Social Distortion and Fake News - Essay Sample

Introduction

Information is an essential part of human life and as such individuals all over the world seek different sources to provide the information they require. News is one of the primary source of information and technological advancement has made access to news easier and faster. It is now possible to stay informed even without the leaving the confines of one's home. Fake news refers to misinformation through providing false data or giving half-truths with a malicious agenda. However, the increased cases of fake news is slowly becoming a menace as the effects it has on public opinion is dire. Fake news is being sold everywhere without consideration of the lasting impact it may have on its consumers. The internet has made it easier for fake news to be created and spread considering how well it is packaged. As such, it becomes hard for one to distinguish between fake and real news. Therefore, to steer clear of fake news it is imperative that we analyze the consequences of fake news and identify the skill sets required to question and verify the online news consumed online.

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Most fake news revolve around the contentious topic of politics and what the medias that spread them fail to understand is the impact it has on the general public. Fake news have the ability to polarize individuals during elections periods. Language is important as it is how information is transferred (Baldwin, 6). Postman (83) argues that language shapes the world in terms of inspiration, durability and power and as such it has a lasting effect on the perceiver. Fake news is transferred through language and considering Postman's assertion it impact are deep. When biased perspectives label credible information as fake, truth id distorted (Postman, 82). As explained by Bacon, once the human understanding has adopted an opinion, it attracts everything around it to agree with it (Bacon, 2). Even after being convinced otherwise the previous information still remains valid in their minds. The same happens when valid news is labelled fake then facts are provided to refute the initial assertions.

Fake news facilitate the creation of media that is meant to undermine politicians and tarnish their names. The innovation in technology has encouraged the development of applications that for example add fake sound to a politician's initial clip and that allows them to use the politician's image to pass whatever information they desire. Applications such as Adobe VoCo that make vocal mimicry based on text possible will help in taking fake news to a whole new level (University). In the 2016 elections for instance, studies shows that fake news may have had an impact on the winning of Donald Trump (University). The period leading to the elections was marked with fabricated stories that were pro-Trump flooding social media sites. The articles circulating on Facebook had an impact on the opinion of Americans and the fact that they were widely shared numerous times made it more believable. The fake news shared during the 2016 elections may have no had a big impact on a majority of Americans, but it went a long way influencing public opinion and polarizing a segment of voters.

Media consumers who are not careful about the type of information they consume are most susceptible to consuming fake news. As such it is important that the public is aware of the ways to verify articles and images to avoid being fooled by fake news. Media consumers need to develop a critical mindset when seeking or receiving information in order to discern between fake and real news. Having questions like why was this article written? How is meant to change my mindset? What is trying to sell? among other questions can help a consumer distinguish between real and fake news. Secondly, media consumers should check the sources of the information they consume. In case it's a source that is unfamiliar, checking the publisher to determine whether it is a popular news agency or it's a blog expressing someone's personal opinions. It is also important to confirm if the author of the information is an expert in that field of work or is just spreading rumors. Thirdly, one should counter-check the news and confirm with other reputable sources and famous news publisher like BBC, Reuters and CNN . Observing images carefully to ensure that they are not doctored can also help identify fake news. Fourthly, media consumers should note that credible news is backed up by facts and figures. Thus when identifying fake news it is important to have all the facts rights with statistical data and expert quotes to back them up. Lastly, employing a critical eye and using common sense can help distinguish between a fake and true story.

Media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snap chat are used in the spread of fake news and their access to millions of users can facilitate the spread of these news (Moseri). As such they are charged with the responsibility to stop the spread their users who spread the news. Some of the measures these companies can take include the disrupting the economic incentives of the individuals who spread fake news. Fake news is mostly used to gather traffic which translates into financial incentives to the individuals behind the websites or pages. These companies can remove any economic incentive that the traffickers of fake news may get through using their own fact-finders to verify information and remove the information from their sites to limit their income source (Moseri). They can also enforce strict laws and policies that will limit the spread of fake news for instance banning accounts that create and spread fake news. Further, the companies can invest in fraud detecting teams that can identify individuals who create and disseminate fake news and expose them before harm is done.

