Factual Statistics In the Midst of Fake News
- Alexandra Catherine Magana
- Oct 5, 2021
- 5 min read
Fake news is not something new. It has only become more prevalent and powerful due to the available technological tools. As such, everyone should always be vigilant and discerning with whatever presented information there is in front of them.
What is Fake News?
Notre Dame De Namur University (n.d.) defined fake news as news stories that have no factual foundations but are displayed as facts. An onset of these invented stories are written with intentions to mislead readers. Such a notion is often for political reasons.
Lazer et al. (2018) further detailed for it to be overlapping with misinformation and disinformation. It defined misinformation as entailing false and misleading information. Whereas, disinformation is false information purposely published to deceive people towards a desired narrative.
Figure 1
Misinformation Viewed as a Major Problem in the U.S
Note. From Richter, F. (2019, June 27). Misinformation Viewed as a Major Problem in the U.S. Statista.https://www.statista.com/chart/18538/issues-considered-major-problems-by americans/
Based from the figure above, the prevalence and rising need to address fake news is even more emphasized. Yet, fake news can be a struggle to identify. Stoffers and Hackett (2017) explained this being due to some websites including portions of truth. Thus, making it harder to pinpoint.
A study conducted in Stanford University found that more than 80% of middle school students couldn’t distinguish factual and authentic news from sponsored content ads. This only shows how at a young age, even those who were already predisposed to a technological society, have low media literacy rate.
Categories of Fake News
Given the statistics, Notre Dame De Namur University (n.d.) shared categories of fake news.
Category 1 – These are fake and regularly misleading mediums which are displayed in all networking platforms. Some of which may depend on the outrage of people. This is accomplished through distorted headlines and sketchy or out of context information. All of which is done to accumulate attention in terms of likes, shares, and profits.
Category 2 – Mediums that circulate misleading and/or potentially unreliable information
Category 3 – Mediums that have eye-capturing or clickbait-y headlines and previews.
Category 4 – Satire comedy websites that offer critical commentary on politics and society. Yet, it has the possibility of being actual news.
Learning to Spot Fake News
Due to all these dire information and statistics, Cornell University Library (n.d.-b) shared some tips and tricks to help everyone in distinguishing fake news.
1. Look for Unusual URLs
- If they end with -o or .com.co, these are most likely illegitimate news sites.
2. Not Written by Experts
- Instead of credible professionals, paid trolls or novice writers are behind the content.
3. Look for an About Page
- It is often located on the header and footer of a website’s home page. Afterwards, look for evidence of partisanship or bias. If there is no about page or contact us page, you should be very skeptical.
4. Look for Contact Information
- This should be from a verifiable address and affiliation.
5. Scrutinize the Staff Listings
- Make sure the images used are not stock photos.
6. Dissect the Layout
- Look for grammatical errors, incorrect dates, and bold claims that are without sources. Other than these, you can look for sensationalist images.
7. Dig Deeper
- Investigate the author and the individual supporting the site. If such information is unverifiable or you need to register, the question in your mind should be WHY.
8. Cross Check
- Make sure the presented article is similarly reported by credible news outlets.
9. Appeals to Emotion
- If it aggressively targets your emotions, the article may be ensuring fact-checking to not ensue. After all, the reader should be overwhelmed by his or her emotions given all the fabrications.
Aside from these, Cornell University Library (n.d.-a) also gave a few tips and tricks.
1. Educate Yourself
- Learn to recognize fake news disinformation. If you become educated, you can be intelligently curious. Any further investigations will, then, merit logical results.
2. Use News Sources That Are Accountable
- This accountability pertains to that of content and journalistic ethics and standards.
3. Use Care Before Sharing
- Pause and reflect on the presented news and information. This is most especially needed with stories that arouse strong emotions, may it be positive or negative.
Again, Why Does Learning & Acting On Fake News Matters?
Notre Dame De Namur University (n.d.) mentioned the following:
1. Everyone Deserves the Truth
- Each and every member of the community deserves to know, react, and act upon factual information. Everyone should be able to draw their own conclusions without any sort of manipulation.
2. Destroys Credibility
- As fake news is increasingly hard to spot, the usage of such news can destroy a person. If an individual’s arguments and references stem from fake information, people would be less likely to believe any word the person says.
3. Hurts An Individual & Everyone
- Websites like Mercola.com and NaturalNews.com help sustain medical myths. Claims like HIV & AIDS being not related will continue. Maddeningly, heavy website traffic is apparent on these sites. As such, these lies will promulgate more medical cases globally.
4. Real News Can Benefit An Individual
- Whenever buying houses and lands, a person wants to read precise and factual articles about a certain place. In doing so, a peace of mind and good investment can wisely take place. Another is for the upcoming HALALAN 2022. Filipino citizens will only want to read true, timely and evidential based foundations on the candidates’ eligibility.
Figure 2
Where Concern Is Highest About Fake News On The Internet
Note. From Statista. (2019, June 13). Where Concern Is Highest About Fake News On The Internet. https://www.statista.com/chart/18343/share-concerned-about-what-is-real-and-fake-on-the-internet/
As such, if all of these presented information is not enough to stir you awake, Statista (2019) shared countries across the globe which consider fake news as a serious issue.
Remember…
Fake news will not make the world a better place. Real news can.
Information Sources
Cornell University Library. (n.d.-a). LibGuides: Fake News, Propaganda, and Disinformation: Learning to Critically Evaluate Media Sources: Recognizing Fake News. Retrieved October 5, 2021, from https://guides.library.cornell.edu/evaluate_news/recognizing
Cornell University Library. (n.d.-b). LibGuides: Fake News, Propaganda, and Disinformation: Learning to Critically Evaluate Media Sources: What Is Fake News? Retrieved October 5, 2021, from https://guides.library.cornell.edu/evaluate_news/fakenews
Lazer, D. M. J., Baum, M. A., Benkler, Y., Berinsky, A. J., Greenhill, K. M., Menczer, F., Metzger, M. J., Nyhan, B., Pennycook, G., Rothschild, D., Schudson, M., Sloman, S. A., Sunstein, C. R., Thorson, E. A., Watts, D. J., & Zittrain, J. L. (2018). The science of fake news. Science, 359(6380), 1094–1096. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aao2998
Notre Dame De Namur University. (n.d.). Library Home: Fake News: Fake News. Notre Dame De Namur University | The Carl Gellert and Celia Berta Gellert Library. Retrieved October 5, 2021, from https://library.ndnu.edu/fakenews/main
Richter, F. (2019, June 27). Misinformation Viewed as a Major Problem in the U.S. Statista.https://www.statista.com/chart/18538/issues-considered-major-problems-by-americans/
Statista. (2019, June 13). Where Concern Is Highest About Fake News On The Internet. https://www.statista.com/chart/18343/share-concerned-about-what-is-real-and-fake-on-the-internet/
Stoffers, C., & Hackett, J. (2017, August 17). Fake News, Fake Data. Scholastic Math. https://math.scholastic.com/issues/2017-18/092517/fake-news-fake-data.html#1120L
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