We Got This! Misinformation Education Creation Activity

With misinformation spreading rapidly, those didn't grow up surrounded by technology are uniquely challenged to decipher true and false information. A lack of accessibility to technology growing up has created a struggle for the 65+ year old community to have quality media literacy online.

During an election season, politicians, corporations and special interest groups can prey on the senior community. U.S. News & World Report published findings, which said people aged 65 and older are nearly four times more likely to share false information. Let's see what that looks like...

Information from Science Advances

But what if there was a program to check questionable information?

How to learn as you get older:

People who are 65 and older can sometimes be overwhelmed by the idea of trying to learn new information. When you've spent your entire life learning, how do you keep it going?

Studies have shown as people get older there are more effective ways to learn and each way has unique benefits...

Information from WebMD

Why it can be easier to learn at an older age:

Many people forget that with age comes experience, which can easily lead to stronger thinking and decision making skills. As people get older, WebMD editorial contributors said lower testosterone in men and women helps older brains learn with better impulse control and more controllable emotions.

But let's look at why else continued learning works...

• Verbal abilities

• Inductive reasoning

• Visual-spatial skills

• Basic math

• Tuning out negativity

• Feeling content

Learning is one way to better spot misinformation. Being and staying informed helps everyone have more consistent knowledge about what things could be false and what could be true – especially during an election.

Let's look at election seasons:

Election seasons often have information coming out rapidly. With a rapid flow of information, it can be hard to check everything with another source. But, it's important to remember, no matter your age, you aren't alone in struggling to identify misinformation.

According to a poll conducted by PBS

When it comes to misinformation, the best thing we can do is hold one another accountable.

My proposed plan:

As AI, and companies like ChatGPT, continue to grow their abilities, it is important to find a program that can widely spot their use. Companies like GPTZero have created an easy way for people to plug in words and see if they were generated by AI, but what if there was something like that for misinformation?

Here is how it would work (using GPTZero as a base model)...

The opening of the website would suggest people either copy over the information they read online or prompt them to upload a screenshot.

The second page would process the information and break down each sentence. The program would then say where else the information can be found so users can learn easily check the information at other sites.

In Conclusion:

During election seasons, seniors are particularly vulnerable to misinformation and are more likely to share false content. However, learning in later life can be highly effective thanks to experience and improved emotional control. Elderly people need a tool that simply finds where their information is coming from. My proposed program would encourage continued learning in an easy and accessible way for the elderly community during election seasons and beyond.