#i think there is an urge rn to repost EVERYTHING you see about Palestine so as to not be complicit in western media's silence

[mostlymaudlin]

re news literacy on social media: i find that the best way to follow fast-moving news these days is to follow beat reporters from multiple outlets (especially people who are either local to or reporting from wherever the news is happening). they may not get everything right every time because people are inherently imperfect, but that's why you can't rely just on one source. and good reporters admit when they've been wrong. reporters will also RT non-journalist sources that they trust, and then you can add them to your list too. i left the journalism industry bc i didnt like keeping my opinions to myself lol. but even when i was working in local news, this is how i'd keep up with things outside my own beat.

i would never discount eye witness accounts of people affected by violence and tragedy, but this is a way you can corroborate claims you see on people's personal accounts -- because unfortunately, people like to troll or push agendas when emotions are high. at least reporters can't delete their accounts and disappear after they spread disinformation; they have to deal with the consequences. and yeah, sometimes their org protects them from more concrete consequences, but you'll still see people cooking them in the replies, and that'll help you to make your call. because at the end of the day, there's never going to be one place you can go to fully understand something -- you need to make a good faith effort to seek out information and make the best call you can. and if you make a call and form an opinion and everyone tells you you're wrong? don't be an asshole about it. own it and try again. both unconscious biases and fucking up are part of allyship and the only way to move on is to accept the consequences and do better.

personally, i'll never reblog or retweet something if i don't feel confident in it. there's amplifying voices, and then there's spreading disinformation. i am not going to break news that will help the people of Palestine on my fandom social media account by reposting something that i can't tell is real or not. but i sure as hell could clog up the feed and warp people's perceptions of real events by reposting something fake and potentially harmful.