Fake news. The term has been shouted at us for the last few
years. From presidential candidates to newscasters to people on Facebook and
other social media. Recently I found myself rolling my eyes as if to say “good
grief” when someone tried to explain away a news story as fake news. And the
more partisan the new source, the more “fake” people believe the news is.
Conservatives often see CNN as fake news while liberals view Fox News as fake. It
seems if people do not believe the story could possibly be true, then its fake
news. Why do people engage in fake news? The answer is simple: power. Fake news
has power. Even when proven false and redacted that information still has the
potential to influence decisions, opinions and impressions. What exactly is
fake news? How is it defined? What are the types of fake news? And what can we
do in order to avoid falling for fake news?
Fake news is a type of yellow journalism or propaganda. It
is deliberate misinformation or flat out hoaxes. It has been spread in
traditional ways like via newspapers, broadcast media and word of mouth. Fake
news in newspapers is nothing new. In 1835, the New York Sun ran a series about
scientists finding life on the moon. Many people believed, at first, soon many people
saw through the outrageous story. Edgar Allan Poe would eventually write a
critical essay about the story’s unbelievability and the public’s gullibility
for believing the story in the first place (Uberti, 2016). Today, we have
online social media added to the mix. Fake news is written and published with
the intent to mislead the public’s perception about an agency, business or a
person. It is used to damage the reputation of the subject and gain either
financially, when a business goes under, or politically by winning an office or
causing an individual to lose theirs. As stated above, fake news is about
power. Many stories are shared because they confirm the worldview of the sharer
not as the world truly is (Borel, 2017). Fake new plants seeds of doubt to
distract and flood everyone with conflicting and confusing information that
people stop listening (Borel, 2017). Fake news is often used to cast doubt on
legitimate news stories or to take attention away from more serious and
important events. Considering how fast many of us get our news, many people sometimes
just reading the headlines without reading the article, it is no wonder that
fake news can flourish.
Claire Wardle of First Draft News identified seven types of
fake news and their motivations. First, satire or parody has no intention to
cause harm but has the potential to fool. Sites like The Onion and The Babylon
Bee are clearly satire sites and yet many people read their articles as if they
were real news stories. Understanding satire is not a trait that many people
have. In 1729, Jonathan Swift wrote an article titled A Modest Proposal,
in which he suggested that impoverished people sell their children as food to
the rich, was met with outrage. While some understood the joke and took offense
while others just didn’t understand its intentions. Second, false connection
when headlines, visuals or captions do not support an article’s content.
Clickbait articles are notorious for this type. Their aim is for you to click
on the article in order to gain money. Third, misleading content used to frame
an issue or individual in an unfavorable light. Fourth, false content is when
false information is used in conjunction with real information and the reader
is unable to distinguish between the two. Fifth, imposter content is when
genuine sources are impersonated with false make up sources. Sixth, manipulated
content is genuine information or imagery is manipulated to deceive. This form
is commonly used when photos or photoshopped or videos are doctored. Lastly,
fabricated content is an article that is 100% false and written to deceive or
do harm. The motivations behind these types of fake news ranges from poor
journalism (someone just didn’t take the time to fact check) to parody to
influence political support and elections.
So, what do we do about fake news? First, be critical of all
information. Double check and verify before sharing, posting and even reacting
to it. I’ve gotten into the habit of checking a story that seems too outrageous
to be true. If only one news site is carrying the story, then I am skeptical at
the story’s veracity. There are also a variety of face checking website to
verify a story. For example, Factcheck,org and FactCheckEd,org are nonpartisan,
nonprofit sites to check stories. False information is deeply ingrained in
politics and always has been. So why are we surprised when a politician lies or
stretches the truth? Every politician will say whatever is needed to order to
gain a vote. Whether it is trashing the opponent or making promises that are
too good to be true. Second, stop and think. While a guest on “On the Media”
radio show, Craig Silverman stated that we need to use emotional skepticism, to
second guess their instinctual reactions (Wardle, 2017). Emotional skepticism
is essentially to stop and think, “why am I having this reaction?” What about
the article incites anger or other emotions? We need to stop and take a second
look before hitting the share button. A second look may show you whether you
truly need to share it or not. Third, Brooke Borel states in her article that
news media needs to “stop trying so hard to entertain” and just state the facts
or story (2017). News has become a source of entertainment. Newscaster tell
story or make silly comments about the stories that its hard to take the story,
or the newscasters themselves, seriously.
In conclusion, fake news is essentially propaganda. It is
designed to distract, cast doubt and destroy. Fake news is nothing new. It just
as been given a new name and, in this age of fast news, very few news
organizations are fact checking news stories in order to beat their competitors
when reporting, leading to false information and misinformation public. Fact
checking takes effort and time which is probably why so many people don’t
bother to do it. They see a headline immediately have an emotional response,
usually anger, and comment, share and spread the story without stopping first
to check to see what is even true. As we approach the 2020 presidential
election, a year I am personally dreading, we need to stop and check the facts
before we form opinions, comment and share on social media and debate with
others. Don’t take the newscasters’ word for it. Don’t take the candidates or
any politicians’ word for it. Don't take a family member or a friend's word for it, Stop and check.
References
Borel, Brooke (January 4, 2017). Fact-Checking Won’t Save
Us From Fake News. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/fact-checking-wont-save-us-from-fake-news/.
Retrieved October 30, 2019.
Uberti, David (December 15, 2016). The real history of
fake news. https://www.cjr.org/special_report/fake_news_history.php?link.
Retrieved October 29, 2019.
Wardle, Claire (February 16, 2017). Fake news. It's
complicated. https://firstdraftnews.org/fake-news-complicated/.
Retrieved October 29, 2019.
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