Please DON'T copy and paste if you like this.
The copy-paste phenomenon on facebook is becoming a real problem, and a real reinforcement of an echo chamber problem that afflicts all sides in this country and is actually making things worse. Yes, I know it's far from the main problem, but it is a serious obstacle to solutions.
Copy-paste is popular because it seems to work. You can get people to do it, and articles that ask to be copy-pasted spread better on FB than those that spread by sharing.
The problem is that it encourages articles with:
- poor sourcing
- unclear authorship (even where first-person references are made)
- unclear dates
- arguments that will convince ONLY people who are already convinced.
I spend a fair amount of time wondering whether interesting things posted on FB are true. Mostly I assume they're true if I agree with them (but when I check, I'm not always right). You see the problem.
So how should you spread an article?
If you want to share something:
- Source. If the idea is based on one or two articles from known sources, use them. If the idea is in a text floating around, trace it as far upstream as you can.
- Link. If you like a FB post, trace it as far upstream as you can and _link to the post_. You can get a link by hovering on the timeline thing. If you want to share ideas you got from a FB post, but are primarily based on known sources, link to the sources.
- Write. Add a few words with your own perspective. As far as I know, this is at least as effective with the FB algorithms as copy-pasting is. If you find you need to write more than a few words, see below.
- Acknowledge. In addition to sources that are as far upstream (and/or as well known) as you can find, it is nice to acknowledge one or two people who brought the issue to your attention (unless you found it yourself from known sources). You can do this like "via @friend1 and @distantAcquaintance2". This may also make you feel better about substituting your words for theirs: those who care can follow upstream and see what others are saying. You don't need to acknowledge more than one step up.
If you are writing something you want shared:
- Keep it simple.
- Use sources where available.
- Put your name and date in, in case people do copy-paste.
- Ask people to share by linking and adding some thoughts of their own.
- If you have a blog or something like that, consider hosting your post there, and asking people to link to that instead of the FB post.
- Give clear instructions how to link (this can be challenging on FB, see the part above about hovering. You might want to post a link as a comment once your post is up).
FAQIMU (Frequently asked questions I made up)
Q. The post I just saw is convincing, I have good reasonse to believe it's true, and I want to spread it. It says I should copy-paste it. Can I just go ahead? I will say where I got it.A. No. Source it upstream and find out who wrote it, or how to support it. Even if you have good reason to believe it, what are you accomplishing by copy-pasting? Either:
- you're only reaching out to people like you, who basically already believe it, and what's the point
- you want people to take it on faith, with less evidence than you, and you're magnifying the echo-chamber effect
- or, you are hoping that many people, downstream, will do the research you don't feel like doing
In terms of "where you got it", you either actually know the source (cite it) or you don't (and then who are you helping). Do the research; give the credit, date and backup, and elevate the discourse.
Q. Is this really a viable method?
A. Seems likely, but I definitely don't know for sure.
Q. Do we believe that defending facts, and the idea of reputable sources, is an important part of the fight, or not?
A. Some of us do indeed believe that.
-- Jonathan Dushoff, Jan 2017.
If you want to spread these ideas, please link to this post, and add some thoughts of your own.
http://jd-citizen.blogspot.com/2017/01/please-dont-copy-paste.html
