THREAD...

Fake News. You probably hear that term used a lot. The thing is, research has shown that false news spreads almost six times faster than the truth. That’s the unfortunate reality that we have to deal with.

The good thing about social media is that everyone can be a publisher. The worst thing about social media is that everyone can be a publisher. Social media has made the spread of information and misinformation greater & more effective in equal measure.

Labelling something as Fake News is a very powerful weapon that can be used to discredit someone’s views. But how does one identify Fake News? How can you identify misinformation when you come across it?

Let’s touch on the difference between disinformation & misinformation. Disinformation is the deliberate creation &/or sharing of false information with the sole intention to deceive & mislead audiences. The inadvertent sharing of false information is referred to as misinformation

See, Fake News articles are typically, stories or images fabricated, with no verifiable facts, sources or quotes. These articles are intended to mislead the target audience, negatively influence public opinion or hide the truth.

In digital world, Fake News articles are spread through social media & messaging services such as WhatsApp, in part because they can be easily and quickly shared with an intention to create a particular action/elicit emotion.

A lot of times, disinformation is deliberately perpetuated not just to deceive but to erode corporate or individual reputations, or for political, personal or financial gain.

Disinformation and the subsequent misinformation greatly erodes public trust and causes unnecessary confusion. In many instances, disinformation also slows down economic prosperity as the target audiences’ begin to live in fear and doubt.

One of the classic cases of Disinformation is the use of content manipulation. This can be in the form of manipulated newspaper headlines, use of bots, parody social media accounts mimicking mainstream media handles, prominent personalities or corporates.

Fortunately, there are a couple of ways in which we can separate Fact from Fiction. We like the stuff by the good people at Facebook https://www.facebook.com/help/188118808357379 who are providing good tips on how to identify Fake news articles. Let’s break down a few;

1. Develop a critical mindset- Always, before your click share, or retweet, ask yourself “why has this story been written?”, “Why has this image been shared”? Fake news is usually designed to elicit an emotional response such as shock or anger, so try keep your emotions in check

2. Don’t take images at face value: You might be surprised how easy it is to manipulate or alter an image. One way you can verify the authenticity of an image is to use tools such as Google Reverse Image search to check if an image has been altered.

3. Be skeptical of headlines. Fake news are supposed to elicit some emotion or shock. False news stories often have catchy headlines. If shocking claims in the headline sound unbelievable, they probably are.

4. Look closely at the link. A phoney or look-alike link may be a warning sign of false news. Many false news sites mimic authentic news sources by making small changes to the link. You can go to the site to compare the link to established sources.

5. Investigate the source. Ensure that the story is written by a source that you trust with a reputation for accuracy. If the story comes from an unfamiliar organization, check their "About" section to learn more.

6. Watch for unusual formatting. Many false news sites have misspellings or awkward layouts. Read carefully if you see some of these signs.

7. Consider the photos. False news stories often contain manipulated images or videos. Sometimes the photo may be authentic, but taken out of context. You can search for the photo or image to verify where it came from.

8. Inspect the dates. False news stories may contain timelines that make no sense, or event dates that have been altered.

9. Check the evidence. Check the author's sources to confirm that they are accurate. Lack of evidence or reliance on unnamed experts may indicate a false news story.

10. Look at other reports. If no other news source is reporting the same story, it may indicate that the story is false. If the story is reported by multiple sources you trust, it's more likely to be true.

11. Is the story a joke? Sometimes false news stories can be hard to distinguish from humor or satire. Check whether the source is known for parody, and whether the story's details and tone suggest it may be just for fun.

12. Some stories are intentionally false. Think critically about the stories you read, and only share news that you know to be credible.

13. Common sense: sometimes it’s prudent to exercise some. So go on forth and prosper, call out those that spread misinformation & spread the word on how we can curb this behavior.