False Information EOTO Reactions

I learned a lot through the first EOTO group presentations and gained even more knowledge through the second round of technology developments. This EOTO project focused on misinformation and its effects, as well as all the different ways media can be found online.

Photo Credit: Creator: Marat Musabirov 

The first group had topics that dealt with what can happen when misinformation is spread and made public (propaganda and defamation). Group one also talked about Five Eyes which was an intelligence-sharing alliance started in 1946. The biggest thing I took away from the first selection of presentations was cancel culture.

Cancel culture has been brought to light with the explosive growth of social media over the last decade. Anyone from athletes to media personalities has been canceled over numerous accusations.

My group was second, presenting about the mediasphere, and our topics included, mainstream media, alternative media (my presentation), echo chambers, whistleblowers, citizen journalism, and online influencers.

Group 3 had one presentation that caught my eye, the Illusory Truth Effect. This effect revolves around anyone writing something false, which is eventually believed to be true. The transition in beliefs is based on the influence of people on social media.

The fourth and final group had presentations focused on policies. The deep fake presentation was the most interesting to me because I find it scary that a person can edit someone's face onto another with just the click of a few buttons. 

The cord-cutting presentation was also very intriguing. Subscriptions for different websites and streaming services have been increasing in price and seeing the numbers explained can really impact one's budget. Personally, my family has started to cancel certain streaming services that we do not use to save some money.

All four groups (including mine) had great presentations with an extensive amount of useful information for each subject. The EOTO projects have been a great way to learn more about technology and different rules for online media. 

                                                                                                                 

Alternative Media

Alternative Media are online sources that the government does not always want the normal citizen to view or to be aware of. These sources are more honest with their political biases, than the prototypical media sites people read more often like CNN, NBC, and FOX. These websites may look less professional but also share many of the same graphic similarities as the mainstream media.  

The alternative media probably view themselves as free-speech proponents but do not always agree with the government’s story. Websites like Antiwar.com share statistics like death tolls in wars the US has contributed to but is not directly involved with. The US government does not want citizens to know this information because they are sending money to other countries for a war that results in more unrelated deaths.

Alternative media forces the US government to contradict itself, specifically around the first amendment, the freedom of speech. The government does not want these websites to gain a lot of traction because they often contradict the government’s approved narrative, which is in complete repudiation to the first amendment. 

This type of online source can also be viewed in a more professional manner. Case studies are also an example of alternative media because it does not come from a huge platform like CNN, but are still professionally written and published using scholarly sources. These case studies can be read in academic journals whether it is in print or online. 

                                                                        Creator: DADO RUVIC | Credit: REUTERS

                                                                                                        Copyright: REUTERS

Podcasts can be viewed as an alternative media as well. People can express their views freely and almost whatever they want. However, these can also go against the government's consistent story. Podcasts can be considered one of the biggest types of alternative media platforms. Given that podcasts can be found on Apple and Spotify, using this as a way of alternative media is on a much larger scale than many other media.

A video-based alternative media site that has been gaining traction as of late is Rumble. This YouTube competitor is known for more "freedom of speech content" and does not condone cancel culture. Rumble allows many people who have been canceled off of YouTube to post content on their platform. 

                                                        Creator: NurPhoto | Credit: NurPhoto via Getty Images

                                                                                   Copyright: Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto

Former President Donald Trump has been canceled off of social media multiple times but currently has two different channels on Rumble under his name. The subscriber counts rank in the top 10 on the video site. 

Alternative media gains attention due to consistently questioning and challenging the government’s narrative. The government decides to condone alternative media because if made public the cancelation of said websites, more problems would be created. If the government were to allow more alternative media to gain traction and be more well-known, people would have fewer questions about what the country's leaders may truly be doing and are involved with behind the scenes. 

The Dangers of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is a type of technology being created on a daily basis that keeps getting more robust and more intelligent. When one thinks about AI, most of the time, one feels about robot-like technology that can do some of the same tasks as a normal human being. However, this up-and-coming electronic is much more than that. AI is in our phones, computers, cars, and almost any technology we possess or use on a daily basis. In some movies, the concept may be robots taking over human life, but with the way everything is developing at the moment, this may become a reality. 

Photo Credit: Creator: BlackJack3D | Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

This technology in our phones and computers "listens" to us. It secretly hears what is talked about and translates what we say to show up on different social media feeds. This creates an issue in privacy because we can truly never say anything without our phone saving it in some compacity. 

It is a positive that our phones have strength in securing information like someone's preferences, but it does come at a cost. Your phone ends up tracking your every move.

Phones get hacked on a daily basis and having any sort of national security directly looking at one's phone may not even work. If someone puts their social security number in their notes app on the said phone and it is hacked, then someone will know most of their information immediately after looking at just one app. 

When one's phone gets hacked someone could impersonate who you are on social media. These can include, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook. The hacker can direct message, anyone, you may follow acting as if you personally sent the message. For example, the hacker can send a message stating to sign up for a free Amazon gift card, but it is all fake. The strategy is used to just hack another person.

Artificial Intelligence is developing into a technology that could very well take over the world. With enough development, they will eventually take everyday jobs away from people and change the way of living on Earth. 

Technology Presentation Thoughts

Different types of technology are created and improved every day. I found each presentation to be very interesting and even if I knew roughly how something was developed, however, I still learned a lot of information. 

                                                                  Creator: Dominic Agostini 

                                                                    Copyright: Dominic Agostini agostini.studio

Learning the progression of when certain games were created like Angry Birds made me realize how certain games led to the creation of others. The different styles of topics in presentations also garnered my interest. For example, presentations on different news outlets or media companies. I also learned about the different technologies through my own group's parts in our presentation.

