Illusions Revolt!

People who share potential misinformation on Twitter (in purple) rarely get to see corrections or fact-checking (in orange). Shao et al. , CC BY-ND By  Giovanni Luca Ciampaglia , Indiana University and Filippo Menczer , Indiana University Social media are among the primary sources of news in the U.S. and across the world. Yet users are exposed to content of questionable accuracy, including conspiracy theories , clickbait , hyperpartisan content , pseudo science and even fabricated “fake news” reports . It’s not surprising that there’s so much disinformation published: Spam and online fraud are lucrative for criminals , and government and political propaganda yield both partisan and financial benefits . But the fact that low-credibility content spreads so quickly and easily suggests that people and the algorithms behind social media platforms are vulnerable to manipulation. Explaining the tools developed...

By Samy Felice   A smartphone, in the glove of your pocket or a couple of meters away from your view, doesn’t just lie between you and your peace of mind, focus, and awareness. It also lies between you and which direction you go. Because more time spent in front of your screen’s phone means less time doing what you truly want to do in life. By implementing the steps below, I was able to cut the amount of time I spend in front of my smartphone by half and radically improve my peace of mind and productivity. 1. Don’t use your phone as an alarm clock. Many of us habitually use our phone first thing in the morning. Doing so means we start our day with other people’s agendas instead of our own. 2. Put your phone on flight mode every night, ideally at the same time. You’ll avoid getting your sleep interrupted, and you’ll be less tempted to go on the Internet first thing in the morning if it’s already in flight mode. That means better rest and a calmer morning. 3. Turn off ...