Evaluating Social Media Information

• Social media are electronic forms of communication where users and groups of users can share information.
• Social media news feeds work on algorithms.

Algorithms work by collecting the data you submit.

This includes:

• What you “like”
• Who you are friends with
• What they like
• What groups you affiliate with
• Information about yourself

Algorithms work by collecting data you don’t submit (metadata)

• What you login
• Where you login
• How you login
• How many times a day you login
• When you logout
• Photographic/geolocation metadata
  Ex. Instagram tags your location

• Social media is free to sign up, because they sell this information to other parties.
• Based on the algorithm, social media news feeds will display advertisements that are relevant to you.
• Have you ever logged into social media and see ads for things that you have talked about?
• Based on the algorithm, social media news feeds will display news that is relevant to you.