“Fake news” has been around since the final war of the Roman Republic (that’s in 30BC). It is when information is used as a weapon, to support and settle dissidence, or to simply, discredit real sources (The Telegraph, 2017). Before the rise of the internet, information distribution costs more and it is only effective with the presence of trust (which takes years to build)!
With the rise of social media, the barriers to creating fake news have been undone – allowing anyone to create and distribute information. So, how do we validate what is real online? Check the video below out to find out how:
Evaluating the source based on the 5 criteria (author, audience, review process, currency, and perspective) is only limited to one’s digital literacy.
DIGITAL LITERACY?
It is the ability to use, create and share digital content safely and responsibly. Digital literacy includes media, data and information literacy. Working together, they can provide an individual the best evaluation process.
Fig 1.1 | Self-produced Media Literacy infographic using Canva
Infomation literacy is the ability to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed infomation.
Data literacy is the ability to collect, manage, evaluate and apply data.
However the digital literacy of an individual can be affected by the digital differences one faces. This in turn, affects the ability to evaluate the sources – evaluating what is real from fake.
“…the solution to fake news isn’t better technology; it’s better people.”
– Standage, 2017
Providing people with digital knowledge and ability can allow them to be better internet users. However, it all boils down to one’s character – to create/distribute wrong infomation. Taking an example from the news hoax Facebook and Google faced from the Las Vegas shooting, where many internet users shared wrong information posted by satire/ hate blogs. This could be prevented if users and organizations validate their sources before posting.
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Resources
Media literacy – Wikiversity. 2017. Media literacy – Wikiversity. [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Media_literacy. [Accessed 15 November 2017].
The Telegraph. 2017. Fake news: What exactly is it â and can it really swing an election?. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/0/fake-news-exactly-has-really-had-influence/. [Accessed 15 November 2017].
YouTube. 2017. How to Evaluate Sources – YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ122WakNDY. [Accessed 15 November 2017].
http://www.imda.gov.sg. 2017. No page title. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.imda.gov.sg/community/consumer-education/digital-literacy. [Accessed 15 November 2017].
1843. 2017. The true history of fake news | 1843. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.1843magazine.com/technology/rewind/the-true-history-of-fake-news. [Accessed 15 November 2017].
Alicia Chua 
Hi Alicia! I enjoyed the informative video about evaluating sources on the Internet & your infographics on Media Literacy. I was particularly keen when you mentioned the recent Las Vegas shooting as an example of fake news being shared. Do you think people capitalize on tragedies for selfish gains?
In a recent finding, fake-news creators can earn up to $10,000 a month and can generate even more from viral hoaxes. It’s also mentioned that fake-news publishers displaying their ads on Google & Facebook receive only 68% revenue (French, 2016). Shouldn’t Networking sites crackdown & implement regulations among these fake news? Do you think fake-news manipulates the public’s opinion & even cause wide spread panic?
A large study was conducted, young people have a hard time separating good sources of information from questionable ones (Shellenbarger, 2016) and determining whether a photograph is authentic or fabricated” (Wan, 2017). What are your thoughts about manipulated photographs that are used on fake-news sites as “evidence”?
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Reference:
French, 2016. This person makes $10,000 a month writing fake news (online). Retrieved from: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-person-makes-10000-a-month-writing-fake-news-2016-11-17
Shellenbarger, 2016. Most Students Don’t Know When News Is Fake, Stanford Study Finds (online). Retrieved from: https://www.wsj.com/articles/most-students-dont-know-when-news-is-fake-stanford-study-finds-1479752576
Wan, 2017. Many people can’t tell when photos are fake. Can you? (online). Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/07/17/many-people-cant-tell-when-photos-are-fake-can-you/?tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.2dc9fcf2a72c
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Hello Marianne! Thank you for dropping by my blog. I think that the world is a money-making machine and will capitalize on tragedies to make profits (look at “snuff films”)!
“A picture paints a thousand words.” With the rise of technology, image manipulation is on the rise – in fact, videos can be manipulated too. Check out the video below!
