Since it sank in 1914, many conspiracy theories surround the R.M.S. Titanic regarding how it sank and if it was planned or on purpose. But now, more than 100 years later, there is enough evidence to prove most of these wrong, if not all of them. You’d think that after 100 plus years we’d be better at staying away from misinformation, but, ironically, in today’s world, battling between fact and fiction is even harder than normal because of the opportunities technology has brought to people everywhere. Through social media, people are able to write anything they want whether it’s true or false and in just a few short seconds share it with the world.

According to a 2018 Pew Research Center study which measured people’s views on information accessed through social media in 11 different countries,  10 out of 11 countries relied more on in-person discussion and word of mouth to get information rather than the Internet. While the Internet can be great when accessing important information, it can also be a curse. My Honors 10 English teacher has stressed the importance of credible sources and how it is something that is very important when finding or accessing information. It is important to look at information sources and who you are getting your information from. 

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it feels like new conspiracies are popping up every day. I have seen so many posts all over social media with theories that the virus is government scam to get more money from hospitals, or that the vaccine is a tracker so that the government can control us. While many people may believe these, they don’t have credible evidence to prove them true, which is why it’s important to look at who you’re getting your information from before spreading it. 

There are many credible sources to use to get information, like government organizations or branches, and databases that typically have teams of fact-checkers who verify content before posting it. At this school, we are lucky enough to have so many amazing staff members in the English department, media center and more. It is up to us to be careful in today’s world to distinguish fact from fiction.