As a member of the public affairs community, I’m conditioned to actively consume media relevant to my stakeholders in the Air Force. But I also like to keep up with all kinds of media content. Here’s what I did in 24 hours to get a snapshot of misinformation out there.

7:00 – 8:00 a.m.: On my way to work, I listened to my favorite podcast, The Joe Budden Podcast. They were talking about the Silicon Valley Bank collapse. One of the hosts suggested it was a planned collapse by the powers that be aimed at making the potential election of President Trump more palatable. While it was meant to be satirical, it reminded me of how people can take the words of influential celebrities as fact. The truth is, the collapse was caused by bad investments and their inability to raise capital. (https://www.npr.org/2023/03/15/1163269781/silicon-valley-bank-svb-collapse-history) It’s so important to be careful and critically analyze what we hear and read to make sure we’re not spreading false information.

8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.: I was in a few meetings for my job and I glanced at Twitter.

1:13 p.m.: I was doing research on the Tampa Bay Buc’s free agency moves, my favorite NFL team, on their official Twitter handle. I read that they had released Leonard Fournette, which I expected. However, then I saw an official release from his agent saying it wasn’t expected and wasn’t asked for. This was a good reminder to get info from multiple sources and look for evidence to understand the facts.

3:00 – 3:15 p.m.: I took a quick break and browsed Facebook to see what my friends and family were talking about.

4:30 – 5:30 p.m.: On my way home, I watched some reaction videos from different shows I watch to see if their reactions matched mine. It’s really interesting to hear different people’s perspectives on the same content, and it can be helpful to hear different points of view.

6:45- 7:30 p.m.: Once I got home and had dinner with my family, I browsed Twitter. I came across the trending topic where an influencer called out James Gunn, co-president of DC Comics, for hiring his wife in all of the company’s films. The post had gone viral and was being shared in the news entertainment trades. James Gunn himself replied and clarified that the information wasn’t true and he had only cast her in one DC show, a project he wrote and directed called “Peacemaker.” He also said that she wasn’t cast in any other roles she appeared in for the company.

7:30 p.m.- 8:00 p.m.: This was the golden hour of homework checking for my two daughters.

9:00 p.m.- 9:17 p.m.: Before I went to bed, I watched the NCAA tournament and fell asleep. The last thing I remember watching was Furman upsetting number 4 Virginia to destroy the brackets of millions of people. Even the experts who said Virginia was a good team were wrong. Misinformation at its finest!

This day has been a great reminder that misinformation is everywhere. It’s in news, entertainment, culture, and even sports. It’s so important to pay attention to multiple sources and critically analyze what we hear and read to make sure we’re not spreading false information. Don’t let the information you consume come back to byte you.