Fake News

Fake News

Recent global events have generated an influx of discussions surrounding the issue of fake news and the impact it can have upon those who fall into the trap of treating it as a reliable information source.

With so many people, younger generations in particular, choosing to consume their news and information through social media, fake stories can easily be shared with a vast number of readers in an incredibly short period of time. Adding to this concern, the more shares, likes or comments a story has on social media, the more likely someone is to interpret it as authentic.

In fact, according to the Pew Research Center, 62% of American adults use social media to source their news. A recent evaluation from the  the ability of young people to reason about information on the internet as “bleak”. Whilst younger generations may be incredibly adept at using multiple forms of social media, the report determined that they are easily duped when it comes to interpreting the information within

So, what does this mean? Well, first off we are seeing a whole host of reports regarding the impact of such news upon the world’s politics, with some people suggesting that it has impacted past elections and could affect future ones too. Ultimately, it means that countless people are at risk of being misinformed and taking uneducated actions based upon such misinformation. Companies such as Facebook and Google are taking new measures to try and mitigate the issue, with Facebook recently implementing an option to report a post or story as fake for their independent fact checkers to review.

The issue is becoming of such concern that psychologists are even saying they can inoculate people against fake news by presenting them with a little bit of misinformation alongside the fact Whilst sites such as FactCheck.org are putting together guides for the general public explaining how to spot fake news.

From a business perspective, fake news could pose a significant risk to organisations who are not checking their sources for authenticity or accuracy. We all know that the professions are built upon the sharing of specialized knowledge with clients. Now, imagine how detrimental it would be if a client-facing employee were to share and act upon inaccurate information that they found through their own online searching. With many fake news sites’ names deceptively similar to those of authentic sources, it could be relatively easy for a tired overworked employee to misread information. Such an instance would undoubtedly be extremely damaging to the organisation’s reputation.


References: 
Blog|Improve your current news awareness
www.vable.com
Effects of fake news
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/0/fake-news-exactly-has-really-had-influence/