Last week I wrote about the effects of social media and “fake news” on our lives. I want to dive deeper into this and will explore the causes and the consequences of false reporting, as well as offer up some tips for recognizing the trends regarding this epidemic.
It is apparent that a dark cloud has been hanging over the world of news during the last few years, and has given many journalists and media organizations a bad rap. The ever-growing presence of fictitious news and extreme-bias reporting has become prevalent and is blurring the line between fact and fiction.
Recently, it was reported during the 2016 presidential election, Russia deployed over a thousand Internet “trolls” to distribute false and damning stories about Hillary Clinton to swing states throughout the United States. Russia isn’t the only guilty party in this phenomenon, however, as there are countless sites that devote time conjuring up stories that err on the side of “alternative facts.”
With much of the news being accessed via the Internet through social media and other mediums, there has been no better time for this new type of guerrilla warfare to exist. Sound bites and headlines consumed in moments allow many to get their news in a flash, and with networking sites like Facebook, these bogus stories spread like a wildfire with the click of the share button.
Many of these accounts consist of skewed opinions, or exaggerated claims, that don’t amount to much. However, there are many instances in which some serious accusations surfaced that had serious consequences.
In 2015, a deranged man named Robert Lewis Dear, Jr. committed a mass shooting of a Planned Parenthood in Colorado. During his trial, Dear made a remark about, “no more baby parts,” which was believed to be related to a video that surfaced earlier that year. In the video, which was found to have been heavily doctored, a Planned Parenthood employee had supposedly sold fetal tissue to researchers. The video made so much of an impact that even presidential candidates made statements in reference to it.
Thankfully, the men associated with the video have since been prosecuted and charged with numerous felonies for filming without consent as well as other offenses.
Another event stemming from a fake news story was regarding the “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory. An armed man from North Carolina entered a Washington, D.C. pizzeria in response to an article he had read online that claimed the restaurant was harboring children as sex slaves.
The conspiracy started initially as a tweet on Twitter, then snowballed into a full-fledged controversy, when less-than credible news sites picked up the ball and ran with it. As was the case as the last example, the man was taken into custody, before anyone was hurt.
Alex Jones, whose website Infowars.com covered the supposed “scandal,” came out late last month and apologized for his role in the promotion of the conspiracy.
The damage was already done
Despite the apology, however, the damage had already been done. It is apparent that the harm from perpetuating dishonest news can go far beyond ruining reputations or swaying opinions.
Three people were killed in the Planned Parenthood shooting, and there’s no telling what could have happened at the pizzeria, had the man not been apprehended.
There is unfortunately no way to stop people from spreading lies as they are protected by the First Amendment, but we have a responsibility to ensure that we aren’t unwillingly passing them along in our own social circles.
So, what can we do? Spotting fake news can be accomplished by following a few steps when encountering a suspect piece of information.
First, consider the source. If the article is being published by a reputable and widely-accepted news corporation, odds are the news is legitimate. Another tip is to read the entire story. Headlines are created to encapsulate the essence of the story and grab your attention [a.k.a., “click bait”], but oftentimes false stories leave loose ends in the actual piece that can be sure signs of bogus reporting.
Check the credentials
Verify the author’s credibility by doing a quick search into their credentials and what, if any, accolades they received as journalists. It is also helpful to look for other sources that support the article or piece of information that you are disputing. That may even require going over to the “dark side” and exploring what is said outside of your own personal bias.
With the freedom of the press and free speech fully intact, there will never be a full-proof approach towards ousting the purveyors of fictitious news. However, this type reporting is a nonpartisan effort, one that has clouded our trust and judgment of sources that we’ve long held in high esteem.
That doesn’t mean that the integrity of reporting news and sharing information must fall prey to those out there who seek to do harm by undermining the truth. The onus is on us to be responsible citizens by spotting and sharing instances of dishonest news. As former U.S. politician and sociologist Daniel Patrick Moynihan said, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.” To ensure this, we all need to do our part to make sure that the truth prevails.