Understanding Fake News: Identification and Combat Strategies
School
University of Nairobi**We aren't endorsed by this school
Course
BUSINESS BCOM 101
Subject
Communications
Date
Dec 11, 2024
Pages
4
Uploaded by ChiefFrogMaster1261
Surname 1NameProfessorCourseDateCommunication and Fake NewsFake news is information that is openly and perceptibly fictitious and that has been packaged anddelivered to look as legitimate news. Fake news/misinformation is specific and is not associated with any type of news outlet, person or other actor. Fake news is distributed through social mediapages and accounts, websites, or people who share fake news narratives. Fake news can be delivered on purpose or the purveyor may be unaware when delivering it (Sturgill, 2020). Unlikedisinformation, fake news/misinformation are created and distributed without a deliberate intent to cause harm. The paper examines fakes news, providing an example and ways to identify and combat fake news. Fake news has been present before 2016 though the term had not been identified like it was to be known in the following years. A historical example of fake news was the video of a swimming pool during the Nepal earthquake in 2015. The video was posed on Facebook and YouTube and was described as security camera footage from a pool in a Kathmandu hotel. The video was adopted by international media to illustrate the impacts of the nation’s worst earthquake in 8 decades (YouTube, 2015). However, the video was dated back to 2010 of an earthquake that occurred in Mexico. Even the time stamp was fabricated but still, the audience was able to identify it as fake news. One of the impacts of the video is that it reduced the trust in
Surname 2media leading to increasing suspicion of mainstream media. Besides, the video prompted calls for donations to Nepal, thereby causing a negative humanitarian response in case a real event were to occur. Fake news can be dated back to 1800s when the United States ran a fake story with racist sentiment regarding the African Americans alleged crimes and deficiencies. However, fake newsbecame popular in 2016 with the worldwide embrace of social media. Fake news/misinformationin 2016 became popular so as to discredit news stories that people. One of the people who was affected by the fake news and made the term popular is former president Trump. Fake news was also used to propose that the stories provided were out of proportion (Cortada & Aspray, 2019). Fake news popularity was also driven by media illiteracy, tendency to believe what is posted on the internet, ease of establishing a blog for individual narratives online, tendency to believe the information obtained from acquaintances and family, and people shifting from television , newspapers, and radio to receive their news. It is important to recognize and combat fake news because people deserve the truth. Besides, fake news damage credibility of a person. If an individual’s arguments are based on badinformation, it might be more challenging for people to believe any point they raise. It is important to combat fake news because real news are always beneficial. Accuracy always leads to better decisions compared to misinformation. Fake news also need to be addressed because they can be harmful to a person health. There are numerous fake and misleading news narratives connected to medical interventions and chronic diseases such as diabetes or cancer (Guess et al., 2018). Believing in fake narratives can make an individual make decisions that may be detrimental to their health.
Surname 3There are numerous tactics that can be adopted to identify fake news. The first step is to determine its publication date and its publisher. When those aspects lack credibility, then information presented is fake. To spot fake news, it is also important to check other sources which are credible and reliable. Professional global news outlets have editorial protocols and wide range resources for fact-checking; therefore, if they also report the same news, it may appear credible and accurate. Fake news have been noted to be authored to incite strong emotional response like anger or fear (Grant, 2022). Therefore, it is important to maintain a crucial mindset and challenge the main purpose of the news before making a conclusion.Conclusively, fake news is misleading or false information presented as news. The news are distributed with the goal of destroying the reputation of an individual or an entity. Fake news has been there even before 2016 but were usually known as fake stories. The video present on YouTube and Facebook displaying a swimming pool in a hotel in Nepal during an earthquake was fake news. The video was known to be originally taken from Mexico. The history of fake news can be dated back to 1800s when the stories were published regarding the African Americans. Fake news need to be identified and combatted to preserve the truth.
Surname 4Works CitedCortada, W.J. & Aspray, W. (2019). Fake News Nation: The Long History of Lies and Misinterpretations in America.Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.Grant, J. (2022). Can You Believe It? How to Spot Fake News and Find the Facts. Kids Can Press.Guess, A., Nyhan, B. & Reifler, J. (2018). Selective Exposure to Misinformation: Evidence fromthe consumption of fake news during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. Retrieved from: https://about.fb.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/fake-news-2016.pdfSturgill, A. (2020). Detecting Deception: Tools to Fight Fake News. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.YouTube. (2015). Nepal Earthquake Today Live Video - Swimming Pool CCTV Footage. Retrieved 12 October 2023 from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muLgPPu6c_I