Twitter Users Need to Take Caution when Spreading Information

Published: Feb. 27, 2012 at 4:55 PM EST
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Did you find out about the results of the Oscars on Twitter? Millions of people tweeted during the show Sunday night.

If Twitter is the way you find out but what's going on, you should be careful.

A communications professor at James Madison University said most of his students use Twitter as a news source.

He said it's convenient to find out about breaking news on Twitter since it's so fast.

For instance, he said many people found out who won an Oscar on Twitter. Sometimes, he said, rumors can quickly spread on this social website, and that can be dangerous.

"I think it is really important that you know this information is correct before you retweet because when you send that information out, now you're partially responsible for spreading misinformation if it's not actually true," said Professor of Communications, Brian Kaylor.

Kaylor says if you do see news on Twitter, you should verify that it's true by checking other reliable news sources before you continue to spread that information.