By Abdullah Khalid
Fake News, and What It Is?
To begin with the social media sites should always block fake news, and click-bait articles. You might ask, why is fake news so bad. Well, fake news is deceiving, causes problems in government, and society, exaggerates, slander about people, has very negative consequences, and garners a lot of clicks. Garnering clicks or view isn’t always good when the website or news article is deceiving you into believing something else. The information in fake news is false, but it seems true. Fake news is the spread of misinformation. It’s too soon to say whether Google’s and Facebook’s attempt to clamp down on fake news will have a significant impact. Fabricated stories posing as serious journalism are not likely to go away as they have become a means for some writers to make money and potentially influence public opinion. Even as Americans recognize that fake news causes confusion about current issues and events, they continue to circulate it. A December 2016 survey by the Pew Research Center suggests that 23 percent of U.S. adults have shared fake news, knowingly or unknowingly, with friends and others. The news media has written a lot about fake news and other forms of misinformation, but academics are still trying to understand it — for example, how it travels and why some people believe it and even seek it out.
What is Click Baiting, and how is it related to Fake news?
Click Bait is often characterized by wording like, “You won’t believe” or “What happened next will shock you,” or other unverifiable assertions in a desperate attempt to spark your curiosity into a click. It is related to Fake News because publishers of Fake News use click bait to get views, and ad revenue.
Misinformation, and Faking Hurricane Sandy
Misinformation can be very difficult to correct and may have lasting effects even after it is discredited. In today’s world, online social media plays a vital role during real world events, especially crisis events. There are both positive and negative effects of social media coverage of events. It can be used by authorities for effective disaster management or by malicious entities to spread rumors and fake news. During Hurricane Sandy there were many tweets going around on twitter with fake images, and fake news. There were 10,350 identified unique tweets containing fake images that were circulated on Twitter during Hurricane Sandy. Eighty-six percent of these spreading the fake images were retweets, therefore very few were original tweets. The top 30 users out of 10,215 users (0.3 percent) resulted in 90 percent of the retweets of fake images; also network links such as follower relationships of Twitter, contributed very little (only 11 percent) to the spread of these fake photos URLs. From this we know it can be very hard to distinguish from fake news, and fake images without help from online sources, or being highly critical of the news you might be viewing.
Impacts of Fake News
Major Impacts
You understand by now that fake news and other types of false information can take on different faces. They can also have major impacts, because information shapes our world view: we make important decisions based on information. We form an idea about people or a situation by obtaining information. So if the information we saw on the Web is invented, false, exaggerated or distorted, we won’t make good decisions. For examples of impacts, the Hurricane Sandy issue is a big example.
Financial, and Health Impacts
Some fake news articles attack medicine products a label them as futile, and useless. The articles will claim that you are spending too much money on your health problems. Due to this they lead readers astray and make them use unbalanced diets that almost never work. With solutions that don’t work readers could harm themselves, and their health by believing these articles. News of this kind floods the Internet, and young people are often the preferred targets: miracle diet to lose 10 kilos in one week, to become a better athlete, to do well on your exams, etc. You must remember that obviously, just because this was shared by a friend doesn’t make it true, and just because it’s promoted by your favorite celebrity doesn’t make it any truer! Everyone suspects that there are plenty of hidden ads on the web, especially on Instagram, but we tend to forget that when it’s said by a person we like. For example, a blogger who pitches a special tea to lose weight and have a flat belly. But if this product sells for $60 a month, it’s a good idea to think twice before committing to such an expense. The blogger them self might believe in the amazing results of this magical product. But probably the blogger is getting paid by the maker of the product to entice people into buying their products. The blogger has no obligation to tell us that they are getting paid to sell a product.
Fear
According to a post that circulated on Facebook at one time, evil clowns were circulating in Saint-Jérôme, QC. This post was shared over 63,000 times. Maybe some people saw it as a joke, but many believed it, because the fear of evil clowns — which is a false rumor — is fairly widespread and has raised fears all over the world ever since. Fears like this can be spread through Fake News that make life harder for many people.
