Fake news is here, and there is bedlam all around the world because of that.

Prior to the 2016 United States Presidential election, only a few of us were conversant with the term “fake news”. It wasn’t a term loosely thrown around as it is today. However, since then the term has proven durable, and we have seen more of its use than ever before.

“Fake news” as a term was never invented in 2016 though, its usage goes back as far as the early 20th century. Then presidential aspirant, Donald Trump, in 2016, was largely responsible for making it popular.

This article is not about Donald Trump though, nor his opinion on fake news.

It is about explaining more of the “bedlam” of fake news we mentioned earlier, tell you all you need to know about fake news (we hope you don’t doubt fake news is real?), how to spot them and how we can conjunctively roll it back off the face of the earth.

Fake news is bad.

In 2017, Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web proclaimed that fake news is one of the three most significant new disturbing Internet trends that must first be resolved, if the Internet is to be capable of truly “serving humanity”,^[1] the other being use of the internet for citizen-surveillance purpose and cyber-warfare.

Fake news is horrible.

It has eroded the confidence of people in digital information, and even in some cases, have made access to true information more difficult. In a survey, it was found that “58% of people had less trust in social media news stories as opposed to 24% of people in mainstream media after learning about fake news.” ^[2]

And among people with lesser media literacy, fake news is inevitably getting more engagement: a study discovered that “more than 25 percent of Americans visited a fake news website in a six-week period during the 2016 U.S. presidential election.”^[3]

The ease of information creation and sharing via the internet (and social media especially) has blurred the line between genuine news and fabricated ones.

No wonder people are easily falling for the fake ones.

But…

WHAT EXACTLY IS FAKE NEWS?

Fake news is simply news that is fabricated, wholly or in part. It is news that has no basis in facts or truth, but that is presented as being factually accurate.

Fake news does not necessarily originate only through the internet (and social media), newspapers, and television, it also includes news passed through word of mouth, and gossip that has no basis in truth!

Creators of fake news usually have a motive of trying to deliberately misinform the public, push a political agenda or to instigate mass panic or public confusion.

In fact, Martina Chapman, a media literacy expert have described fake news as having three elements, ‘Mistrust, misinformation, and manipulation’.^[4]

Fake news can come in the form of news, stories or blatant hoaxes!

WHAT IS NOT FAKE NEWS?

When Michael Radutzky, a producer of CBS 60 Minutes was defining what he considers fake news, he classically left out news “invoked by politicians … that they don’t like or for comments that they don’t like”. ^[5]

A certain politician in the United States is notorious for classifying all news that is not reported in his favor as fake news, even if such news or stories are grounded on facts!

Michael Radutzky is right. Truths we don’t like are not fake news!

WHY FAKE NEWS EXISTS

Fake news are created for many reasons, some of which we have discussed above. But according to Webwise.ie, a “general lack of understanding about how the internet works by people has also contributed to an increase in fake news or hoax stories.” ^[6]

Viewed from this angle, information overload is a big culprit in the spread of fake news and is also responsible for the sense of resigned acceptance of it (fake news) now common among many people who are unwilling consumers of it.

When people are loaded with too much information than they need or than they can handle, efforts at discriminating between what is true and what is not true become weaker.

However, social media is arguably the major culprit behind why fake news exists in the 21st century, and it is certainly the fuel for its proliferation and spread.

Social media users are (unfortunately) presented with news and opinions that matches their life preferences, likes and views (usually mined from what we search online and our general internet habits that are tracked by social media algorithms). These news and opinions are presented to them regardless of whether it is true or not.

What’s more? Because this information conforms with their own idea of what should be true, it is quickly and widely shared!

Fake news, inevitably, also exists because of financial gain that may accrue to its creators.

TYPES OF FAKE NEWS

Various types of fake news have been identified and classified by scholars. Some of the more famous, easily identified, and widely available forms of fake news are:

 1. Clickbait

This is a staple of websites, most times of disreputable ones, but they can also feature on websites of reputable organizations and persons.