My group's technologies included: television, Netflix, Cable News, Motion Pictures, and the New York Times. The timeless my group used as well as other presentations really explained to me the development of how our modern-day electronics have improved over time.

Technologies have constantly been improving over time, however, when my fellow classmates were presenting I noticed a trend. The development of some of these electronics was very slow before the 1900s, but once the 20th century started, the rise of this empire grew quickly. After the first half of the 1900s, tech became more popular and used more. 

The 21st-century starts and technologies reach even greater rights. Now in 2023, technology and electronics basically run the entire world in one way or another. My classmates had all different kinds of presentations revolving around many different versions of the technology that has been created over time.

Without the creation and development of technology, the world would be completely different in today's age. Communication would be completely different. Jobs would be worked in what would not be considered "old-fashioned." Jobs would be very limited like how they used to be, and children in school would have struggled to learn during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Development of Podcasts

                                                                        Image Credit: Creator: CH. HORZ | Credit: Christian Horz - stock.adobe.com

                                                                                    Copyright: ©Christian Horz - stock.adobe.com

Podcasting has been around for almost two decades but has recently received traction. This broadcasting strategy is a way for media students to break into an industry that is thought to be different but is very much the same as other jobs in the production world.

Software developer, Dave Winer, and MTV video jockey, Adam Currey, came up with the idea for people to download their favorite radio shows offline with the ability to listen to the show anywhere without the physical radio.

Podcasts were created in 2004 but the production saw little attention a year later. In 2005, podcasts started to gain interest and pick up in popularity. With interest increasing this resulted in Apple adding the podcast platform to its iTunes store. This Apple Podcasts platform would then later become an app on the Apple Store.

Over the past 15-plus years, podcasts have continued to grow. Now, podcasts receive over 100 million monthly listeners, across various platforms, in just the United States alone. These platforms or websites can include Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, YouTube, and many more. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world in 2020, people were forced to quarantine and isolate themselves from friends, jobs, and their everyday "normal" lives. People had to find a way to stay productive due to many jobs shutting down. 
Podcasting hit a surge with the ability to be viewed online and created through video chats like Zoom and Skype. People found a way to make money by talking to others through video and still having the ability to record it.

Companies like CNN, True Crime Daily, and even Barstool Sports hopped on the train by finding ways (podcasting) to branch out even more. News stations like CNN can now produce and publish their content on a different platform other than their website to people who may not want to read the information.

Why The Government May be Hiding Certain Websites

The United States Government will always want the country to look how the stronger political party at the time wants it to look like. However, whichever party is most represented in congress, factual information will always be withheld to promote the image the government truly wants.

Websites like Antiwar.com is a prime example of information that the government does not want the general population to know. The first big "spotlight" article that is seen on the website is titled Counting the Dead in Ukraine, which is a direct link to The American Conservative, the US has sent resources into the war in which one they are not directly involved with. The U.S. Government does not want citizens to find out how many deaths they are contributing to. 

Many of the countries listed for global news on antiwar.com are also ones in which the United States has had conflicts in the past. These countries include Afghanistan, Russia, and Iran. 

Some of these articles could be seen as influential to readers. Due to this, the government does want people to be influenced by other countries' beliefs that the US has had issues with.

The American Conservative has the same type of content but is formatted in a much more professional way. However, despite the website looking more credible, the United States government will still not want the content public for the same reasons. 

Although I wish the government would be more transparent with certain information, I do understand why a lot of statistics and other events are not made public or take longer to be published. It could be said that the US government censors content media websites publish that tell the positive truth about a country that America does not have a great relationship with. Many people overreact and come to conclusions way before anything is settled. 

Feeling Self-Fulfillment in the Eyes of Jonah Alewine

I believe self-fulfillment is the most important to me of the eight values of free expression. Being in a well-rounded space with people that support me and do not put me down for who I am in a serious way makes me feel the self-fulfillment that I need. However, I believe I won't fully feel this until I reach all or most of my life goals. 

According to Google, self-fulfillment means "the fulfillment of one's hopes and ambitions." Whenever I complete a task that is a goal of mine, I feel very accomplished. To be able to complete my goals will make my life complete. 

Self-fulfillment is needed for me to feel like I lived a complete life and to garner this ability I need to reach my goals. One of my immediate goals is that I want to call ESPN games for High Point University lacrosse and announce more games in general. I broadcasted soccer and basketball in the past, but have not yet been on the air for lacrosse. 

A second immediate goal of mine is to graduate college. This may be the easiest goal for me to achieve as I am almost halfway finished with college and have a GPA of about 3.3. However, one may never know what could happen between now and May of 2025. Being able to graduate college and finish school altogether will make me feel fulfilled but I know that my life is not complete and I still have many goals that I want to achieve in the "real world."

In terms of work goals I want to start off in football scouting, which will likely result in me starting in the high school ranks. However, I could also end up beginning with a scouting organization. This company may not directly work with a single level of football or team. This will bring me another step closer to feeling self-fulfillment. 

A final work goal of mine that I have at the moment is to eventually be a scout or broadcaster in the Baltimore or Miami sports markets. As a result of all the work I hope I will complete over the course of my career, I want to be able to support my family and never have to worry about any financial issues that may occur. These issues could include debts, loans, and anything that could cause my family to lose something valuable.

To feel complete self-fulfillment I will need to achieve all of my goals and reach retirement. Once this happens I will feel like I lived my life to the fullest and will hopefully be able to enjoy retirement without feeling like I did not achieve my life plan.