nov. 2015, pp.

B20.