Many participants can’t tell the difference between real or fake news articles and will conclude that it is real because it was posted on a frequently used website like Facebook or Twitter. Fake news is a cynical and destructive phenomenon that threatens democracy. By misinforming the electorate, it contributes to political extremism and the polarization of the public. Internet companies have a responsibility to crack down on the problem. Historian (Neal Gabler) wrote on billmoyers.com in November 2016. "And because a democracy relies on truth—which is why dystopian writers have always described how future oligarchs need to undermine it—fake news is an assault on democracy as well."Deceptive news compromises our healthy, empathetic, intelligent society. Democracy relies on truth and fake news is casting doubts on all facets of information. This behavior is causing fear and confusion among viewers and has destroyed reputations of innocent people, countless times.
There a few solutions to the problem of knowing what is real and what is fantasy. First, would be for all people to learn how to check for the credibility of companies, authors, and sources. Next, critics can notify the news agencies or social media companies of the possible misunderstanding or mistake. Lastly, monitor news with a third party algorithm that can analyze and determine the percentage of accuracy by comparing data to known reputable sites. This will allow participants to have some security knowing they
The purpose of this article, called “Technology is The Cause of ‘Fake News’ – But It’s The Solution Too” written by Seth Freeman, was written to educate the public on how fake news is getting spread. Freeman focuses his main attention on the people that were behind screens and that were quiet and virtually invisible. Throughout Freeman’s piece of writing he uses several examples for his method. One example, Freeman refers to a former Soviet state of Georgia and from Macedonia, where Freeman states that a teenagers discovered that they could make a lot of money by publicizing nonsense information, which could not be found anywhere else, in favor of one candidate. He also states that in Bloomberg, hackers were able to skew interests in and support
For example, Donald Trump proudly stated that “any negative polls are fake news,” and constantly refers to mainstream media outlets as “fake news media.” To compound the effect, according to MSNBC, a leading Republican Congressman, Lamar Smith, advised Americans to get their news directly from the President because “it might be the only way to get the unvarnished truth.” The reason why undermining credibility of news media is so scary is that it reduces their ability to hold politicians accountable. With public’s trust in cable news plummeting (all-time low of 32% according to Gallup), more and more individuals are looking for alternative sources online, which makes them more susceptible to fake news, and so the vicious cycle
A study conducted in 2013 by Pew Research found out that 72 percent of Americans get their news from a mobile device. This created a major concern with the credibility of the news that Americans read due to the fact that there are many websites that post news satire. News satire is a false accusation made to scheme the audience into believing some type of hoax. These stories generate major problems for those who are political figures, threatening their legitimacy and even harming their reputations. Every single day people are exposed to fake news, whether that be on Facebook, Twitter, or directly on news sites and “According to Pew Research, 66 percent of Facebook users said they get news from the site” (“Probe Reveals Stunning”…). These false
It’s all real, you know, but it is real about what is not necessarily real. In the modern life, information comes from a lot of different sources such as books, new papers, television, and internet which belong to mass media. In the essay “All I Know is what I Read in the Papers”, Chuck Klosterman conceded that “I would never try to convince someone not to hate the media” because “they inevitably hate the wrong thing” (203). People get breaking news about government, sciences, or celebrities every day. They watch TV, read new papers, buy magazines, and research on the internet to collect the news about the presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, to know more about Justin Bieber’s new girlfriend or about the divorce between
Some believe that the media is the enemy of all people. Millions are exposed to media on a daily basis and because we are so gullible and susceptible, we believe everything we see. This can be very problematic because serious events can be looked over by popular headlines such as, “Kim Kardashian has a secret pregnancy!”. However, not all articles are fake. An article about a recent salmonella outbreak, the further findings on sugar and cancer correlation, and an update on Wendy Williams prove that there are real news in the world. There are ways to determine if what you’re reading is real or fake: current date, cited sources and headline presentation.
