Individuals
use different news outlets to receive updates about every event that affects
them directly, such as information on natural disasters, public policy
development, and complex world topics. The earliest form of fake news predates
the Internet. Tabloids first appeared in England in the 17th century as a way of bailing newspapers out of bankruptcy by
transforming them into smaller publications that would reach the every day
readers.
It
is historically stated that the writers of the tabloids were focused on topics
such as celebrity scandals, stories of marriages, divorce, infidelities, and
drug addiction. In the tabloids, factual accuracy often comes second to their
ability to entice the readers with eye-catching and scandalous headlines. In
the past, the news media played a crucial role in helping people make informed
judgments.
The
information available online is far easier to be manipulated successfully by
biased and informed sources as compared to the world of print journalism.
Internet users are able to introduce sources of information that can so easily
be altered by writers, anywhere, and with any message. Social media sites
practically are embroiled in the risk of fake news.
http://www.nationalenquirer.com
In
many ways, individuals who work within tabloid journalism do not cite their
information because their goal is information for profit. However, as
fake news and misinformation become more intertwined, consumers face the realization that a
critical eye has to follow the credibility of the news stories read and shared
online.
A
2016 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found that young adults between the ages
of 18 and 29 are more likely to get their news from social media sites than any
other age group. Many have expressed concerns about the presence of fake
news on social media that have also turned their attention to young people, who
are avid users of such platforms. Andreas
Schleicher
one of the speakers at the annual Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai,
states, “In the past, when you needed information, you went to an encyclopedia,
you looked it up, and you could trust that information to be true.”
Children
from now on must be taught in schools how to recognize fake news along with the
questioning what they read on social media and
news sites. One of the schools’ roles will be to allow young people the
chance to debate different views and opinions. So, it will be the responsibility of
parents and educators to provide young people with the tools and training to
become responsible consumers of media and how to develop a strong sense of
media literacy. The Huffington Post has
published seven tips to assist with identifying fake reporting.
Fake
news is currently having harmful effects on Cyberwar, which is essential to
decoding the battlefields of the 21st century. The more cyber attacks we
endure, the more training we will need. This means with every attempt of
integrated information, not honest or trustworthy will eventually have an
impact on such things as our electrical grid, intrusion and the banking system
of the different countries of the world. The potential of all future wars
will begin as cyberwars. Cyber attacks and online misinformation will define
the next generation of conflicts, and they will unfold silently, invisibly, and
relatively inexpensively.
The
threat of fake news is real, so it is imperative to make sure the information
sent and received is accurate in order to keep the cyberpeace. It's now
incumbent on policymakers and tech companies to help keep our information
secure and our infrastructure safe. The cyber wars of the future will not only
be by governments as the cost of these tools come down, the reach will expand.
As a scenario, anyone with fake information; terrorists, militias,
political factions-can launch a cyber attack that will be designed to seem as
if it originated from a particular country's government.
Fake
news is considered a real problem for democracy. Supporters are arguing that with fake news, misinforming the
public and inflaming partisan tensions will be on the rise. Equating fake news
with occasional biases and inaccuracies in mainstream media, it is an untenable
comparison. With Facebook and other social media platforms, they are insisting
that there must be a crack down on the proliferation of fake news.
Opponents
state in their argument that fake news is nothing new and that media has always
been susceptible to biases, inaccuracies, and government propaganda. The
Internet giants are stating that they are not responsible for the political
polarization of the nation, they contend, and any crackdown on fake news
invites censorship.
Facebook
and other companies are being urged to develop extensions that users could
install on their browsers to identify fake news sites. Others have advised them
to employ a team to rate widely shared articles for quality and accuracy. Many
companies have announced they are instituting programs to flag fake news
stories.
One
of the new systems will consist of users alerting Facebook that a news story is
fake, it will send those stories to a third party partners including ABC News,
the Associated Press, FactCheck.org, Politifact, and Snopes to investigate. If
deemed suspect, it will be flagged as a "disputed by 3rd party checkers.” Algorithms
might also be used to bump down disputed stories in users' newsfeeds.
The
great concern for the future is going to be how to control the dissemination of
things that seem to be untrue. There has to be a new way to decide what is also
trustworthy. Paul Resnick, of the University of Michigan states, “I think it is going to
be not figuring out what to believe but who to believe.” He also stated, “It is
going to come down to the reputations of the sources of the information they
don’t have to be the ones we had in the past.” Therefore, it should be
everyone’s responsibility to stay informed with the news affecting the world,
but for now and for the future all sources must to be checked for credibility.
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