Friday, November 15, 2019

Fake news: what it is and what to do with it


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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