Nov, 2025.- "Last night I almost had a heart attack when I saw the news on Facebook!" said the lady, shocked by something she never expected to read.
- "Let me see," insisted the neighbor upon noticing the concern of someone who has always been a very informed person. And there was the text, perfectly written, with data and very convincing images except for...
- "Ah, don’t worry! This source is not reliable; it seeks to create an uproar to benefit from it."
She felt relief and also distrust because how many lies and half-truths has she taken as certainties since discovering the appeal of social networks.
The phenomenon, so common these days, recalls "The War of the Worlds," a novel by the English author H. G. Wells whose 1938 radio adaptation by Orson Welles caused panic among listeners, who were unaware that the events were fictional.
Although the magic of radio has long since revealed tricks and devices known to very few, digital media remain indecipherable for many who are unfamiliar with the potential of hypermedia language to construct diverse realities, sometimes grounded in objectivity and other times in imagination or divergent interests.
Beyond who is right or wrong, whether information is false, or what each person prefers to believe—because, simply put, everyone has the freedom to choose—there are proven techniques and methods from psychology, visual communication design, and discourse construction to influence the acceptance of a message.
A paragraph that begins with a certain phrase, a subtly selected photo, music aligned with the intention can trigger certain emotional levers and lead to persuasion.
Manipulation is a matter of science, and this is applied spontaneously or deliberately by supposed journalists, content creators, influencers, or anyone with some ill will and possibly many interests at stake.
New technologies also contribute to the complex infocommunication ecosystem, and although for the vast majority the phrase "don’t believe everything you see on social networks" feels cliché, modern tools can deceive us or, rather, become factories of deception.
The possibility of creating images, cloning voices, and even producing hyper-realistic videos with Artificial Intelligence (AI) sends chills down the spine and warns of the danger of a completely fabricated false world.
These technological conveniences, combined with selfish purposes, can be counterproductive—especially when users show significant knowledge gaps in digital literacy and information culture.
Naivety in times of AI, like markets, and media warfare comes at a high cost of misinformation and discontent.
On the other hand, critical thinking, the ability to reflectively analyze reality, cross-check sources, and a bit of common sense prevent the shocks that come with "falling for it" just because the image grabs attention or the text is moving.
Truth has never been more at stake than in this present age of virtuality and digital artifices. (Image created with Artificial Intelligence)
