By Tziporah Cohen  

             In recent times, it is more apparent than ever before that the ability to analyze information by oneself is extremely important. With the advent of the Internet and various forms of social media, people find themselves in a sea of information. Humans can share and receive data, opinions, and stories in seconds. In my personal experience, this is both freeing and scary. On the one hand, there is much to learn from the outside world, and it can be exhilarating to know how I can, theoretically, reach the rest of the world and impart my message with a few clicks of my fingers. Yet, I remain cognizant that what presents itself as “the truth” can be inherently deceiving. It remains imperative to objectively analyze any given issue even when there is the temptation to take another’s conclusion at face value.

            News surrounds the individual from various directions and avenues. If it weren’t for the blessing of multiple reporting agencies, the information that is available to us as individuals would be limited in scope and lack a human element. That being said, as a Jew, I have grown particularly observant of the ravages of misinformation. Before and especially after October 7th, barrages against Israel and Jews in general have caught my attention. Reports about the actions of the Israeli government have honestly shocked me. Truthfully, those news stories fulfilled their purpose; they caused me to think for myself and question my opinions. The news sparked me to do my own research — what actions were made and when. I looked at various media outlets and voiced my questions to trusted adults in my life, like the way I was always taught to do. Through said searching, I found that inconsistencies arose. Very often people colored their information with their perspectives. Headlines sometimes spoke more about what people wanted to convey than about what actually occurred.

           That being said, it is not about merely debunking articles that dispute my beliefs. It is basing my beliefs off of informed research, and I am grateful that thus far the principles that I’ve held to be true have withstood questions that I have asked. Looking at multiple angles from varying sources and finding out which has the most detailed citations, the most reputable information, and which has a history of factual reporting has not led me astray. My chief concern that I want to share when writing this submission is that others may not do the same. The loudest voices, the notably uproarious protests, and even the most dramatic political figures absorb the majority of people’s attention, and especially since the majority of the population is accustomed to taking in important messages in the span of a few seconds. I am troubled that sometimes countering opinions are drowned out in a wave of shouts. The fact that people’s opinions can so easily change in the face of the majority or in the face of those who appear to be authorities on the issue frightens me. The stubbornness of human nature once people think someone has revealed to them the “truth” terrifies me even more.

           Only teaching people the basic skills of how to analyze evidence can really solve this problem. People, as a general rule, inherently trust the conclusions they reach on their own. Learning what it means to think critically starts at school. I remember in the third and fourth grades having a class called Library where we read books and learned how to access the internet in a safe way. From fake websites on “tree octopuses” to slightly more plausible websites that supposedly could be used to search up people’s driver’s license photos, we learned how to identify markers of false information and even had some rudimentary lessons on how to perceive bias. I am not saying to treat adults like children. Even back then, in elementary school, I remember my classmates questioning the teacher more than they questioned the land-dwelling octopuses. As a teenager, I feel that while kids are more gullible because they have limited experiences, adults are no less gullible when it comes to areas in which they are not invested. In a survey published about Americans' opinions on the war in Gaza, when the responders in America were asked simple questions about the conflict, 34% of the respondents were unable to answer more than one question correctly (Krausz, Yossi. “What Do Americans Really Think About Israel?” Ami Magazine, 27 Mar. 2024, pp. 62). By taking the skills we learn in school, people should try to understand the basic facts of an issue before making a judgment.

            By looking into reports and even pictures we view online with a critical eye, even though leaving emotion and morals out of decisions is understandably impossible, I feel that charged protests in America can decrease. I am not ashamed to admit that I stand with Israel as it fights a defensive war against terrorists and tries to limit civilian deaths, and that even as I write this essay, I have my own biases intact. Nobody is perfect, but I think part of the reason that hate speech and misinformation spread at a high rate in today’s world is because people do not do their own research. While no individual has the power to change everyone’s opinions, if I could somehow reach people and encourage them to find out the truth for themselves, America would be all the better for it. If we can agree that while perspective may vary that certain facts are established, then we can use the skill of critical thinking to start working towards an effective solution to conflicting interests.