The Credibility Of Social Media

Fake new became a popular topic in news regarding politically aligned news channels and outlets. For example, YourNewsWire is an online news outlet based in Los Angeles. Based on this website, Hillary Clinton’s victory in the popular vote was due to voter fraud of 25 million votes (Kosoff). YourNewsWire used evidence of an investigation the NPR, National Public Radio, conducted. Though the article’s claim of voter fraud seemed compelling, as evidence was to support the argument was supple. Yet the evidence was incorrectly used. The NPR was involved in this investigation of voter fraud, but only published the information as Pew Research Center conducted the analysis of credibility. Another piece of falsified data is that the investigation was not conducted as a means to discredit Hillary Clinton’s victory in the popular vote, as the investigation was completed in 2012, prior to Clinton and Trump’s campaign for office. This is only one example of skewed stories and biased articles. The creators of YourNewsWire, Sean Adl-tabatabai and husband, Sinclair Treadway, were politically aligned with Bernie Sanders for the 2016 election (Baum). The reputation that YourNewsWire has created for itself has plummeted. Google no longer supports this website with ad-sponsored money, and other accredited websites, such as Snopes, investigate the validity of news articles such as these and discredit their findings

In “Colleges Turn ‘Fake News’ Epidemic into a Teachable Moment” (Washington Post, April 6, 2017), Kitson Jazynka highlights professors from across the United States that have implemented different strategies for teaching students to find and address fake news. Jazynka first writes of professor Beth Jannery at George Mason University and how her students have had personal experience with fake news and how they handled the situation. In one case, the student decided to research the topic herself and find the truth. Jazynka advises that the professors cited in her article are teaching students to “detect bias, missing points of view, misleading slants and economic influences” to ensure they have a complete understanding of the articles and their

The information provided on the Internet is not always factual for example the image of USA Crime Statistics - 2015 by the Crime Statistics Bureau-San Francisco. The image contained the following statistics: “ Blacks killed by whites -- 2%, Blacks killed by police -- 1%, Whites killed by police -- 3%, Whites killed by whites -- 16% , Whites killed by blacks -- 81%, Blacks killed by blacks -- 97%” (Greenberg). The image was widely circulated and believed to be true because it was from a source that appeared credible by name but does not actually exist. Though widely discredited and shown to be fake, many people tend to be skeptic of that fact for it was shared by people they support. It seemed so real that even presidential candidate Trump retweeted the image. He used the statistics to serve as a justification of his policies and gained more assured voters that his views/polices would solve the problems shown in this graphic. It seems that people rather believe what they want instead of the truth but how much of that is their own fault in world full of fake news. As consumers of information, is it our responsibility to differentiate or the media/internet to regulate information

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

Most people around the world consider search engines as their main source for a resolution yet during this phase, maximum amount of people forget that Fake News still exists. The increasing use of social media in our lives has made critical thinking unnecessary to the extent where censorship of Fake News is required.

Imagine a world that is so consumed with the digital world that the people in it are no longer able to form their own opinions, or even distinguish the truth from fact. Unfortunately, this can just be another way to describe the earth. It is no surprise that as time progressed, the easy access to technology grew to influence larger aspects of life. With this privilege came both negative and positive effects, however, there were more unfavorable changes in society. Ever since forms of communication existed, it has become a “social norm” to naturally accept the views of the media, no matter how drastic they may seem. This allows organizations to manipulate and provide false information to an extremely large number of people. Many people

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

Deception has been the main problem by being twisted thus having may meanings. This has discredited many organizations or other sources of media that provides relevant and factual opinions or a stance toward a particular matter happening within the nation. For example, the federalist media has said that there has been false claims that two presidents, of their respective country, would meet at the White House. The claim states...“On May 1, a fellow named Peter Brack claimed on Twitter that the president of the Philippines had received an invite to the White House around the same time that Ivanka Trump “model[ed] in an ad for POTUS’s new Tower in Manila.” The implication, of course, was that the two presidents were colluding in some pay-for-play scheme. For many reasons this news can seem very credible because the author has put in time to deceive the viewer to make it seem credible so it could benefit a third

Media outlets, specifically referring to televised news station, should avoid having a bias in order to stay neutral and deliver factual news to their audience. Due to the large amount of research done, we are presented with more than enough information regarding specific news outlets, such as CNN or Fox News, and the amount of bias that is presented in their broadcasts. One of the largest issues caused by bias in the media is fake news and or the spread of false stories in events such as the 2016 US presidential election, which ultimately raised many concerns and resulted in large amounts of negative circulation through social media.

of people believe that the media is essential to our democracy (Knight Foundation); the vast communication network keeps audiences connected and aware of current events or affairs. However, within the past couple of years, some people have perceived the media to be untrustworthy and problematic due to the rise of fake news. Consequently, “nearly two thirds of Americans say the mainstream press is full of fake news, a sentiment that is held by

The media has been around since the days of the printing press, to modern times where the vast network of the internet is a crucial part of everyday life. The news became popular because people want to be informed of what happens in their everyday life. Over the years, it has greatly changed and evolved. As time moved forward and technology improved, it became easier and faster to spread news and events around the world; data of information could be looked up in an instant because of innovations like computers and smartphones. Unfortunately, at the same time, it became simple to create “fake news” and manipulate the general public. Nowadays, fraudulent or flashy headlines along with false information in articles can be seen more frequently.

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

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

My life often overflows with sources which fight for my attention and acknowledgement. A few include social media, newspapers, and people around me, such as beloved parents, pastors, and close friends. My daily routine is full of information, which inform what the weather will be like, if there is construction on my way to work, or the latest gossip. The most interesting sources are usually unique ones, directing information in an unusual way to intrigue the audience and capture their attention. In particular, one of my favorite sources is Buzzfeed. Their editors narrate news stories in a modern way, constantly finding ways to quickly hook readers. I consider this source to be trustworthy because it has a large platform of listening audience. If a source has a large platform, I consider the information it gives as true because I'm certain a large number of listeners check the source's information and alert the audience if the given data is untrue. Another example of truth in a large audience is the local news stations. They rightfully share truthful information to the best of their abilities, for the good of their listeners and the reputation to the community. Other major news sources such as FOX News and CNN have a reputation to hide vital information from the public and distort information, creating a falsehood.

We have never heard about fake news in the 19th century, but a lot of misleading information topped the headlines of the international news in 2016. This fake news reached the top with the Facebook platform accusing Donald Trump of reaching out to the White House and its contribution to increasing the popularity of the Republican candidate by supporting false ideas on the site and not responding. Clearly, fake news could affect our lives in negative ways to affect our believes.