Learn how to handle information wisely before you share with others

Remember this below fake news? the original title was changed with a a fake title to instigate anger. The original picture was an older picture of a earthquake collapsed apartment building collapsed during the earthquake years before the incident and relabeled as a theatre. Just a quick Google Image search reveals the fake news. But we don't have time to do a quick google search but we are busy to share with others first before we even process the information.

FAKE IMAGE

ORIGINAL IMAGE

Surah Al-Hujurat has great detail for Muslims on how to deal with social life. It talks about not spying on others, not to mock and call names, or not to assume without having probable cause. It also explained the harm or filthiness about backbiting in a most strong manner. However, somehow many of us couldn’t correlate that to the new platform that we got through Information Technology, the social media. Muslims need to be able to use the information wisely and justly. 

Throughout human history information was used and abused for the benefit of particular groups and nations. However the omnipresence of the Internet, social media, and smartphones made this a much bigger challenge than in the past. These technologies have made every human being a “news outlet” and with the click of a button or touch, we can reach thousands and millions of people across the earth. As a Muslim, we’re the least educated in information handling in this Information Technology era, especially, when it comes to sharing information on the social media platforms. Though this is true for any medium but as the technology platforms are more subtle to understand and the harm can be out of proportion, we should be doubly cautious when we use information. So why should we worry about what we share? It comes from Allah:

يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ إِن جَآءَكُمۡ فَاسِقُۢ بِنَبَإٍ۬ فَتَبَيَّنُوٓاْ أَن تُصِيبُواْ قَوۡمَۢا بِجَهَـٰلَةٍ۬ فَتُصۡبِحُواْ عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلۡتُمۡ نَـٰدِمِينَ

“O ye who believe! If an evil-liver bring you tidings, verify it, lest ye smite some folk in ignorance and afterward repent of what ye did.” Surah Al-Hujurat (49:6)

إِذۡ تَلَقَّوۡنَهُ ۥ بِأَلۡسِنَتِكُمۡ وَتَقُولُونَ بِأَفۡوَاهِكُم مَّا لَيۡسَ لَكُم بِهِۦ عِلۡمٌ۬ وَتَحۡسَبُونَهُ ۥ هَيِّنً۬ا وَهُوَ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ عَظِيمٌ۬

“Behold ye received it on your tongues and said out of your mouths things of which ye had no knowledge; and ye thought it to be a light matter, while it was most serious in the sight of Allah. “ Surah Al-Noor (24:15)

The above ayaths should give us enough chilling effect before you click, share or like a news or content on social media as you would have to make sure that those contents are correct and the messenger is trustworthy. You have to verify the information before passing it on. Now, the question is how do you do it? It’s rather easier to identify the validity of the information because of the technology as well. The use of technology will change in future but the fundamentals remain same:

• Acquire primary knowledge of the subject. If your only source of knowledge is second hand process information, you’re highly susceptible to misinformation. It’s like eating too much processed food instead of eating fresh food increases your chance of health issues and diseases. Learn fundamental knowledge, such as, Geography, demography, Economy, Social Sciences, Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Math, etc. And as a Muslim, you must learn the Quran and Sunnah.

• Have at least three sources (more is better but don’t go below three) to verify information. Establish your sources first and then use triangulation technique to validate it. While determining the sources, make sure those are diversified and distributed and aren’t using each other's information. E.g. to validate health information use American sources (www.cdc.gov), International sources (www.who.int), some Asian/African sources and finally use your research from the fundamentals of Biology and Medicine. If you don’t have those, don’t bother to share those information among others.

To recap: remember to pause before you publish, ponder and verify before you share, and always use authentic sources of information using Triangulation technique.