Promoting Racist Ideologies
If a post leads me to believe that immigrants are invading the country, will people with racist ideologies be angry at the government’s policies? Will they maintain racist ideas? Will they vote for a political party that wants to close the borders? Most likely the racists will continue to be racist, and may even become more staunch in their racism. Instead of launching a discussion or a dialogue, this type of publication instead serves to whip up fear or intolerance.
Democratic Impacts
Will I vote differently if I know the Pope endorses a politician’s candidacy? It is now known that false information played a major role in the last American presidential election. This is one of the reasons why the media has spoken so much about the fake news phenomenon, because this is an important democratic issue. In short, the impacts are very real and we must avoid sharing fake news. This is the main reason there has been so much talk about fake news in the past few years: because of the number of items during the 2016 presidential election campaign. For example, the ETF News site published the following fake news item: “Pope Francis Shocks World, Endorses Donald Trump for President”. This article received over 960,000 Likes, comments or shares.But this was a lie! And of all the news – true and false – published during the American presidential election, this fake news item was shared the most.
Spectacular Fake News
Sometimes fake news is shared because it is sensational. Like this item about an automobile accident supposedly caused by playing Pokemon Go. In this case, the authors used a real photo, but they gave it a title that had nothing to do with reality. This is a trick often used by those who invent fake news. This item was shared 60,000 times on Facebook and received 150,000 Likes. Thanks to this fake news, somebody made money in ad revenue.
Fake News That Stages a Celebrity
Celebrities attract attention. One example was this item invented in 2017 by a website, The Mackenzie Post, claiming that Leonardo DiCaprio had told People (a real American magazine) that he wanted to move to Baie-Saint-Paul, QC, to live on a farm. This news item was shared hundreds of times, but it was totally false.And that’s not all: this item was republished with exactly the same text, but featuring other celebrities.
Promoting Sexism
According to the same logic, it is very easy to launch rumors or information tailor-made to sustain horrible ideas about women.
Fake news that sustains myths and conspiracies
There are also myths and urban legends on the Web. For example, the Illuminati who “control the world”, the UFOs the US military is “hiding from us”, people who affirm the Earth is flat. Obviously, this is nonsense, but it circulates extensively on the Web and social media. There are an enormous number of conspiracy videos on YouTube as well.
Pranks Using Fake News
The main purpose of a hoax is to draw us into a trap. Like an April Fool’s joke. A golden eagle flies away with a child in a park. This prank was created by 3D animation students. The video was viewed 8 million times, according to the newspaper La Presse. Many people believed it was true. This was a joke deliberately constructed to fool people. Fortunately, the students quickly revealed how they had arranged to deceive us.
Satire Comedy Using Fake News
Things are a little different with satire. The goal is to make people laugh, like this publication from The Onion. However, satires can lead to confusion. In Québec, Le Journal de Mourréal and La Pravda are satirical sites. Their publications are funny, but if you only see the headlines on social media, they can fool people. Among the 65,000 people who shared this information on Facebook that the Hells Angels demonstrated against the legalization of cannabis, some believed it was a real news item. In interviews they granted, the authors behind the Journal de Mourréal confided that they knew some readers would be fooled, but they believe it’s up to them to exercise their critical abilities.
Opinions and allegations presented as facts
An opinion is not a fabricated lie. The person may believe it in integrity. But if the opinion or the allegation is presented as the truth, this can lead to confusion. That’s because an opinion is not a fact and an allegation is not a proven fact either.
