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'Post-truth' was Oxford English Dictionary's word of the year for 2016. This says something about the proliferation of channels, sources and material which has made it progressively difficult to confirm the accuracy of information. Useful definitions and overviews are available from:
However, the idea of false or misleading information has been around for much longer and is not limited to text. It also includes digitally altered images, AI-generated pictures or video, out of context or carefully edited sound recordings. Its global reach has now made more essential than ever for users of social media and other online channels to analyse their sources of information. There are a number of things you should consider when planning to use online sources, whether 'news-based' or not. |
Picture credit: Free Press Pics |
Some fake news falls under the title of Misinformation. This is variously defined as incorrect information presented unintentionally and false information deliberately intended to deceive. In reality, it is probably a mixture of both.
'Sharing' information on social media quickly moves the deliberately created misinformation into the unintentional because the person who spreads the source further does not realise that the source is made up or wrong.
This is how Urban Legends persist. The most recent example of misinformation is the proliferation of unreliable sites relating to Covid-19
Misinformation can also be a result of 'circular reporting', e.g., see the TED-Ed lesson by Noah Tavlin below which gives a useful introduction on how easily false information can enter the mainstream 'cited' news.
Examples of circular reporting include the "Brazilian Aardvark" and the MMR / Autism debate
Echo Chamber / Silo sourcing
Misinformation arises through the phenomenon of 'silo sourcing', i.e., most people have a finite number of sources which they use - certain news websites, Facebook groups, online interest groups etc.
During the 2020 US election, the media sources used by various supporters to get their news information illustrates how Republican supporters in particular limited their news intake to a small number of sources, with 70% citing Fox News as their main source. Both sides used Social Media to a similar extent (7-8%) however, each group 'socialised' online only with people who shared similar views, beliefs or political outlooks. The same thing looks likely for the upcoming 2024 US Elections
These shared beliefs "echoed" back to them without any intervening alternative views. This merely reinforced their personal opinion (this is also called confirmation bias) which was then shared with others as 'FACT'.
A similar situation existed (and persists) with UK politics, e.g., Brexit and with issues surrounding COVID-19 and immigration.
Filter Bubble
Allied to the "echo chamber" is the Filter bubble. Below is a TED Talk by Eli Pariser explaining how search engines and social networks tailor your search results using relevance algorithms based on your previous web history, so increasingly the sites and content which appear highest on your results page reflect your own biases.
Click bait is a particular type of misinformation where outrageous headlines encourage the user to click on the headline to read more. The headline often bears very little relation to the actual content of the article. They range from the mild - 'hilarious' videos (which aren't); the celebrity scandal (which isn't); the medium - the political innuendo and muck-spreading (which sticks) all the way to the racist, sexist or offensive (which inflames).
The creator of the content does not necessarily care what they post so long as it gets a hit. The more hits the site receives, the more money they can earn selling advertising space to others.
Allied to Click bait, is the use of automated 'bots' to artificially make products or ideas appear higher up on the Google or other search engine results pages, or make certain people or events 'trend' on Twitter and other social media sites. Bot posts can also fall under the disinformation label as well. The 'bots' can be purchased by individuals, companies or organisations.
It is estimated that up to 25% of all Twitter posts in the final days of the 2016 US election were generated by 'bots', with pro-Trump 'bot's outperforming pro-Clinton 'bots by more than 4 to 1. For more on the impact of automation in social media, see the Political Bots website below:
Disinformation differs from misinformation in that it is always a deliberate act, with the additional implication that it is being done for political or propaganda reasons. Propaganda may have its place in time of war, to confuse or mislead the enemy but should not otherwise have a place in modern society.
Most disinformation is political - e.g. the Brexit referendum, US election cycles, or the war in Ukraine are obvious examples.
Parody and satire use humour to comment on existing current or political issues. They may mimic existing reputable news banners or logos, but while they are technically 'hoax' news, the content is not supposed to be taken literally (although there have been many cases of people mistaking these satire sites for real news).
Well known TV programmes include Spitting Image, Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, Colbert etc. There does not seem to be a conservative equivalent for these.
Social Media sources include:
You must evaluate videos, images and recordings as these can be edited, photoshopped or falsely attributed. While some images are clearly hoaxes, technology can now enable live manipulation of moving images and voices, so it may become extremely difficult to believe our own eyes.
