Fake News in Facebook and How to Solve It

It has become a little difficult sometimes to separate what is real from fake as far as news is concerned especially online. The social media is awash with propaganda and unreal stories posted with catchy click baits in the form of pictures, titles, videos or memes. Attention has become the new currency in the digital era (Schudson). The more the clicks on websites and news channels the more the revenue generated by the news posters. Anyone with a digital device and the internet can disguise themselves under false names to create news items meant to go viral in an instant., the more controversial, the better. The trend has continued for a while now with almost every person increasingly getting glued to social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and many others. In this generation, people do not depend directly on the traditional media sources for news; rather, they just click their way online to get information about trending topics or pressing issues (Lemann). While the conventional media sources also have this kind of hype, it is more rampant and common online where it has to attract someone's attention before it is flagged down. Even if flagged down, the intention is achieved. It has taken some time to notice, but most serious news consumers are a conscious lot. The trend has been noted and defined. Also known as pseudo-news or junk news, fake news is a type of journalistic propaganda or deliberate disinformation aimed at attracting the attention of the unsuspecting online news consumers (Levin). This paper presents an argument that fake news has become a problem with consequences fueled by social media, and the government has to do all that there is to solve it.

The problem of fake news hit the headlines following the US presidential elections in 2016 (Levin). The kind of information that was relayed to the public through the media sources betrayed the freedom given to the press which drooled over hot-blooded opinions touching on the lives of political contestants and the needs of the American people. Since the press was "protected" (Lemann) by the government especially the constitution, they were handed the power of misinformation which was later abused by the malicious lot looking to misinform the general public with propaganda. Fake news online does not obey the professional media and journalistic principles. The American government is partly to blame for fake news because they handed the broadcast industry to the private sector and only sought to regulate it.

In contrast to the British government which created government funded news network like the BBC, the United States deregulated broadcasting with the arrival of cable TV and the internet (Lemann). Apparently, according to Ronald Reagan, everyone person deserved to have a voice as well as free access to every kind of information. Along with that, misinformation found its way to the general public with everyone affected including news creators and consumers (Levin). No one can be easily held accountable for posting fake news or misleading the public because their user names or contact details can be inauthentic. The mainstream public no longer cares about real news with the majority preferring fake news. When this happens, the perpetrators continually achieve their objective which is attention and money-making, after all, for the fake news consumers, the clicks do not cost money. Provided they are entertained, they will go with the flow anyway.

The proliferation of junk news through social media like Facebook and others has brought various consequences in almost every realm of human existence. To begin with, it can mislead people sourcing research information online from websites and social media sites that are inauthentic (Schudson). In most cases, students are the ones affected because most of them have little veracity to discern fake information, or legit sources of obtaining academic, credential information. According to Levin (2016), fake news in academics is "nothing new." Teachers often notice that students hand in assignments with information that is false, farfetched, or purely ridiculous and the sources are fake websites. Students or researchers who do not rely on academic sources for information are the easiest to be duped or targeted by fake online information (Levin). Another problem associated with fake news is that it misleads the public on serious matters and national issues. Various fake stories have hit the headlines in the recent past including but not limited to the one claiming that President Trump was endorsed by Pope Francis and that Hillary Clinton sold weapons the ISIS (Levin). With such headlines, the general public ends up consuming completely false information which has the potential of creating false alarms, panic, and cheap talk. This problem can also create defamation to certain individuals, institutions, and organizations. Online propaganda can be created in a manner that targets specific audiences to tarnish reputations, personalities or even bully other people. The consequences of cyberbullying are accelerated through social media with Facebook and Instagram platforms for that. Such news can also lead to online fraud including job adverts which can be used to trick people into making certain unauthorized payments. Despite these negativities, such online fake news benefits the promulgators in that they attract clicks, readership, viewership and revenue from fake news (Levin).