Certain types of messages received by private messaging
Some fake news circulates in private messages. This may be by text, by email or by Messenger. For example, fraud attempts by text are common. You must never send money or click on a link texted by an unknown person. Banks, governments and the police do not communicate by text. Clicking on a link may allow a fraudster to hack your phone. Rumors can also circulate on messaging applications like Whatsapp or Snapchat. Often people are asked to alert their friends about a threat. Participating in these rumors can be dangerous. Some fake news circulates in private messages. This may be by text, by email or by Messenger. For example, fraud attempts by text are common. In India, thirty people died after rumors circulated on Whatsapp. The same thing happened in Nigeria, where 11 people died because of fake photos that were circulating. There were also similar incidents in Mexico. You should realize that if there is really a danger, the police will alert the public through other channels, such as TV or their own social media accounts. You must not spread rumors or warnings when you do not know the source. Certain types of YouTube videos do teh exact same thing. YouTube is for amusement, but it is also an information source. Even funny videos can attempt to influence you. In this case a YouTube channel by the name of Mouton lucide (Lucid Sheep) makes a comical video to explain why the fluoride added to toothpaste is dangerous. But he is wrong in the first few seconds when he affirms that fluoride is toxic. This is true, but only in large doses. This is the case for all substances. In small doses, as in toothpaste, fluoride protects the teeth. There are hundreds of videos like this one on YouTube in English. You must always ask yourself if a YouTuber has the necessary qualifications to talk about a given subject. Especially if this is a subject concerning health!
Manipulated videos featuring celebrities
Fake videos have existed for a long time. But until recently, this only happened in Hollywood. It took talent and plenty of time to fake a video. Deep fake is a new technology that uses artificial intelligence to fake videos. With an application that can be downloaded, images are used to “teach” artificial intelligence to imitate a face. When this is done, the software can insert the face in any video. The results are not always convincing, but this is just the beginning. The technology will surely improve. And this allows anyone to fake a video, even with no talent. This may seem funny, but it’s worrying. Imagine if someone created a fake video of the Prime Minister of Canada declaring war. This type of technology worries a lot of people, and can be very dangerous!
Just because you disagree with an opinion doesn’t mean it’s fake news
Be careful not to consider an opinion to be fake news just because you disagree with it. A politician, whenever he is criticized, might be tempted to say it’s fake news, but that would be dishonest. First you must ask yourself whether the criticism is based on facts or opinions. Everyone is entitled to their opinion: people who say they don’t like a specific politician or a specific film therefore cannot be accused of publishing fake news. On the other hand, people who attribute completely invented statements or dialogue to a politician or a film they don’t like have published fake news in an attempt to present their opinion as the truth. Once again, an opinion is not a fact.
Why was Fake News Invented?
Why is fake news invented? And who invents it?
It can be anyone, an unknown person in a basement. Someone whose name will never be known. (That’s the beauty of the Internet. It lets people stay anonymous.)
Why do they do this? People who invent fake news may do it for a multiple reasons:
-Out of hatred, or jealousy
-To get revenge, or teach someone a lesson
-For political reasons
-To promote an ideology
-To harm a business competitor
-To promote products (especially because it pays!)
Fake news pays!
The main reason for inventing it is to make money! You have to understand that on the Internet, popular news means ad revenue. The maker sof the Fake News use click bait to getas many clicks on a page as possible. The more it is seen, the more revenue for the page’s administrators. It isn’t even necessary to click on the ad. The idea is to create a buzz about the publication, the interactions (Likes, shares and comments) that will be seen by new people who will visit the page.
Why do people share Fake News?
Because it’s very easy to fall into the trap :
Everyone who likes something or detests something is likely to share fake news, especially if it confirms their beliefs. Remember that the primary goal of a person who invents fake news is to deceive us. This person will not invent fake news that leaves everyone indifferent or that concerns a subject that doesn’t interest anyone! Furthermore, it’s easy to fall into the trap of fake news, because it is often very well executed!
It is difficult to identify on the Web!
Before, people obtained their information from a newspaper (or from radio and television). They knew these media and subscribed to them. Even if they bought a gossip magazine, they knew it was a gossip magazine, and not to be taken too seriously. But now, the boundaries are blurred. This is worrying, because the majority of people now get their information through social media (60% of Americans — Source: Pew Research Study). This complicates things, because as we have seen, true information is side by side with false information on an equal footing on the Web and social media. In addition, creators of fake news arrange to have it look like real news! For example, on the ETF news site, the format and layout closely resemble a real news page.
Because our mind plays tricks on us !
For example, we tend to trust our family, our friends, people we admire (stars, bloggers, etc.). If these people share something on social media, we will tend to believe them more easily. Also, we tend to accept things more easily that confirm our own beliefs. This makes our life easier. Academics call these cognitive biases.
