♠️Is Online Space the reason for the spread of misinformation and fake news?♠️
Written by- -Navyah-
(Guest Blog)
"You would not be able to differentiate the Truth and Trap in Kaliyug", says Hindu mythology and the statement appears valid. In ancient times, the power of word of mouth was excellent but did not hold the power of massive spread of any information. With civilisation and trade-and-commerce revolutions emerged the need for mass communication. Now, mass communication and social networking are essential tools for the futuristic plans of Gen-Z. According to January 2021 statistics, there are 4.66 billion active internet users worldwide.
Fake News is a parent term that includes misinformation and disinformation. As the name suggests, it deals with the spread of unauthenticated, bifurcated news through word of mouth, traditional media and other digital forms of communication. Examples of disinformation may include edited videos, memes, unverified advertisements, and social media propagated rumours. Fake news is often associated with extremist politics, social divisions, mob violence and cybercrime. Misinformation (includes but is not limited to false gossips, pranks) is spreading misleading and inaccurate information without the actual intent to deceive. The result of misinformation elicits fear, suspicion, change in public opinion. While, disinformation is schemed using tactics like hoaxes, click-bait, fabricated reports.
With digitisation and the increasing number of internet users, cases of misinformation and fake news rose significantly. Scrolling and forwarding the feed without checking its authenticity is a common practice in online space. This problematic flow is worsening with the Coronavirus pandemic when the average internet time of people has increased. Social networking sites lack regulatory authority and censorship; this results in a quicker spread of misinformation. Chadwick and Vaccari's study says that 24.8% of their respondents shared a news story they either thought was made up or knew was exaggerated.
The Great Moon Hoax in 1835 was the first case of large-scale spread of misinformation published in the New York Sun. Fake news during international elections has become typical practice. In the COVID-19 pandemic, the expanse of misinformation was fake advertisements, unauthentic reports of Corona cases. Whatsapp and Facebook became a hub to forward tips related to unverified home remedies. Misinformation related to the revocation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and its outcome in Jammu and Kashmir province is widely prevalent. After the execution of the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019, protestors and the public in general spread fabricated content, false information, and fake video proofs. Indian Intelligence Agency held around 5000 social media handles responsible for propagating fake news on CAA. An equivalent incident happened after the proposition of the Indian Farmers Act 2020 when more than half of the farmers became a trap of misinformation regarding the Act.
Online space is the core reason for the spread of misinformation and fake news at a high rate. A Facebook study found that users above the age of 65 are seven times more inclined towards sharing phoney information than young people. Political agendas, social media marketing, news-agency top-rank competition are some of the reasons why internet users have stopped believing in everything they watch. Major social networking sites like Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter are working on their algorithms to curb the multifold spread of fake news. The world observes International Fact-Checking Day on April 2 every year to educate online space users about fake news and the spread of misinformation.
Love and hugs
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June 8, 2021 (Tuesday)
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