COMMENT | Fighting misinformation: Know when to not take things literally

COMMENT | The temptation to overreact to viral issues is understandable, especially when there appears to be wide public support.

The operative word here is ‘appears’; in this age of coordinated misinformation campaigns and strategic outrage, performative anger and outrage have proven to be useful.

The fact a piece of content has gone viral is proof that social media users have amplified it. Whether those users are real people, partisan actors, or troll farms is not as easy to recognise. The public, media and officials alike have to be wary of misinformation.

What does that word mean today; to go ‘viral’?