“Pope Francis shocks world, endorses Donald Trump for president, releases statement.” “FBI Agent Suspected in Hillary Email Leaks Found Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide.” “Obama Signs Executive Order Banning The Pledge Of Allegiance In Schools Nationwide.”
These headlines were read by hundreds of thousands of people. In total they were shared, liked and commented on over 3.5 millions times on Facebook. However, these headlines were completely false and the stories that accompanied them were filled with fake “facts”. So, why then, were they created, read and shared? Welcome to the golden age of fake news.
The recent election engaged millions of Americans in a 24 hour media cycle, with never ending access to a constant stream of information. Articles flooded social media sites, and news stories covering Clinton and Trump, both positive and negative, found a place in the Facebook feeds of many Americans. However, much of the information and articles that circulated were laced with falsehoods. Occasionally, they were based on current events, such as the investigation into Clinton’s private email server, but the actual content of those articles were nowhere near the truth and in many cases, were unsubstantiated conspiracy theories.
While people may look at fake news stories and doubt that anyone would actually believe their content, there are those who accept the falsehoods that they read without questioning their credibility. By failing to do so, there can be dangerous consequences.
One of the most extreme examples of the dangers of fake news is what is now known as ‘pizzagate’. What started as a conspiracy theory alleging that a pizza place in Washington D.C. was a front for a child sex ring run by Hillary Clinton, ended with gunshots fired and a D.C. neighborhood on lockdown for hours. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the incident highlighted the potential implications of the spread of fake news.
Following the incident, and evidence that fake news was spread widely during the campaign, many people, particularly Democrats, declared that something needed to be done. Facebook is taking steps to reduce the amount of fake news that accumulates on people’s feeds, but the phenomenon is so widespread that they alone will not be capable of singlehandedly eradicating it.
Biased news sources have further complicated the fight against fake news. While many news sources, such as MSNBC and The Wall Street Journal, try to remain nonpartisan in their reporting, other news outlets like Huffington Post and Fox News are known to sway farther to the left or right of mainstream media. By taking news from a particularly partisan outlet, facts are swirled in with personal opinions, making it harder to distinguish truth from judgement.
Therefore, it is important to understand the political leanings and factual accuracy of a news outlet prior to consuming it. The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The New York Times are all reputable newspapers, and while their editorial boards are partisan, their reporting is factual and unbiased. However, Breitbart and Daily Kos, which are somewhat conservative and liberal equivalents, are far more likely to publish opinions disguised as factual reporting.
“The influence of fake news in the election needs to be dealt with.” said Sam Caplan (IV). “It brings up the question of how can we better educate the Fieldston community about fake news so we can speak knowledgeably about ways to combat it?”
So, what can be done to fight the growing presence of fake news? Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. Social media platforms have started cracking down on fake news, but ultimately, the responsibility lies with individual readers. As much as the mainstream media has come under fire in recent months, it is still the best place for reliable and legitimate news. This does not mean that branching out to other news sources is a terrible thing to do, it just means that readers need to be cautious.
“In the ‘post-truth’ age of alternative facts and avoiding questions, we have to try to maintain some semblance of accountability,” said Olivia Schaffer (IV).
Take the time to find out if stores are factual by cross referencing them with articles from other news outlets. Know which sources are particularly biased, and take that into account whenever you are reading them. And however you decide to go about consuming the news, just keep in mind that ‘alternative facts’, otherwise known as falsehoods, are not an alternative to facts.
