Social Media News: Believe at Your Own Risk
The Magic Bullet/Hypodermic Theory originated in the era of the 1930s. This theory contains two metaphors in its title which are the bullet image which is like a message hitting a target of a substantial effect and how media injects messages into audiences that cause them to adopt a new idea like a hypodermic needle and syringe. The two metaphors pretty much define the theory which is the media creating messages for a specific purpose.
An early example of this theory that I seem to keep finding is the incident that occurred in October 1938. The incident was about how listeners tuned into the “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast that discussed Martians were planning to invade the state of New Jersey. However, the program was fake and was orchestrated by an actor named Orson Welles and his theater troupe. Despite the broadcast being fake, hundreds of people believed it and panicked by calling the police and fleeing their homes. This study occurred over 80 years ago so the real question is, does the Magic Bullet/Hypodermic Theory still affect us today?
In my opinion, I feel that I can sometimes be vulnerable when it comes to media influence to a certain extent. I follow social media news more than I follow the traditional news, so I will most definitely say that I rely on social media for my news. However, I use common sense to decipher the facts from fabrications. I will first look to see what page published this news and see if they are credible source and then I will Google the news to see whether or not articles pop up about it.
My first example is a post created by a media news page I follow called ‘Baller Alert’, the post talks about popular fast-food chain Chic-Fil-A is releasing a seasonal sandwich that is a spicy grilled chicken sandwich that also features a cilantro lime sauce on the side.The first thing I did was check to see if a Chic-Fil-A also released this news and they did, so I believe it.
The second example is a post that I saw yesterday on the same page that legendary talk show host, Larry King passed away. I then received a notification from the New York Times that he did indeed pass away, so I believed it.
The last example was an advertisement I saw on Snapchat that shown popular Mexican-inspired restaurant, Chipotle just released a vegan and keto-friendly side to their menu, cilantro-lime cauliflower rice. I then went on their website and that was the first thing that popped, so it is in fact true.
