Project description
Post-Graduate Thesis for the Interactive Media Management program at George Brown College.
Presented in August 2020
The project earned an A+ grade and helped me graduate with a 3.8 GPA.
DESIGN BRIEF
Category: Social Media + Tech + Advertising
Budget: N/A
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Objective: Design a solution that uses technology and media to fight against 'fake news' by educating the user while emphasizing values of empathy, truth, fun, integration, and collaboration.
My Key Contributions & Learnings
Qualitative & Quantitative primary & secondary user research, Product research, Design Systems, Personas, Journey maps, Trend prediction, Product Development, Crowd-sourcing data, Social Media Advertising & Marketing, Monetizable Metrics and Behaviors
Thesis Abstract
If you'd like to watch the video presentation for this thesis please click here
"These are dangerous times. Never have so many people had so much access to so much knowledge and yet have been so resistant to learning anything"
- Thomas M. Nichols
SynFo is a NETWORK OF WEB PRODUCTS (Design System) that forms a Synergy of Information to counter the wide-spread reach of Misinformation & Disinformation campaigns (A.K.A. 'Fake News')
The need to have more, newer, better, faster and smarter technology gave us more wicked problems; 'Fake News' is one of the latest and most pervasive on that list. Unlike the Wicked Problem of 'Climate Change' or 'Wealth Inequality' which exists outside the human mind in the physical world, the Wicked Problem of 'Fake News' exists in the stream of our technological and psychological consciousness. This problem stems, thrives, and spreads in the minds of the individual, instilled there with an unethical agenda. 'Fake News' will continue to interfere and amplify every other wicked problem out there which unfortunately makes it a 'Super Wicked Problem'.
SynFo aims to exist as an umbrella for a range of digital web products with an Integral Aim to build people's trust in Science & Expertise and in Academic, Journalistic & Legal Institutions.
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A functional and ethical system design should utilize current technology to create better systems of Formulation, Dissemination & Implementation while moving slow and not breaking things, which is why SynFo aims to be a human-centered small scale design system which is infinitely scalable to local and targeted markets while being culturally & economically profitable. Synfo is designed to 'Influence the user's algorithm to change the user's mindset' which is achieved by using 'Facts & Fun'; because 'An individual's belief system drives what the individual does'.
Just as every pandemic is a statistical problem disguised as a medical one, so is the problem of 'Fake News'. Fake News is more than a problem about 'bad information', it's about uprooting trust in all information, including the bad one.
At SynFo we understand that to perform inception for diversion we need imagination. We need the simplest version of the idea, the one that will grow naturally in the user's mind. We need many simple ideas to work together as a synergy to solve this complicated problem.
"The only form of self-transcendence that leads directly to ethical behavior and to human well-being is that which occurs in the midst of ordinary waking consciousness" - Sam Harris
Design Question: How can we use the same tech responsible for the debacles caused by ‘Fake News’ to fight against the problem of fake news?
Choosing this topic for my thesis was very personal to me as I had observed many of my friends and family fall into this trap. I could empathize with them and with the countless other victims of misinformation & disinformation. I wanted to design a solution for this problem. I got the approval from my project mentor at the earliest possibility to give myself enough time to design an elaborate solution to this gigantic problem.
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This project took me through a favorable evolution of myself as a person right from the research stage. I realized that the problem of ‘Fake News' (misinformation/disinformation) was not something that an app could solve, but I had no idea where the research and ideation would take me. What started as an idea for an app snowballed into a design system which now consisted of an app entangled with the internet advertising market, a media production house, and a journalistic organization.
I began my research with secondary research by reading academic papers which was a very educational and insightful. This would set the tone for the approach I was going to take for the rest of the project.
You can view those studies below (click on the image to access the full paper)
From the get-go I had to scope out the project because in the vast network of information pipelines on the internet it would have been foolish of me to target all platforms. After extensive research of the flow of information on different social media platforms I concluded that Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube were the biggest transgressors in spreading of misinformation & disinformation. I decided to focus on these platforms for my primary research while focusing the most on Facebook Groups.
Visit the Research and Design Solution whiteboard here
THIS PROJECT WAS HIGHLY RESEARCH CENTRIC AND HENCE THE UX RESEARCH HAS IT'S OWN WEBPAGE
TO READ THE FULL UX RESEARCH DOCUMENT
PLEASE CLICK HERE
DESIGN PROCESS
INSIGHTS
(Just a few of the many, click here to visit the whiteboard to explore more)
PERSONAS
MAPS
Journey Map + System Maps
(Click Image to watch a short video explainer)
Consumption Of Information
This map breaks down the information consumption system we are all a part of. I try to label and categorize the consumer so that it is easier to decide which categories should be targeted and which methods would work best for inoculating the target audience against fake news.
Journey Of Fake News
This map depicts the most common pathway for disinformation to turn into misinformation and seep into the mainstream. Most of the major players and tech platforms responsible for the polluted information pipelines are marked on this chart.
SynFo Network
This map depicts the user’s journey within the SynFo network and the different ways in which the user can enter the network
User Journey
This map depicts the user’s journey within the SynFo network and the different ways in which the user can enter the network
Click Here to download all the maps in high-quality resolution for better viewing
STRATEGY
Content: All content will have an organic & sponsored reach using Programmatic Advertising
Note: It is imperative that the user stumbles across this content rather than it being shared by the user's friends or family
Memes
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(NO copyrights issues. Highly researched and well-crafted. Contemporary. Targeted Dissemination)
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In-house
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Sourced from the internet
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Empathetic
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Confrontational
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Educational
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Influencers / Celebrities
Videos (monetizable)
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Short videos of a minute or less
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Explanation Videos of up to 30mins
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In-house & Third-Party Content
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Empathetic
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Confrontational
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Educational
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Influencers / Celebrities
Counter to Conspiracies (monetizable)
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Create and maintain Websites hosting current conspiracies and busting them with an aggressive approach using confrontational counter-content rather than an educational one
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Create and maintain Websites busting 'fake news' with empathetic and viral content
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In-house MULTIPLE fact-checking websites disguised as 'underground blogs' with professional production quality of content but using facts and empathetic explanations.
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Video content which is monetizable by YouTube Community Guidelines
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Video content which is accepted by YouTube Community Guidelines but sometimes can be demonetized (this content can still be monetized on other video websites which allow a lot of other junk content) This is to confuse the user's algorithm and eventually divert it.
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Use Influencers/ Celebrities to create short video content to educate and inform
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(e.g.: http://thetruetruetruth.com/)
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'Do Your Research' app will host all the contemporary conspiracy theories (content) on the platform while fostering (monitoring) a community but will embed the counter-content as a part of user's journey while influencing the user's algorithm
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Spot Fake (monetizable)
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In-house fact-checking
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Re-directing to third-party fact-checker websites in an integrated web browser app
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Game content tailored to users based on their 'in-game profile'