Personally, I don’t like being lied to or manipulated (I don’t think anyone does!). Like “Fake news”, Image/ Video manipulation cannot be stopped. As mentioned in my post, it all boils down to the character of creating/ sharing such information. It is also very important to educate people on how to identify real from fake as fake news have an effect on real-world situations.
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Hi Alicia! Yes you’re right, no one likes being lied to or manipulated. There is a steady increase of fake-news and doctored photos on the Web to increase a company’s revenue (from page-views and advertising) and stricter rules needs to be set within Networking sites. Thank you for the video, I had no idea green-screen technology was also part of the manipulation and that it can alter a person’s voice and face in real time! Technology is truly amazing, yet frighteningly impressive at the same time.
I agree with your sentiments, we need to advocate factual sharing of information and to educate people on how to identify real from fake as fake news as it will lead to a bigger conscience on global proportions if left to its own devices.
Cheers!
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Hi Alicia,
Great post on how you are able to summarize the key points in a short and sweet way. It allows people to have a good understanding on what you are talking about. I really like the video you uploaded as it shows specific steps on how to evaluate sources and gives examples of them so that viewers can apply the steps easily.
I still wonder why people are still creating and circulating fake news when they do not have the correct sources and supportive evidence.
Do you think that fake news will become a great impact on our everyday life? How bad is the situation now? I feel that even though they have validated the information, fake news will still be circulated and that will change people’s opinion on what originally perceived to be true.
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Hello Nichol! Thank you for dropping by my blog! As mentioned in my reply to Marianne’s, I think that fake news has an impact in real-world situations (big or small). Fake news has been around for as long as civilization started. With the rise of the internet, the net worth of the fake news industry is rapidly increasing – looks like it’s not stopping anytime soon (I must say, it’s pretty bad situation for real information to be in). I believe that fake news cannot be prevented. Users of the internet can only work together to educate themselves on how to evaluate information.
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Hey Alicia,
Thanks for the video! Greatly helped in increasing my knowledge about how to evaluate sources. This is a particularly useful tool whether for personal or academic purpose.
According to BBC News 8 in 10 Singaporean news consumers are concerned about fake news, the highest among Asia Pacific which were surveyed (BBC News, 2017). Another study by Blackbox Research (2017) also found that 42 per cent of Singaporeans “regularly wonder if the news they read is fake”. In Singapore, we have Media Literacy Council and Infocomm Media Development Authority to educate people about digital literacy. However, even with digital literacy embedded in school curriculum, the survey results showed that majority are still worried about fake news.
Do you think media literacy is sufficient to stop false information from spreading or created?
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Sources:
Fake News Also a Growing Worry in Singapore – Blackbox Research. (2017). Blackbox Research. Retrieved from http://www.blackbox.com.sg/fake-news-also-growing-worry-singapore/
The Value of News. (2017). Advertising.bbcworldwide.com. Retrieved from https://advertising.bbcworldwide.com/insights/the-value-of-news/
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Hello Jocelyn! Thank you for dropping by my blog! I think that fake news cannot be prevented. Media literacy and educating masses on digital literacy is not sufficient to stop false information from being created or distributed. It takes more than the efforts of the government (digital literacy education for citizens) to prevent the distribution of fake news.
I feel that the main contributor to the spread of false information lies in one’s character. Do you know that the Fake news industry is on the rise and fake news site can earn up to $10,000 in a day? I think that “Fake news” cannot be prevented (especially now that we know it is a money-making machine).
Resources:
Marketplace from APM. 2017. Letâs do the numbers: the business of fake news. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.marketplace.org/2016/11/22/business/let-s-do-numbers-business-fake-news. [Accessed 17 November 2017].
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YES! It’s crazy! It’s almost like you could do it as your full-time job! I also did a breakdown on how fake news industry was booming and real news outlets resorted to begging for donations to sustain on my latest post!
People like us who had gone through media literacy courses could easily fall prey to fake news. So the golden rule is – if you are unsure if it is real, don’t share it!
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