Hey...News-Changers! Happy to finally have a name for y’all, as voted by YOU. Special thanks to Breakdown reader and DoSomething Club leader Tina, who inspired the name <3

I was really sick this weekend, which meant I spent a lot of it in bed chugging Zicam and trying to stay entertained. If I’m being totally honest, I did what I usually do anyway, which is spend way too much time on YouTube. But where else can you find quality content like a guy teaching his dog to play Minecraft or a woman repainting a doll to look like Billie Eilish?

Suffice to say, I love the internet -- which is why stories like our One Big Thing today feel especially important. Scroll down to hear how social media bots and fake news are shaping our perceptions online in a few unexpected ways. Plus, read on for news on the historic all-woman spacewalk, what fashion brands are doing for the Amazon rainforest, and a shelter dog’s lego wheelchair.

- Jackie, DoSomething

From Political Candidates to Vaping Products: Bots and Fake News Spread Misinformation Online

As internet users, one of the biggest challenges we’re facing right now is the very concept of truth online. Over half of people in the US get their news from social media sites, and while it’s hard to quantify just how much false or misleading info is floating around these platforms, the instances we do know of are more than a little concerning.

US Politics

You may have already heard a lot about this in the context of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election (which was recently reaffirmed by a report from the Senate Intelligence Committee). Essentially, Russia used social media bots, fake reports, and ads to influence American voters and fuel division. Facebook just reported interference attempts in the upcoming 2020 election, but online misinformation goes way beyond even just American politics.

International Politics

In September, China used Twitter bots to spread false info and discredit the Hong Kong protestors, and more recently, Chinese-bought trolls and bots used fake accounts to create the social media backlash against an NBA executive’s pro-Hong Kong tweet.

And Beyond...

Here in the US, social media bots are behind a majority of pro-vaping traffic online -- including spreading and amplifying false information about the safety of e-cigs. The same has happened with online propaganda within the anti-vaccine movement.

We can’t always count on platforms to regulate misinformation themselves (Facebook even openly admits to allowing lies in its political ads). So it’s up to us to fact-check with reliable sources and take everything we see online with a grain of salt.

And it helps to get your news from places that back up what you’re reading with reputable sources...kinda like you’re doing right now, reading The Breakdown. (Feel free to click those links and fact-check us too!)

Take Action: Learn and share how to spot bots and fake news on social media.

The Amazon is On Fire, and Fashion Brands Want to Help Stop It

Last month, there were close to 20,000 fire outbreaks in the Amazon rainforest, and there are predictions for more to come. Some fashion companies are stepping up to do something about it.

H&M, Timberland, North Face, and Vans are among a collection of brands that have stopped buying leather from Brazil because of the way that cattle-farming in the region contributes to deforestation.

Other companies are making donations towards the Amazon’s conservation. The conglomerate behind Louis Vuitton and Dior is donating 10 million euros to fight the fires, and a sneaker collab between Allbirds and JUST is giving all of its proceeds to Leonardo DiCaprio’s Amazon Forest Fund.

It’s nice to see brands pitching in to address deforestation in the Amazon, but the fashion industry as a whole must take accountability for their contributions to its destruction. It’ll take an industry-wide shift in practices for lasting change to be made.

Take Action:

Add your name to the petition to save the Amazon Rainforest and protect the lands of Indigenous communities.

Look for products that are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and/or the Rainforest Alliance (RA).

Cut back on your own beef consumption by going meatless one day a week.

One Giant Leap for Women: Astronauts Make History With All-Woman Spacewalk

After 220 spacewalks in NASA’s history, astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir completed the first ever all-woman spacewalk. The pair replaced a battery unit on the exterior of the International Space Station. (BTW, those batteries were developed by NASA scientist Olga González-Sanabria!)

An all-woman spacewalk had previously been planned in March, but it had to be cancelled because there weren’t enough spacesuits to fit both women in time. We think Hillary Clinton said it best in her tweeted response: “Make another suit.”

It was Koch’s fourth spacewalk and Meir’s first, and both are on their first spaceflight -- an 11-month mission to observe the effects of spaceflight on women. According to NASA, it’s all in preparation for human missions to the Moon and Mars, meaning that these women are helping lead the way for more women in space.

Take Action: The history of women in space is just beginning. Help inspire underrepresented groups to pursue careers in STEM, and (super)empower the next generation of history-makers.

''It's worth a short-term disruption if that puts in place over the long-term the conditions that make education better in this city.'' - Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharke, speaking about the ongoing teachers’ strike for smaller class sizes, more support staff, and increased school funding

Why aren’t more people talking about… how the Trump administration blocked an investigation into shady practices by student loan service providers?

Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland… lawmakers legalized same-sex marriage and abortion.

My hero today is… the Oregon coach who disarmed and hugged a gun-wielding high school student.

Today in viral cuteness… this dog with a lego wheelchair, made by a 12-year-old animal shelter volunteer.

I’m obsessed with… the Looking for Alaska mini-series! I’ve been waiting for this adaptation for a literal decade, and it hasn’t disappointed.