Fake news
“Fake news” can seem like harmless lies. However, the worst case scenario is that fake news can be a threat to democracy and contribute to the formation of violent movements.
What is fake news?
Fake news is false or misleading information. It can be lies, untruths or propaganda, often created by unreliable websites, and shared through online posts, comments and images in news and social media.
Fake News-logo
Why do people create fake news?
Two reasons are:
- Political interest, hoping to influence opinions and attitudes in society.
- Financial gain.
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Example 1:
Anti-vaccinationists
Some anti-vaccinationists, or anti-vaxxers, as they are called, believe vaccinating children can cause autism. There is no scientific proof to support this claim, but this misinformation is widely spread in social media and has convinced many people. The World Health Organization considers anti-vaccinationists to be one of the world’s biggest health threats.
Vaksine
Example 2:
“The China Virus”
In 2020, many US politicians, including former president Donald Trump, claimed that COVID-19 had been created by the Chinese in a laboratory in order to crush the American economy. This unconfirmed news spread fast among Trump supporters in social media. The opposite happened in China, where it was claimed that the virus had been planted in Wuhan by American soldiers.
Donald Trump på talerstolen
Political movements
Fake news often comes from undocumented claims and conspiracy theories. The goal is to gain more power or to change policies. Such conspiracies can end up challenging democracy and adding to violence.
Knyttede never
Example 3:
The Holocaust
During World War II, the German Nazis used their propaganda to blame the Jews for Germany’s economic misfortune in the 1930s. This propaganda was used so effectively that it played an important role in the persecution of Jews, leading up to what is today called the Holocaust; the massacre of more than 6 million Jews.
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Example 4:
QAnon
QAnon is an American conspiracy theory movement working to make Donald Trump more popular. The QAnon theory is that the world is ruled by a powerful and Satan-worshiping elite. They claim Democratic politicians and other opponents of Trump are part of this elite. QAnon supporters have been known to become violent, and were involved in the attack on the US Capitol in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021.
Stormingen av kongressen i USA
Fake news spreads fast
The biggest challenge in fighting fake news is that it spreads so fast. Misinformation can be shared on the internet and in social media by anyone who wishes to do so. This means that a great number of people can be exposed to the news very fast. The readers need to be able to filter out false information, which can be difficult. If someone believes the fake news, they may spread it on their own social media.
Why is distinguishing between fake and real news difficult?
Fake news can look like real news, which is why it is easy to be fooled. But fake news does not follow the same rules of journalistic ethics that serious sources do.
Social media has made it more difficult to separate between real and fake news. Fake news sites make money for each click, and this income can help their sites to be more professional and make it harder to recognize fake news.
Many people have never learned how to recognize fake news, or how social media works. In other words, many people can be fooled by fake news.
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How can we identify fake news?
The Norwegian Media Authority (Medietilsynet) gives some tips on how to identify fake news:
STOP – ThinK – check
- Does it seem unbelievable? Fake news uses headlines that attract your attention.
- Who is behind this information? Check the address of the page. Fake news is often published on websites with URL addresses that look like reliable news sources.
- Who wrote the news?Can you find something about the matter elsewhere? A real news story is often mentioned in several news sources.
- Does the news upset you? Disinformation often speaks to our emotions.
- Do you find the picture credible? A picture can also be fake.
- Examine the language. Are there many mistakes?
- Look closely at graphs and numbers. Check the source of the graphs and if percentage points or percentages are used.
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Forstørrelsesglass på gul bakgrunn
Sources:
- Medietilsynet (09.01.2021): Slik avslører du desinformasjon og falske nyheter https://www.medietilsynet.no/mediebildet/slik-avslorer-du-falske-nyheter/
- Kildekompasset (09.01.2021): Hva er kildekritikk?
https://kildekompasset.no/kildekritikk/
- Orgeret, Kristin Skare: kildekritikk i Store norske leksikon på snl.no.
Hentet 5. mars 2021 fra https://snl.no/kildekritikk
- Banik, Vibeke Kieding: Holocaust i Store norske leksikon på snl.no.
Hentet 5. mars 2021 fra https://snl.no/Holocaust - Cambridge Dictionary (hentedato: 20.06.2022)
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/
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