Fake news has changed the world in a bad way. “For many, Horner's claim signals an alarming turn into uncharted political territory. But fake news is part of American history. In fact, it goes back to the founding of the republic.” (Parkinson) A man named Horner has been making fake news because he thought it is what he was the one who let Trump win the election. “Horner, 38, writes fake news stories. Some are silly, some are mean, but none is factual. The problem is, people believe them. Horner wrote many fake stories during the 2016 presidential election between Trump and his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. The stories were widely circulated and believed to be true by many people. Horner thinks his fake news helped Trump win votes.” (Parkinson)
In the midst of the president election an issue rose that has been overlooked by most in the United States over the last few years. Fake news, false information that pretends to be real and is deliberately published in order to misinform the audience. They aim to mislead the audience in order to get some kind of political or financial gain. Something that for some people might feel like a new issue, has been a big problem all over the world, and as the problem is finally starting to come up to light here in the United States, there is a lot that needs to be done in order to solve it. There are many places where fake news are spread to readers, but some of the most used ones are social media websites in general. Places like Facebook, Twitter,
As a result of the heavy social media usage among the upcoming generation combined with the fact that large quantities of people gather their information from these social media sites, it is imperative that the issue of fake news is addressed. The social media platform is the ideal breeding grounds for fake news since information can be spread with the click of a button with little to no fact checking. The reader must remember that fake news exists solely to provoke a response and if the material seems outlandish or impractical, then it probably is. One way to address the growing problem is to question what we read. We should get in the habit of comparing the information provided to other sources to see if the facts line up. Also, Melissa Zimdars offers solid advice by assessing the domain. Information from washigntonpost.com.co, NBCnews.com.co. ABCnews.com.co, UnderGroundNewsReport.com, nationalreport.net, and many others are fake news. Lastly, becoming aware with the more common fake news sites is another way to combat spreading of fake news. By doing so, one can start reporting the fake news to the social media administrator and blocking further information from those sites. If we can all make an effort to question the sources and information we read then we can take the
These news stories not only shape society’s world view, but they can hinder or harm its perceptions if people believe them. In an article for PBS Newshour, Nsikan Akpan says, “Fake news, once confined to satire or the fringe bowels of the internet, has quickly become a contender for the most influential phrase of the year. Following Donald Trump’s surprise election, story after story has questioned the role that fake news played in swaying voters.…” (Akpan, 2016). The U.S. is currently embroiled in scandal after scandal involving not only the election, but in stories that arose from fake news sites. These sites though, are impossible to ignore because they are invading every pore of media they can find, and it takes a very discerning mind to navigate this web of media, complete with the
News is around us everywhere. Everything we do we will always see or hear about what is going on in the world. Even if it is real or fake. Fake news is misleading. Many people suffer from fake news because they don't know what to believe. The fakes news stimulates from a hoax of someone dying or something crazy happening in the world that is not true. People think its true because they think since it is heard or seen everywhere that it is true. This fake news is not broadcast to make people laugh like parody it is to mislead people for their gain. Fake news can gain from their audience financially and or polity. Fake news is to persuade their audience politically especially when it is time to vote. Many of the misleading things that is broadcast in fake news causes the audience to backlash and get angry.
Whether it is news channels on the television or whether it is Twitter and Facebook news, the public will always have a way to find out current reports. Since society has become so dependent on technology, a greater amount of individuals get their actual news online and especially through social media. As many of the public know, you cannot trust what people online are saying. Since individuals are so accustomed to getting the news online, many of them tend to believe what they just happen to scroll across on Twitter and Facebook or any other sort of social media. Finding actual facts and truths on the news have become so difficult now, due to all of the millions of different sites and places where we can get our news from. The news online tend to be biased and untrue due to how openly and freely individuals can create their own site and “reports” on current events such as a real news channels would. Social media has just made it more complicated to find the actual accuracy of current events but with enough research, dedication, and using the SMELL test, finding the right information would not be as
My previous experience with this topic of media always trying to persuade you, I do not have previous experience. I have never actually thought about it like that. I have read the book, The Hunger Games, and seen the movie. I have never put any thought into how the media persuades them and controls their society. For me, the book and movie were very entertaining. Action packed and attention grabbing, you never wanted to look away or put the book down because you never knew what was going to happen next. For the next 2 hours, or however long it takes you to finish the book, you put yourself in the shoes of someone else’s life.
Journalists should be held responsible for the misinformation they release. Fake news is a cynical and destructive phenomenon that undermines democracy. By misinforming the electorate, it contributes to political extremism and the polarization of the public. Internet companies have a responsibility to crack down on the problem. Historian (Neal Gabler) wrote on billmoyers.com in November 2016. "And because a democracy relies on truth—which is why dystopian writers have always described how future oligarchs need to undermine it—fake news is
The recent surge in popularity of social media comes with a price: fake news. Fake news is defined as news or media that has been altered or modified. Journalists have begun to analyze why that fake news exists and why it continues exist. Two authors, Eoin O’Carroll and Kevin D. Williamson, both have written articles about fake news. Eoin O’Carroll’s article “How Information Overload Helps Spread Fake News,” discusses how the media has bombarded us with news stories, blurring the distinct lines between real and fake news. Kevin D. Williamson, a journalist for the National Review, writes in his article “‘Fake News, Media and Voters: Shared Reality Must Be Acknowledged” that the news is not fake; it just does not align with one’s personal beliefs. Both authors successfully appeal to their audiences’ emotions and feelings, but O’Carroll is more likely to succeed than Williamson in persuading his audience to try and combat fake news because the writer presents himself as someone the intended readers will more readily identify with and offers evidence that his readers will find more compelling.
Out of the variety of news sources such as TV, radio, or newspapers, one of the popular sources in today’s world is social media. People are getting addicted to and can’t live without social media such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. They use social media as of where they can post their status but also where they can receive a lot of different news. While social media are spreading any kinds of news such as trend, celebrity or even politics, people easily get the information that is not true called “fake news.” The fake news raises the major problem in social media as the news source. Once people see the news, they tend to believe and share it. Liking can spread out fake news in a second. When people like the news, the activity