Clickbaits are “stories that are deliberately fabricated to gain more website visitors and increase advertising revenue for websites. Clickbait stories use sensationalist headlines to grab attention and drive click-throughs to the publisher website, normally at the expense of truth or accuracy.” [7]

 2. Propaganda

“Propanganda” haven’t lost much of its original meaning since Hitler and his government applied it prior to and during the second world war. It is still “Stories that are created to deliberately mislead audiences, promote a biased point of view or a particular political cause or agenda.” [8]

 3. Sloppy Journalism

Just as the name implies, it is news borne out of poor research or insufficient information, but criminally turned into news by journalists!

While they may not be easily detected, fake news arising out of sloppy journalism usually lose their steam once the truth is revealed. This is because journalists work for firms, governments or organizations that are usually responsible to a superior regulatory body(ies).

 4. Satire/Parody

Although many people see parodies and satires as harmless entertainment, we at infovoresecrets.com consider it to be in the same class as other worse form of fake news and lies.

Satires are articles (may even be literary works) written to provoke or ridicule their subjects, usually as a form of social commentary. Satire writers do not shy away from using half-truths or complicated allusions to get their message across. The problem with satires is that many innocent (usually uninformed or unintelligent) readers do not recognize them for what they are, and may take grave actions harmful to the society as a reaction to what they read.

A good example of an incident like this was a satire written by Nigerian writer, Professor Olatunji Dare, which was ignorantly misread by Pastor David Oyedepo ^[9], an avowed opponent of the current Nigerian president, instigating the pastor to verbally attack the Nigerian government.

Parodies are also a similar genre of writing that makes fun of other work, people or situations through the use of allusion, irony, and pun. While their writers usually have jovial intentions, many people in the public may not recognize them for what they are and may take grave actions harmful to the society as a reaction to what they read.

No matter the kind of media through which they are presented, satires and parodies are potent examples of fake news.

5. Misleading Headings

This is when a sensationalist or false headline is given to a story that may be true (or stories that have some level of truthfulness).

This is usually meant to attract readers to the full article, but it almost always doesn’t work that way, especially on social media newsfeeds where the body of the story may sometimes be embedded in a link, leaving only the misleading headline or small snippet of information about the article for the reader.

Stories with misleading headlines spread rapidly on social media mainly because most people do not care to read the body of articles before sharing.

 6. Biased/Slanted News

Biased/Slanted news are news that are presented to conform to our own beliefs, preferences and likes. This is very common on the internet these days. Search engines and social media algorithms track our search terms and general internet habits to give us news that favor our views, mostly at the expense of truth and accuracy. This is fake news.

HOW TO SPOT FAKE NEWS

Fake news are easy to spot if we are careful and patient upon any news we read before spreading them. The damage fake news does has little to do with its publishing and more to do with its spread. To keep fake news confined at its source, we must always take some necessary measures over suspicious looking/sounding news before spreading them.

These are ways you can spot fake news ^[10]:

1. Develop A Critical Mindset

Don’t be the type that believe anything. If you come across a news that is too shocking, improbable or sound too good to be true, it is probably a fake news.

2. Always Check Sources

Although this might not be possible to apply to every news you read, it is sometimes worth a try. You don’t need to dig too deep into some news sources before you know they are fake.

In fact, when a news item is quoting too many anonymous sources, chances are that the news may not be true, or it has been manipulated.

3. See Who Else Is Reporting The Story

Be suspicious of news that comes from lone sources, especially on the internet. The more the number of REPUTABLE sources reporting a news, the more likely it is that it has been cross-checked and actually investigated to be true.

4.           Examine The Evidence

Many of us may not have the knowledge or patience to examine evidences objectively, but this is a very important step in verifying if any news is true.

Does the evidence sound contradictory, improbable, or weak? Chances are that it is fake news.

For example, a well-known American public official likes to call all unflattering news about him “fake news”, but the evidence to prove that many of such news about him are fake is almost non-existent. He himself is (inadvertently?) creating fake news.

5. Look Out For Fake Images

We admit many of us may not be good at spotting this. In fact, some fake images can be photoshopped almost to perfection. But tools like Google Reverse Image can help in detecting what’s a fake image.

Note that any news that is sloppy enough to include fake images in their story may have no qualms about fabricating stories too. Be vigilant.

