The Role of Credit Unions in Stopping the Spread of Lies Online

Looking back in history, humans have always considered “the truth” to be somewhat subjective. Whether the subject is religion and spirituality or the outcome of a murder trial, people tend to believe what they want to believe, choosing the belief that gives them the best advantage socially or contributes most favorably to their survival.

Studies have suggested it’s human nature to conform to others’ way of thinking in order to gain acceptance within a group, even when those thoughts are questionable or false. In the 1950s, psychologist Solomon Asch conducted an experiment in which a group of eight people were asked to state their answer to a simple multiple choice question aloud. Only one group member was an unsuspecting participant, while the others were told ahead of time to uniformly state the wrong answer. Three-quarters of unsuspecting participants gave the wrong answer at least once, matching their response to the other group members and following their instinctive need to fit in.

Now, social media is exacerbating people’s tendencies to conform and leading to dangerous consequences. As explained in a recent Harvard Business Review article, before the internet it was more difficult for the public to spread falsehoods because the primary communication channels in place – TV, radio and printed publications – were regulated, authored/controlled by people in authority positions, and allowed consumers to easily choose from a limited list of watching, listening and reading options. The internet, on the other hand, is mostly unregulated and allows for an unlimited amount of content posts from anyone. And because social media news feeds are curated based on what algorithms determine will lead to the most engagement from an individual, users have less control over what they see and hear.

The most obvious recent example of widespread misinformation breeding damaging, real-life action is the QAnon conspiracy theory, which jumped from obscure forums onto the mainstream platform of Facebook and culminated in the deadly U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6. And many of these conspiracy theorists’ minds are sealed shut, having had their beliefs reinforced by authority figures and living in a virtual echo chamber, only seeing online content from others who share their views.

Efforts are currently underway to curb the spread of misinformation online, however. Major social media platforms have begun blocking posts and accounts that have contributed to the potentially dangerous spread of misinformation. At a federal regulation level, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects internet companies from being held liable for the user-generated content on their platforms, is being examined. Under the Biden Administration, changes might be implemented that require companies to meet certain transparency and data protection standards before qualifying for protection under Section 230, and other legislation is likely to be introduced around privacy, market competition and algorithmic transparency as well, according to the Harvard Business Review article, titled “Are We Entering a New Era of Social Media Regulation?”

Although helping to stop the spread of misinformation isn’t the most likely task on credit unions’ to-do lists, cooperatives do in fact play a role in the effort. A recent Filene Research Institute podcast and blog post that focused entirely on this topic featured insights from Bill Maurer, a law and anthropology professor and director of the Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion at the University of California, Irvine and Joan Donovan, who is directing a technology and social change research project at Harvard Kennedy School. (It should be noted that misinformation and disinformation are two different things – the former refers to the oblivious passing on of false information, while the latter involves purposely spreading lies, often with malicious intent or for political gain.)

In the podcast, Maurer explained how the pandemic recession has left many people with financial troubles and needing to turn to their financial institutions for help, but that they may distrust financial institutions as they did during the Great Recession of 2008. He said that leaves credit unions with an opportunity to build trust with members through their financial assistance programs – things like interest holidays on loans, and new products such as small-dollar bridge loans that keep people away from payday lenders, pawn shops other fringe banking services. “Those are things that a lot of folks in the credit union system are now talking about, but we probably need to see some well-publicized action at that level,” Maurer said.

Credit unions can also help members avoid scams that have emerged during the pandemic recession – those designed in response to feelings of panic and desperation, like cyber theft traps disguised as fake offers of toilet paper shipments, vaccine information and stock buying tips – by staying informed on current scams and educating members about them. “Because there are so many financial scams and payment-related scams going on, it would be great for credit unions to provide their members with some information about those things, and also just remind them of basic hygiene [to follow] when they’re online,” Maurer noted.

Another subject credit unions can ensure members get the facts on is the pandemic itself, which has spurred a massive spread of misinformation on social media on everything from unsafe disease treatments to vaccine-related conspiracies. Donovan suggested that credit unions share links containing COVID-19 outbreak, prevention, testing and vaccine information that are timely, relevant and local, such as local government websites that are updated daily. She added that credit unions need to be redundant in their information sharing. “There can be no assumption that everybody has been reached by any single method,” she said. “So [beyond your] website, if you have a Facebook page, Twitter account or newsletter, make sure the same information is in multiple places. That can really go a long way in shoring up that other people are seeing what you are, and what you think is important, timely, relevant, local information in your neighborhood.”

Credit unions may not have the power to reform social media regulation or even make a dent in the effort to stop the spread of misinformation, but the alarming rate at which Americans are being manipulated by unverified online content is a reminder to prioritize transparency and education when doing business with members, potential members and the community. And, as Maurer said at the conclusion of the Filene podcast, this turbulent period in history calls for credit unions to just show members that they know they’re struggling.

“It’s the sort of thing you do in grief counseling, or when you’re with a terminally ill person or comforting someone after a tragedy,” Maurer said. “Often you don’t really have to say anything at all. You just need to be there. And I think to the extent that credit unions can remind folks that they’re here with them, that’s an incredible service in and of itself.”

Natasha Chilingerian is executive editor for CU Times. She can be reached at nchilingerian@cutimes.com.