ASL misinformation on social media

Andrew Warren
Andrew Warren Member (Full) Posts: 9
in Coffee Lounge

There is a disturbing trend of hearing influencers trying to teach their audience "ASL" mostly on TikTok. They are easily going viral with incorrect signs because their audience is all hearing and does not know ASL at all. It doesn't help that there's really not much of an easy/free access to ASL education nationwide but more schools are trying to implement ASL as part of their curriculum. I wish there was an easier way to have those videos taken down or have a "community notes" feature like Twitter.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/05/08/fake-sign-language-asl-tiktok/

Comments

  • Ali Ingersoll
    Ali Ingersoll Posts: 91

    That's really interesting true. I had no idea and clearly miscommunication is causing some serious repercussions in the deaf/hard of hearing community. How has your community been addressing this?

  • MICHAEL THORNTON
    MICHAEL THORNTON Member (Full) Posts: 1

    Sadly, it happens way too often… also you get people who claim to know ASL interpreting for Government official events… and do a horrible job at it.. (For the record I am not Deaf - but it is bothersome to see things like that happen).

  • Katarina Agbaba
    Katarina Agbaba Member (Full) Posts: 3

    I wish they had the power to delete posts for misinformation like Instagram or TikTok do. Unfortunately, they don't recognize ASL. It still happens every day. Social media is very powerful, and things can easily go viral. We need to think about how to prevent this. For example, user education is crucial; platforms could launch campaigns to help users identify misinformation and encourage critical thinking before sharing. What do you think about it? Free to drop any ideas here! Let's do together.

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