Let’s first address what fake news is exactly. It’s nothing new despite the overwhelming spotlight it has been getting in the past couple of years due to social media and viral emails. Fake news is pretty much exactly how it sounds: news that is not real; news that did not happen. It’s also news that is not completely based on facts. As we all know, we want news that is real and based on facts. We want the truth.
How does fake news go viral? It can happen so fast, within just a couple of minutes. Someone with over a million follower’s posts something that they believe or retweet a news story and it can get out of hand. This goes for any type of news. On USA TODAY, there was an article about how CNN did not run porn for 30 minutes the night before. The original news on this obscene ‘event’ was published by Fox News and New York Post and others news stations. It was believed to start out with a single tweet, the power of twitter, right? CNN assured people, “Despite media reports to the contrary, RCN assures us that there was no interruption of CNN’s programming,” and Graham later nicely puts it as: “A click-bait worthy tweet sounds like catnip to reporters, who take the info as fact, and run with it” (Graham). It only takes a tweet, or a post, so not much.
How do people believe in such news as fake news though? It’s mostly because they don’t spot it. I sometimes see myself believing something I see on Facebook, even though it may or may not be true. It sets its self-up professionally, but does it rely on facts for its sources of information or just what they think they believe? It’s difficult for one to distinguish.
So, how can we spot fake news? According to Eugene Kiely and Loir Robertson, there are a few things we can do to see what could be fake. The first is considering the source. Kiely and Robertson say they have “fact-checked fake news from abc.news.com.co, WTOE 5 News, and the Boston Tribune.” The two also explain that “some of these sites do provide a “fantasy news” or satire warning, like WTOE 5, which published the bogus headline, “Pope Francis Shocks World, Endorses Donald Trump for President, Releases Statement.”” However, when talking about the Boston Tribune, they say that the site “doesn’t provide any information on its mission, staff members or physical location – further signs that maybe this site isn’t a legitimate news organization” (Kiely E., Robertson). At least some news sites have the courtesy to provide a post about it being fictional news. Reading beyond the headlines, checking the author, looking for their sources, and checking the date are a few other ways to spot a fake news site/article.
A burning question remains: How can people still believe these sites/articles? Far too many reasons that are easy to spot like, ignorance and bias. I’ve said this before in a paper, people will believe what they want to believe. However, when it comes to a news story on, say, the President of the United States or Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, or even on a shooting in a small town, it’s always a good thing to check facts and look at sources, then make your choice as what to believe or not. Taking a side in a murder case or a truth about the President.
According to Dr. Michael Shermer, it could just be psychology. How are brain perceives things and choices. “In general, when our brains process information belief comes quickly and naturally, skepticism is slow and unnatural, and most people have a low tolerance for ambiguity,” meaning that when our brain processes something like a statement then it automatically accepts it as truth rather than being skeptic about it. “It is easier to just believe it and move on” and that is very well put for a lot of people, even me at times ( Dr. Shermer).
In the end, if you were to take something out of this, then just make sure that what you are reading or watching, is not only worth your time, but worth taking yourself a couple of minutes to make sure that it is credible. And don’t post news stories that you haven’t confirmed true. It only takes one post for things to get out of hand.
References
Graham, J. (2016, November 25). False CNN-porn report shows how fast fake news spreads. Retrieved May 10, 2017, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2016/11/25/false-cnn-porn-report-shows-how-fast-fake-news-spreads/94441324/
Kiely , E., & Robertson, L. (2016, November 18). How to Spot Fake News. Retrieved May 10, 2017, from http://www.factcheck.org/2016/11/how-to-spot-fake-news/
Dr. Shermer, M. (2017, March 18). 4 reasons why people ignore facts and believe fake news. Retrieved May 10, 2017, from http://www.businessinsider.com/why-do-people-believe-fake-news-2017-3