6. Check That It Sounds Right

This is possible only if previous fake news you have consumed haven’t tampered with your ideas about what is “right”. Seek others opinions on the subject if any news sounds unbelievable to you.

Prattlibrary.org ^[11] have also developed the following methods and questions to adopt to spot a fake news:

(Note: their methods is presented here exactly as is stated on their website, we are not bearers of fake news!)

“- Can you tell what motivated the creation of this message?

– Was this message created for profit?

– Is this news actually an advertisement?

– Are the sources being paid?

– Is the author being paid?

– If the content lists itself as “sponsored content” that means an individual or organization is paying to display the content.

– Do you know the person behind the presentation of the material?

– Is there a byline or introduction, and are you aware of the person’s expertise?

– Is the author listed on the site, or is there an “about me” section?

– Does the organization have an “about us” link?

– What is the name of the organization creating or hosting the content?

– Look at the URL. Does it have a tilde ~ in it? This is frequently a personal site.

– Check for the ending of the website’s URL: .gov, .edu, .mil, and .org are more credible than websites that end in .com, .net, and many others.

– Search the Internet for more information about the author.

– Search LinkedIn, a social media site for professionals.

– Search an online library catalog to see what books the author has written.

– Search online research databases to see what the author has written/published.

– Is this a firsthand account, or is this being seen through the eyes of an editor?

– Are sources in quotes? Quotes lend greater authenticity and credibility.

– Is the news fact or is it mere opinion?

– What is the date of the story?

– What is the format of the message? Look at visual elements and text elements.”

Source: prattlibrary.org

Lastly, the language in fake news is typically more explicit, coarse, unguarded or inciting. Watch out for language use in any news you read/hear, especially if it’s coming from suspicious sources.

COMBATTING FAKE NEWS

Taiwan in 2017 incorporated a Media Literacy class into its school curriculum.^[12] The aim is to teach children how to decipher propaganda material  from a young age and how to know correct “sources of information.”^[13]

Meanwhile, a raging debate is on whether news sources, news media (like social media and newspapers), news consumers, or the government should be responsible for vetting news items to prevent fake news spread. We have hope that all four stakeholders will agree on a modality that will fit global situations very soon.

A lot of organizations and people are working on ways to roll back or minimize fake news in our society. Time will tell if some of their methods will ultimately be successful.

For example, the International Fact-Checking Network, a fact checking organization introduced “an application and vetting process for journalistic organisations” in 2017. ^[14] The IFCN is an international network of fact-checkers, just one among many other similar organizations now springing up. We believe similar contributions coming from such other international collaboration networks like the IFCN should produce us a global vetting process and modalities for all news circulating all around, from the local to the global.

We believe we can conquer fake news!

References:

1. Fake News – https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fake_news (Retrieved 13-6-2019)

2. Fake news hurts trust in media, mainstream outlets fare better: poll – https://www.reuters.com/article/us-media-fakenews/fake-news-hurts-trust-in-media-mainstream-outlets-fare-better-poll-idUSKBN1D002S (Retrieved 13-6-2019)

3. How to Spot Real and Fake News – https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/fake-news.htm (Retrieved 13-6-2019)

4. Explained: What is Fake News? – https://www.webwise.ie/teachers/what-is-fake-news/ (Retrieved 13-6-2019)

5. Fake News – https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fake_news (Retrieved 13-6-2019)

6. Explained: What is Fake News? – https://www.webwise.ie/teachers/what-is-fake-news/ (Retrieved 13-6-2019)

7. Ibid.

8. Ibid.

9. Oyedepo And The Perils of Satire – https://www.thecable.ng/oyedepo-and-the-perils-of-satire (Retrieved 13-6-2019)

10. How to Spot Real and Fake News – https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/fake-news.htm (Retrieved 13-6-2019)

11. Fake News: How To Spot It – https://www.prattlibrary.org/research/tools/index.aspx?cat=90&id=4735 (Retrieved 13-6-2019)

12. Schoolkids in Taiwan Will Now Be Taught How to Identify Fake News- https://time.com/4730440/taiwan-fake-news-education/ (Retrieved 13-6-2019)

13. Ibid.

14. IFCN Code of Principles – https://www.ifcncodeofprinciples.poynter.org/ (Retrieved 13-6-2019)