"People on systems like
Facebook are increasingly forming into ‘echo chambers’ of those who think
alike. They will keep unpretentious those who don’t, and passing on rumors and
fake news that agrees with their point of view"
This representation of the lack of
critical thinking skills is quite worrying and in order to prevent the spread
of fake news and control this serious problem, root cause concerning human mind
has to be understood. The unprecedented rapid growth in technology leading to a
widespread increase in fake news, understanding the inherent nature of human
cognition, loopholes in the media and ways to control the spread of fake news
has to be understood. In order to be a discerning news consumer, it is
important for oneself to be a critical thinker with the ability to
differentiate fake news from real news.There were various forms of media such
as television, newspapers, magazines, and radio to spread and disseminate
information before internet came into existence. Ancient media methods allowed
advertisements and supplements which paved way to mask the real news.
Television was a phenomena in the 1960's which glued people to sit in front of
their media box. Advertisements, seen as ways to mask real news was telecasted
during prime time with an opportunity to reach millions of homes every day.
Later, fantasy based reality shows closed the gap between real and staged
events. In today's world, professional looking websites can be published and
search engines and social media platforms can be programmed to create
influential news. Even a technological savvy computer science or information
technology graduate student can create such websites.The news media doesn't
tailor its content to specific individuals, hence its varied content and far
reaching impact. Information shared with the media will spread at a faster pace
and to a greater extent compared to the one without media coverage. Media
targets a set of people whom the message needs to be communicate. Online media
provides unlimited free access to information through websites, blogs, and
various applications. Internet coverage and smart devices allow easy access to
news media with a finger touch. Due to the volatile nature of politics,
economy, and safety environment in the world, news media plays an important
role. The news media do play a significant role on the negative side as well
spreading fake news through various tabloids. There were lots of fake news
involving gossips, scandals and manipulated information. The news media is a
profit making organization with an ulterior goal of multiplying profits. Hence
advertisements and sponsored content may contain unapproved content causing
huge impact to the society.Fake news doesn't mean its outright lie, rather news
that are more likely to be biased or misleading in a gentle way. It is the
information that is clearly fabricated and that has been customized to look
like genuine news. Its content is specifically created to appeal to an audience's
pre-existing preferences. The spread of fake news with the evolution of
technology has been widespread causing a huge impact. According to a historian,
dating back to 18th and 19th centuries, fake news was a commonly accepted
practice and newspapers were more opinionated and agenda driven. Later with the
introduction of penny press in 1830s, sensational news and gossip started
proliferating. Though readers didn't believe everything they read is true as
many newspapers published short stories and poetry and satire was mainly used
by entertainers and not journalists.Most of the fake news that's viral online
consists of written pieces and recorded segments that promotes false
information through means of factual reporting. For example, several reports were
published by news organizations highlighting examples of hoaxes, fake news and
misinformation on Election Day 2016. Fake news is created intentionally by
entrepreneurs who seek to make money from advertising, and false information
can also arise from misinformed social media posts by normal people who posts
regularly, which spreads through a biased blogosphere.One such example was the
recent post on social media by a businessman regarding protests where he
connected seeing several buses lined up in downtown and the protests reports
which he heard in the news media. He assumed the two were connected and posted
his thoughts on social media which were soon followed by many of his followers,
then taken to reddit community, blogs and were shared among the internet world
causing a huge stir and confusion. Initial content of the message got
manipulated in several ways leading to incorrect information sharing driven by
incorrect assumptions. This is one typical example how fake news originates and
propagates with the help of social media and blogs in the internet world.Fake
news is a phenomena whose spread could be controlled through collective
responsible actions by the means of governmental regulations, education policy,
literate society, technology and applications. At this stage, determining the
legitimacy and utility of information is ultimately the responsibility of the
people.
RICHA MISHRA STUDY MBBS COLLEGE GUJARAT
Social media is bold.
Social media is young.
Social media raises questions.
Social media is not satisfied with an answer.
Social media looks at the big picture.
Social media is interested in every detail.
social media is curious.
Social media is free.
Social media is irreplaceable.
But never irrelevant.
Social media is you.
(With input from news agency language)
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