However difficult it is to curb junk news; the government certainly has some options when it comes to solving this problem. Others like the British and the French governments have made strides in bringing solutions to misinformation online. For Britain, it has taken responsibility for being the major source of finance for its major broadcasting corporations (Lemann). This way, the government has a lot of say in regulating the content broadcasted. For that purpose, British broadcasting houses have to check facts before they air content. Being the major financier of its broadcasting corporations, the British government regulates the news industry by limiting the private sector. America should do the same by limiting private funding, media owners and being the major financier of the American broadcasting systems. It is appalling that American National Public Radio (NPR), one of the best broadcasting stations in the US, is a recipient of so little funding from the government yet it has both national and international correspondents. Regulating fake news should not be mistaken for gagging the media because there are fundamental journalistic ethics that must be followed as far as news and broadcast are concerned. The government can have plans put in place in which the best news channels are rewarded for following journalistic ethics in distributing real news to the mainstream public. The relevant government agencies should check the authenticity of information given online, or otherwise. Screening information ensures that accountability of information given is enforced and can be traced back to the publisher in what is called "accountability-centered journalism" (Schudson). Notably, the majority of information shared by users on Facebook is fake news. In cases where any publisher is found to have given false information through social media like Facebook, they should be arrested and charged heavily to discourage others thinking of the same. Facebook, as an organization and social media platform in which fake news has overwhelmingly been spread, has taken serious steps in curbing fake news. It has introduced and relied on fact-checkers like Factcheck.org, Snopes, PolitiFact and ABC News (Varinsky). These organizations follow a particular code of principles to discern whether or not certain information is true or false. Facebook is aware that false news if motivated by financial incentives, so it has taken steps to build systems that can not only help distinguish fake from real but also assist people in making "informed decisions" when they come across fake news (Mosseri). Most of the tools developed by Facebook to avert fake news are not yet available to the people, but there are continual reports indicating that the few tools available are working in curbing this problem (Varinsky). In this fight, the government should join hands with international organizations like Facebook to fight fake news (Levin). Due to the magnitude of fake news and the influence it can amass, there should be laws and regulations crafted to regulate social media platforms. The Congress is so aware that fake news has had undesirable consequences in terms of fairness and integrity of the electoral process and it is high time laws and regulations were put in place to superintend misinformation (Schudson). The government should also enforce directives to all social media companies demanding that each website to utilize artificial intelligence and human "fact-checkers" to ensure the information shared on their platforms is real and legitimate (Varinsky). Relevant government agencies should also follow up on owners of media sites and check whether or not the ban or punish users sharing fake news. Writing, publishing, distribution or sharing of junk news should be made a federal offense for people to take it seriously and stop it.

Conclusion

In conclusion, fake news is a real problem in the current digital era, and its consequences are huge in almost every aspect of people's daily lives. It is a global problem that every government needs to be involved actively in coming up with solutions. Some online news channels, broadcasters, and social media sites share a lot of fake news for attention which generates income for them. The consequences are numerous including misleading the public, creating panic, and false alarms, defamation, tarnishing of personalities and reputations and misinforming students and researchers on academic content. Fake news can also promote hate and propaganda that can lead to other serious consequences. The only gain that comes from spreading junk news is revenue generation that goes to promulgators of pseudo news. Facebook platform is the major site on which propaganda is spread. The government ought to take an active role in curbing this menace through regulation, a right that comes when the government is the sole financier of broadcasting corporations. Relevant agencies should be created by the government to monitor fake news proliferation online. There should be laws and regulations targeting social media usage and sharing of wrong information. The government should make a joint effort with tech companies including Facebook, to ensure that there are right tools to control and screen news for facts. There should be a general directive directing social media platforms to utilize technology such as artificial intelligence, and human fact-checkers to legitimize the authenticity of the news shared on their platforms. The perpetrators of fake news should be arrested and charged. It should be a federal offense to write, publish and share false information in any platform.

Works Cited

Lemann, Nicholas. "Solving The Problem Of Fake News." The New Yorker, 2016, https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/solving-the-problem-of-fake-news.

Levin, Kevin M. "The Remedy For The Spread Of Fake News? History Teachers". Smithsonian, 2016, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/remedy-spread-fake-news-history-teachers-180961310/.

Mosseri, Adam. "Working To Stop Misinformation And False News." Facebook Media, 2017, https://web.facebook.com/facebookmedia/blog/working-to-stop-misinformation-and-false-news?_rdc=1&_rdr.

Schudson, Michael. "The Fall, Rise, And Fall Of Media Trust." Columbia Journalism Review, 2019, https://www.cjr.org/special_report/the-fall-rise-and-fall-of-media-trust.php. Accessed 14 Apr 2019.

Varinsky, Dana. "Facebook Begins Roll...