What is fake news?

Fake news is a problem that is growing in line with the growth in technology. Within recent months the rise of fake news articles popping up on our social media feeds has become a major problem in the 21st century. Fake news is defined as, “false stories that appear to be news, spread on the internet or using other media, usually created to influence political views or as a joke”(“FAKE NEWS | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary,” n.d.).

 

What forms does in appear in?

Fake news can come in all different forms; such as fake web pages, fake accounts on social media platforms mimicking real news accounts or even photoshopped photos that are created to put an allusion on the reader “A recent study … found that only 11% of those surveyed were not confused by current events news stories, with the vast majority experiencing some or a great deal of difficulty discerning a story’s legitimacy” (Frederiksen, 2017).

 

Why do we fall for it?

Mostly it is people who have a lack of experience social media and web surfing that mostly fall into believing fake news. There are certain precautions that can be taken to spot and prevent the spread of fake news across all media platforms such as noticing the account that posted the article or the quality of statistics. Knowing a news article from a fake news article can be tricky and difficult.

 

Why do it?

According to journalists “news values work in practice that results in them being articulated and conveyed to new journalism trainees and journalism students, and they are also used by public relations professionals and others aiming to obtain maximum news coverage of events”(Harcup & O’Neill, 2017). Fake news is created by online personnel as a joke or to misinterpret online users on a specific subject such as the US presidential election.

 

The effects it can have

Following the 2016 US presidential election, many have expressed concern about the effects of false stories circulated through social media and because of this people had their own mind changed on who to vote for over a fake news article. (Allcott & Gentzkow, 2017). The consequences from fake news can be very severe. Deaths have been recorded and many people have falsely believed what they have read causing major upset and confusion to celebrities and politicians.      

Bibliography:

 

Allcott, H., & Gentzkow, M. (2017). Social Media and Fake News in the 2016 Election. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 31(2), 211–236. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.31.2.211

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FAKE NEWS | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2018, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/fake-news

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Frederiksen, L. (2017). Fake News. Public Services Quarterly, 13(2), 103–107. https://doi.org/10.1080/15228959.2017.1301231

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Harcup, T., & O’Neill, D. (2017). What is News? Journalism Studies, 18(12), 1470–1488. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2016.1150193