FAKE NEWS, FAKE NEWS, FAKE NEWS!
Social media users now being able to share anything they want calls for a great amount of fake news…
In present day, “Fake News” is a term that many people have their own definition to. Essentially they are false and un-credible news stories that are put out by people in order to make readers click the link or really just news with no actual facts behind them. Some are rumor-like and start with a bit of truth and are escalated and spread on social media’s causing a whole different story to break out of it.
With social media becoming a whole new world where we can share instant news, fake news has become more and more common. Yes, it’s true that social media added a new element to telling news stories, but we must also be aware that the same way someone can share a truthful story that can change the world, another person can share a similar story and completely change the context. This happens often and is really easy to do since some people on the internet are quick to believe and share anything they see online without actually doing their own research.
Ardonato made some great points in “Mobile and Social Media Journalism A Practical Guide” by giving us an example of how powerful social media users can be and how now in days they can be the ones to give out news stories before a news outlet would ever even know about it. He shared the story of when a man with the name of Janis Krums shared the first images of the incident now known as the, Miracle on the Hudson. Krum’s’ viral tweet read, “There’s a plane in the Hudson. I’m on the ferry going to people. Crazy” with a picture of the people on the plane wing. The tweet went viral within minutes. This truly broadcasted how fast and easy people on social media are able to break real news.
In contrast to that point, in a BBC News article, “Coronavirus: Fake and misleading stories that went viral this week”, by Jack Goodman, he explains how a You tube video in Russia went viral and how it was misleading the people. The video was about a Russian scientist who stated that the corona virus was a man-made disease and recommended baking soda to treat it. This clip got over a four million views and is completely wrong. Just imagine how many people actually tried to eat or put baking soda on their body! There’s absolutely no evidence that can support this statement but again with social media being a way to share anything and everything you want; people can literally make things up if they really want to.
With that being said, I encourage all my readers to always make sure that the things you share and talk about online have actual facts behind them. Don’t be the ignorant person that ends up sharing a false story because you don’t know how much harm it can cause. For example, treating COVID 19 with baking soda!
Social media news has both its’ pros and cons but it’s the readers job to fact check what they are believing and sharing.
Credits:
Adornato, Anthony. Mobile And Social Media Journalism. CQ Press, 2017.
Goodman, Jack. “Coronavirus: Fake And Misleading Stories That Went Viral This Week”. BBC News, 2020, https://www.bbc.com/news/52124740. Accessed 4 Apr 2020.
Desai, Shevon et al. “Research Guides:”. Guides.Lib.Umich.Edu, 2020, https://guides.lib.umich.edu/fakenews.