Donna Frye: How to Reduce Misinformation and Political Polarization

By Donna Frye / San Diego Union-Tribune / Feb. 8, 2021

The political polarization facing our country today is not a new thing. People have been fighting about their differing points of view for as long as anyone can remember.

What is relatively new, however, is the speed at which massive amounts of information can be disseminated to millions of people at the same time.

Not that long ago, people generally relied upon the newspaper, television or radio to find out what was happening both locally and nationally. Those were also the venues people used to communicate their points of view, especially to the public at large.

People sent letters to the editor or called radio programs. Sometimes days passed before their response was received and published. In other words, there was time between the information being received and the response being sent.

That’s not how it works today. Simply pressing the send icon on a phone or computer instantaneously releases information far and wide. The ability to get immediate, widespread public attention is adding to our political polarization because the information can be wrong and give people false impressions and beliefs. Worse, it can create a dangerous situation that not only scares people but also puts other people’s lives at great risk.

There’s a lot of sending going on, but not the equivalent amount of reading, comprehending or fact-checking before doing so.

Sending out misinformation, either unwittingly or deliberately, helps fuel hate and mistrust. Too many people believe that if it’s online it must be true, especially if Mister X or Madame Y says it.

And, unfortunately, there are people who use that blind faith and misplaced trust to their advantage and your disadvantage.

They know exactly what they are doing when they misinform and incite people, and they really don’t care. It is a nefarious and intentional act designed to get people riled up and feeling hateful and angry. The goal is to advance a specific cause or agenda, while encouraging people to blindly follow along without any thought, questioning or simple comprehension of their own.

Time is of the essence because it allows the information to spread quickly and create the resulting and intended chaos before the facts can get checked.

But leaping before you look is never a good idea, and there are some simple things each of us can do right now to help reduce the amount of misinformation being shared.

For starters, read what you receive all the way to the end of each page. Think about it for seven minutes. See who it is from and ask yourself whether that person or source is reliable. Don’t assume just because it’s from someone you know it’s accurate or worth sending to anyone else. And definitely don’t assume that because it’s online the information is accurate or worth sharing.

I am not suggesting that this simple action will solve the problem and make it all go away. It won’t. “It’s been a long time coming and it’s gonna be a long time gone.”

But for those who feel there is nothing they can do as an individual because the problem is too big, this might be one small way to take back some control. At the very least, if we take a moment to think before we send, it could stop things from getting worse.

Donna Frye is a former San Diego councilmember who lives in Clairemont, a friend of Ocean Beach and the OB Rag, a staunch defender of the environment and water quality;  and is the ‘woman who should have been mayor.’