It is surprisingly easy to believe fake news, writers of this news usually write about the things the general public wish to believe, capitalizing on our own biases. No matter how relieving it is to believe, fake news is fake news, and we have to be careful. Despite this, there must be countermeasures to combat the rising epidemic; that is why the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutes (IFLA) had released an infographic that suggests ways to spot fake news. Suggestions include; considering the source, read beyond the title, research the author, research sources, check the date for old news, make sure it is not a joke, check your own biases, and ask an expert.
From my own experience with fake news, it is too much of a hassle to double check all sources or authors when determining whether news is fake, it is just easier to believe the news and move on. Suggestions made by the IFLA seem to produce a lot of fruit when determining whether new is fake or not, but the time and work required in researching the article is excessive in my opinion. The only suggestion that I would carry through would be to read beyond the title, it is the quickest and easiest way to determine the legitimacy of an article due to the frequency of clickbait.In this day and age, social media is everything and we could not go a day without it, but behind a screen anybody can be anybody, and anything can be said. With the internet everywhere, so is fake news. We have to be careful when reading news articles watching videos, and keep in mind the many steps that we can take to determine whether news is fake or not.
In all honesty, with all you had said about the issue on Fake News I can relate with you easily. I find it very acceptable on how we both agree that we always have to be careful when we are searching through the media for news. Like if one is not careful, they can end up making an entire reflection article about it and realize after a while that it was a fake. I like how we both suggest to just read beyond the title of a news story, but you also proved on how it is so much faster than the other suggestions on searching online news. "News is just as big as the Internet" and I totally find that true.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion I could relate on what you had said about the issues on Fake News. I find it easily believable to believe fake news, as I've seen on the internet they are mostly clickbaited titles on articles. I find the ways you provided to avoiding or fact-checking these fake news important but one thing I also realized, is that these fake news articles rely on their clickbait titles to garner their commission easily. So in my suggestion, I would say if the article seems to good to be true, don't give in and give them that revenue.
ReplyDeleteMiguel Enrique Quiban