Social media users can easily authenticate the information shared on different platforms by paying more attention to the message, the source and one's judgement regarding the topic. Checking whether the news item makes sense and confirming with other news outlets can help a social media user to distinguish real news from fake news (How Do People). The source of the news can also be suspicious or untrustworthy and as such his or her information can fail to be credible. Lastly, ordinary social media users should ensure that they are keen to decipher the intent behind the news and judge whether or not it is credible (Ranjan). The duty of fact-checking the information circulated lies in the hands of different stakeholders including the government, corporations, media platforms, and with the consumers of information. All these stakeholders have a part to play in verifying the information in circulation since they all feel the impact of the effects of fake news (Vedamtam). Therefore, in their own respective capacities each one of them should play a role in identifying and curbing the spread of fake news.

People tend to consume false news in certain situations and end up not being vigilant about verifying the authenticity of the information. Research shows that when people are in groups they tend to reduce their judgement on the originality of the news (Vedantam). People feel secure in crowds and see no need to fact-check since they believe someone else will and thus let their guard down. Another research shows that individuals are prone to rationalization and as such consumption of fake news becomes easier (Vedantam). Political issues for instance, drive individuals to persuade themselves they are right or that a particular thing is the truth without having facts right and this leads susceptibility when it comes to consuming fake news that favor their premise.

The information above has shown the effects of fake news and how they are spread. Fake news seeks to distort the perception of reality in order to benefit an individual or entity. Fake news have adverse effects since the impact they have on public opinion is massive. It is therefore the responsibility of an individual consuming new online to be in a position to verify the truth of the information. Social media platforms should also ensure that they monitor the news being shared on their sites and deal with fake news traffickers. Individuals should learn what might make them susceptible to fake news and stay alert to avoid such situations and be more vigilant when consuming news especially online. The paper has covered the effect of fake news and measure that can be taken to verify information.

Works Cited

"How Do People Authenticate Social Media Info?" Journalism Research News, 28 Sept. 2017, journalismresearchnews.org/article-people-authenticate-social-media-info/.

Bacon, Francis, James Spedding, and Robert Leslie Ellis. Collected Works of Francis Bacon. Vol. 7. Psychology Press, 1996.

Baldwin, James. "If Black English isn't a language, then tell me, what is?." The Black Scholar 27.1 (1997): 5-6.

Moseri, Adam. "Working to Stop Misinformation and False News." Working to Stop Misinformation and False News | Facebook Media, web.facebook.com/facebookmedia/blog/working-to-stop-misinformation-and-false-news?_rdc=1&_rdr.

Postman, Neil. "The Word Weavers/The World Makers." Roberts, WH & G. Turgeon. About Language: A Reader for Writers. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press 154 (2000).

Ranjan, Sudhanshu. "The Fake News Challenge." Deccan Herald, 13 July 2018, www.deccanherald.com/opinion/main-article/fake-news-challenge-680826.html.

University, Stanford. "Stanford Study Examines Fake News and the 2016 Presidential Election." Stanford News, 8 Mar. 2018, news.stanford.edu/2017/01/18/stanford-study-examines-fake-news-2016-presidential-election/.

Vedamtam, Shankar. "Why Piling On Facts May Not Help In The Battle Against Fake News." NPR.org, 14 Mar. 2017, www.npr.org/2017/03/14/520087940/why-more-details-may-be-counterproductive-when-battling-fake-news.

Vedantam, Shankar. "Researchers Examine When People Are More Susceptible To Fake News." NPR.org, Hidden Brain, 18 July 2017, www.npr.org/2017/07/18/537844762/researchers-examine-when-people-are-more-susceptible-to-fake-news.