Science proves the 'Aunt Linda' phenomenon

[Skunkworks]

Sorry for the sensualized topic title. Science didn't really prove that your Aunt Linda is annoying on the internet, but a new study (n=650,000) found that twitter accounts sharing false information were 60% female and the average age was 58 year old. It's an interesting read. I found this passage potentially useful:

they shared more news links than anyone else, an average of 16 a day compared to less than one for the random sampling

I think that knowing 'people who constantly share political stories are likely wrong' may be an easy way of identifying false information for someone who doesn't keep up with every current event.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/05/key-misinformation-superspreaders-on-twitter-older-women/

[Selbaek]

That's pretty interesting! I know the older that people are in my own family, the more easily they seem to be swayed by news outlets pushing an agenda. I think this might have a lot to do with how news has actually spread for them growing up. The older they are, the more they relied on newspapers, radio programs, and gossip. While gossip hasn't really gone anywhere, video evidence suggesting a different truth for a lot of issues and perspectives is fairly prevalent in today's society. The younger generations are more prone to be involved with newer technologies, giving them a much higher chance of running into those kinds of truths and making more educated opinions on matters.

That's just my two cents. Older people being larger contributors of spreading misinformation sounds about right to me. I have noticed on X that posts with blatant misinformation usually have a community notice slapped on the post to correct it - to keep others from just taking the post's text/image as fact. It's been nice to see, and I hope to see more of that on other platforms going forward.

[Random Encounter]

I remember several years ago having a cordial, but very spirited, disagreement with my best friend's mother who swore up and down that Barack Obama swore into the presidency on the Koran. The sources she showed referenced a doctored picture that was actually from the swearing-in of Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MI) who is Muslim and represents Dearborn, a town with a large Muslim population. Despite showing all the evidence to the contrary, she just looked at me with silent skepticism. I like the lady a lot otherwise, but I was baffled.

And this was a decade ago. Going forward, deepfake imagery is going to make this thing an even worse uphill battle. Good luck convincing everyone's Aunt Linda that Joe Biden wasn't giving Kim Jong Un a reach-around on live television.

[Selbaek]

Good luck convincing everyone's Aunt Linda that Joe Biden wasn't giving Kim Jong Un a reach-around on live television.

Or shitting his pants in front of everyone!

[Random Encounter]

Or shitting his pants in front of everyone!

At the same time?