Fake news plays on our emotions
People who produce fake news use a foolproof trick, highly prized in advertising: they play on our emotions. They know that, motivated by a strong emotion (surprise, fear, disgust, hatred, contempt, etc.), people are more likely to react and share information.
How to spot Fake News?
Fake news can have a negative impact on workplace behavior. For example, by damaging learning culture, and causing rumor and mistrust to spread. So, it’s important to know how to separate the real from the fake. You can do this by following these six steps:
- Develop a critical mindset.
- Check the source.
- See who else is reporting the story.
- Examine the evidence.
- Look for fake images.
- Check that it “sounds right.”
To verify news stories you can use these three websites to help you:
- FactCheck.org: monitors the accuracy of U.S. political stories.
- PolitiFact: verifies political news stories.
- Snopes: fact-checks Internet rumors and stories. This will determine whether that post your cousin shared on Facebook re: gun violence in America has any merit.
Some more tips to spot Fake News are:
- Check the domain name. Does it look strange? Those ending unusual domains such as “.com.co” are fake news.
- Refer to the ‘About Us’ area on a website to see what it says, or refer to the websites above for more information on the story or source.
- Read multiple news sources to see how (or if) they are reporting on the same story.
Why I chose to do a blog for my presentation?
I think using a blog is the best way to inform my peers of what I learned because of these 6 reasons. The blogs helps drive traffic to your website. Blogs help convert that traffic into leads. Bogs help establish authority. The blogs help drive long-term results. My blogs can be personal, and I am able to write in an informal manner. There is an option for my readers to comment so I am able to have a discussion with my readers on my Blog.
Works Cited
-Wainwright, Corey. “Why Blog? The Benefits of Blogging for Business and Marketing.” HubSpot Blog, blog.hubspot.com/marketing/the-benefits-of-business-blogging-ht.
-“Fake News and the Spread of Misinformation.” Journalist’s Resource, 21 Dec. 2018, journalistsresource.org/studies/society/internet/fake-news-conspiracy-theories-journalism-research/.
-Pennycook, Gordon and Rand, David G., Who Falls for Fake News? The Roles of Bullshit Receptivity, Overclaiming, Familiarity, and Analytic Thinking (March 22, 2019). Pennycook, G. & Rand, D. G. Who falls for fake news? The roles of bullshit receptivity, overclaiming, familiarity, and analytic thinking. Journal of Personality, Forthcoming. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3023545 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3023545
-Nyhan, Brendan, and Jason Reifler. “Displacing Misinformation about Events: An Experimental Test of Causal Corrections: Journal of Experimental Political Science.” Cambridge Core, Cambridge University Press, 1 Apr. 2015, www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-experimental-political-science/article/div-classtitledisplacing-misinformation-about-events-an-experimental-test-of-causal-correctionsdiv/69550AB61F4E3F7C2CD03532FC740D05.
-“Characterizing and Identifying Fake Images on Twitter during Hurricane Sandy.” Faking Sandy, ACM, dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2488033.
-“Impacts of Fake News.” 30sec To Check It Out, 30secondes.org/en/module/impacts-of-fake-news/.
-“What Is ‘Fake News’ ?” 30sec To Check It Out, 30secondes.org/en/module/what-is-fake-news/.
-“Why Is Fake News Invented?” 30sec To Check It Out, 30secondes.org/en/module/why-is-fake-news-invented/.
-“Why Do People Share Fake News?” 30sec To Check It Out, 30secondes.org/en/module/why-do-people-share-fake-news/.
-“How to Spot Real and Fake News: – Critically Appraising Information.” From MindTools.com, www.mindtools.com/pages/article/fake-news.htm.
-“How Do I Spot Fake News?” University of Toronto Libraries, 11 Sept. 2018, onesearch.library.utoronto.ca/faq/how-do-i-spot-fake-news.
-Escher, Anna, et al. “WTF Is Clickbait?” TechCrunch, TechCrunch, 26 Sept. 2016, techcrunch.com/2016/09/25/wtf-is-clickbait/.
All About Fake News and How To Avoid It? 