Argumentative Essay On Fake News

Everyday, billions of people read websites, magazines, newspapers, or watch television segments so they are informed on what is happening in the world. The news is something that so many people rely on and check constantly. What people aren’t aware of however, is that so much of what they are being told is a lie. False news is a growing and constant issue in today’s society. Fake news spreads rapidly, changing people's views on the world constantly. However, putting an end to this media trend has proved to be a struggle.

Throughout history, people have attempted to come up with explanations to make sense of events which could not be comprehend, such explanations are commonly known as conspiracy theories. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the official definition of conspiracy theory  is “a theory that explains an event or set of circumstances as the result of a secret plot by usually powerful conspirators.” These theories can range from minor events, to large scale terrorist attacks. A few well known theories include, Bill Clinton caused 9/11, the Earth is flat, and a reptilian race is planning to take over the Earth. Conspiracy theories can inflict various amount of damage, but it dependent on the conspiracy theory context. (Mckay).  In an

Social media is a game changing invention but it has come with a hefty amount of backlash. When I was younger I didn’t have a phone and social media was nothing compared to how it is now present day. It’s astonishing just how far the internet and social media have come. Not just when it comes to how advanced or how widespread they’ve become, what shocks me is just how influential social media has become. It’s almost borderline unsettling how much humans as a whole rely and depend on social media for nearly everything they know or want to discover. Social media has become not only a way to locate others and communicate with others but a way for people to learn and stay informed and aware of what goes on outside the doors of their cozy little nook. Looking back to my childhood days, I recall lounging on the couch with my mother in the morning watching news on the television but now that has become a distant memory if I need news today, I get it from social media on my cell phone. The poor television in the living room has become obsolete from lack of use because of a boost in social media's involvement with news and correct political issues.

Society’s dependence on a vast array of information and communication technology has not only changed the way we communicate but has also reinvented social activism. Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook and forum websites like Reddit has given digital activism more potential than ever before to create real change. Whether the activism pertains to political, social or economic changes–digital technology allows individuals working collectively to achieve a common purpose with more ease in their pursuit of change.

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

Why do political candidates, like Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, sacrifice their morals and alter the moral fabric of society by using dirty tricks and maneuvers, twisting the truth, and telling outright lies?

A recent study conducted at Stanford found out that 82 percent of students cannot tell the difference between fake and real news (Crook). This is a major problem because it can affect people’s careers and even sway election results. Fake news occurs when hoax websites report false news. False news stories are reported every day and are being spread all over the internet. This is a huge dilemma in today’s world because “62 percent of the U.S. adults get their majority of news from social media …” (Crook). This type of news spreads so easily because people share outrageous stories without actually reading the story to realize it is false. Former president

Over the decade our generation has become more and more into Social Media. We can post any picture, tweet about our daily lives and comment on everything. However, as you pose for a picture, or tweet about something that happened to you, do you ever think if it interferes with the First Amendment? Most people do not consider that, and sometimes what they posted can lead them into a lot of trouble because it could violate the first amendment. Many argue that first amendment grants us the freedom of speech; however, to what extent should our activity on social media be protected as free speech under the first amendment? The people’s activity on social media should be protected as free speech unless the activity is determined to be an actual threat towards someone because there are different interpretations, our comments reflect our opinions, and the right of free speech is the foundation of our country and forms what this country is about.

It is no secret that the news has always been known to be bias toward a certain opinion, but experts can trace acts like this all the way back to the nineteenth century in early America (Thornton, 2016). During this time period most of the well-known newspapers were explicitly linked to political parties and economic interest. Respected historian Chilton Williamson writes this about the early 1900’s, “The presentation of facts simply as facts, editors and writers reasoned, cannot accomplish the exalted goal of saving civilization” (Thornton, 2016). But what if a leader comes along and believes that the best thing for their country is to use extreme media bias? In 1933 Adolf Hitler changed the meaning of media bias by completely controlling what people saw and read. Hitler eliminated papers against his control, and promoted the ones in favor. By doing this, he forced people to only see what news was being presented in one way, instead of an accurate and fair representation of the entire news (The Press in the Third Reich). This statement is not insinuating that bias with Nazi Germany is the same as modern America, but it is suggesting that bias amongst media allows for a misrepresentation of the truth to the people.

Nowadays, a lot of people are using social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler and so on. Since the Internet has propagated rapidly, social media have progressed a lot. The generalization of the internet makes us to live conveniently and fast. People are almost using smart phones, i-phones or comfortable devices which can access to internet. These equipments make us to do social network easily. It helps contact friends, family, and other people even though they live far away. It could be, however, abused, if you don’t use properly. Especially, it is important that we understand and regulate the use of social media by young children.

Our society has become heavily reliant on social media, and today’s younger generation cannot avoid using it in their everyday lives. As time has progressed, social media has advanced significantly, becoming easier to access with a touch of a button. These advancements provide both positive and negative consequences to youths’ relationships. Due to the rapid advancement of social media, youths’ real-life relationships with their peers have been affected both positively and negatively.

The internet was invented roughly about 30 years ago by the World Wide Web. However, the first social media came out circa 20 years ago. The name of it was Six Degrees and it was created by Andrew Weinreich in the 1900’s. Six degrees users had the capabilities of uploading a profile, making friends, and sending messages with family and friends. Nevertheless on 2004, Facebook was created by Mark Zuckerberg, a 19-year-old who created the biggest social media that changed the world. Till this day, Facebook probably has up to 2 billion users and still counting. Nonetheless, most people seen on Facebook ranges from their teens to mid-40s, that have the capability of spreading information across the globe setting a chain reaction that created and spread fake news. Social medias’ fake news is spread by a heap of people that are easily convinced by false statements. According to Gretel, “In the midst of a nationwide debate over the proliferation of fake news on social media sites – and, as one 2015 study by the Media Insight Project shows, at a time when nearly 9 in 10 Millennials regularly get news from Facebook – the numbers, at first glance, may point to a bleak, uninformed future.” (n. pag.) Therefore, teens need to use social media to disintegrate some of the repercussions of real news.

As the world evolves and changes due to the explosion of technology, so does mankind's ways of intellectual comprehension of informative news. The present day of news has overemphasized the meaning of fake news; which represents any form of false information that is illustrated as factual news. That tends to spread throughout the internet and the media. Misinformed news has taken over the world in so many ways, such as the birth of satirical and sketchy news, the financial motivation to publish actual false news, and difficult to sustain news.

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.

Social media is everywhere, you see it on YouTube videos, food products, television commercials, or stores persuading you to, “Follow us on Instagram.” or “Like us on Facebook.” Today, it has become increasingly common for kids to own smartphones at a young age and have Instagram accounts. Wherever you go, you see kids checking their phones and seeing if the picture they posted has enough likes. A few decades ago, not many people had phones, social media has made it possible for unlimited information and communication to be easily accessible and shared. However, social media creates body image for girls and boys and may lead to cyberbullying.