Dangers of Fake News and Misinformation On Social Media

Dangers of fake news and misinformation on social media
Introduction
False news diffused significantly farther, faster, broader, deeper in every category of information
– it disparages political opponents in no time, derail electoral course against the clock, and
foment chaos at a pinch.
Dangers of fake news and misinformation on social media

1. Smear or impersonate political opponents
2. Declining trust in the News Media
3. Fake news – agitating public sentiments
4. Deteriorating electoral discourse in no time
5. To create distrust among hoi polloi and countries.
6. The risks of regulation; a gauged media
7. Promotion of hatred and antagonism
Factors responsible of fake news and misinformation on social media

1. Absence of proper control mechanism
2. Poor performance of regulatory authorities
3. No focus on character building in educational institutions
4. Cheaper and easy access to social media sites
Roadmap and possible arrangements to control fake news and misinformation on social
media
1. Government’s onus to promote news literacy and high-quality journalism
2. Tools that identify fake news
3. Reducing financial incentives for misrepresents and liars
4. Improve online accountability
5. Launching of awareness campaigns to combat the scourge of fake news and
disinformation
6. Enactment of stringent laws
Conclusion
According to the study by the Pew Research Center, is that almost 70% of Americans feel fake
news and misinformation as a bigger threat to the country than terrorism, illegal immigration,
violent crime or racism, according to a new study. David Lazer said, “such situations can enable
discriminatory and inflammatory ideas to enter public discourse and be treated as fact. Once
embedded, such ideas can in turn be used to create scapegoats, to normalize prejudices, to harden
us-versus-them mentalities and even, in extreme cases, to catalyze and justify violence.”
Moreover, false information is dangerous because of its ability to affect public opinion and
electoral discourse. In fact, lies about the origins, scale and magnitude of the disease can
endanger public safety. First, this essay would bring forth various dangers of fake news and
misinformation on social media. Next, it would pinpoint its horrific offshoots and in the end
would offer some workable and implementable recommendations to control fake news and
misinformation on social media.
According to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, only 24 percent of Americans
today believe social media sites doing a good job separating fact from fiction. United Nations
Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur David Kaye notes that “all too many leaders see
journalism as the enemy, reporters as rogue actors, tweeps as terrorists, and bloggers as
blasphemers.” Likewise, when fake news moves from sporadic and haphazard to organized and
systematic efforts, they become disinformation campaigns with the potential to disrupt
campaigns and governance in entire countries. Unfortunately, such misinformation tactics are
likely here to stay, and there may be significant repercussions if the fake news incites a riot and
causes financial loss for a business. Similarly, In Freedom House’s most recent report on global
press freedoms, researchers found that media freedom was at its lowest point in 13 years and
there were “unprecedented threats to journalists and media outlets in major democracies and new
moves by authoritarian states to control the media, including beyond their borders.”
Aforementioned essay deliberated upon various dangers of fake news and misinformation, threw
light on some of its factors and in the end suggested some doable and out of the box strategies to
counter back fake news and misinformation on social media.
In Freedom House’s most recent report on global press freedoms, researchers found
that media freedom was at its lowest point in 13 years and there were
“unprecedented threats to journalists and media outlets in major democracies and
new moves by authoritarian states to control the media, including beyond their
borders.”
Unfortunately, such misinformation tactics are likely here to stay, and there may be significant
repercussions if the fake news incites a riot, causes financial loss for a business, or affects
government operations and elections.
DECLINING TRUST IN THE NEWS MEDIA
In the United States, there is a declining public trust in traditional journalism. The
Gallup Poll asked a number of Americans over the past two decades how much trust
and confidence they have in mass media reporting the news fully, accurately, and
fairly. As shown in Figure 4, the percentage saying they had a great deal or fair
amount of trust dropped from 53 percent in 1997 to 32 percent in 2016. [7]
This decline in public trust in media is dangerous for democracies. With the current
political situation in a state of great flux in the U.S. and around the world, there are
questions concerning the quality of the information available to the general public
and the impact of marginal media organizations on voter assessments. These
developments have complicated the manner in which people hold leaders
accountable and the way in which our political system operates.
Regardless of how far the story spreads or your belief in its contents, fake news stories present
significant risk to people, industries and governments. According to Buzzfeed, the top five
political news stories on Facebook in 2016 ranged from fabricated news of Obama signing an
executive order banning the pledge of allegiance in schools to baseless claims of FBI agents
committing suicide after leaks of Hillary Clinton’s emails. For the former, more than two million
people shared, commented or had reactions to the fake news and countless others discussed or
propagated the fake news via other communication methods. Whatever your political opinions,
the proliferation of these stories had a significant impact, casting doubt or concern and spurring
conspiracy theories based on misguided content. Thus, honest questions remain. Did the
residual risk impact the election results, who originated the fake news, was there a motive, and
how many people still believe these stories were real? Most people believe that fake news can
influence people—or is that perception fake news as well?
echnology company responsibilities
1) Technology firms should invest in technology to find fake news and identify it for
users through algorithms and crowdsourcing. There are innovations in fake news and
hoax detection that are useful to media platforms. For example, fake news detection
can be automated, and social media companies should invest in their ability to do so.
Former FCC Commissioner Tom Wheeler argues that “public interest algorithms” can
aid in identifying and publicizing fake news posts and therefore be a valuable tool to
protect consumers.[39]
Algorithms are powerful vehicles in the digital
era, and they can help establish automatic
hoax detection systems.

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Dangers of fake news and misinformation on social media

Dangers of fake news and misinformation on social media

Factors responsible of fake news and misinformation on social media

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