The prevalent issue of fake news
within the Philippines would slowly become its downfall and with media illiterates,
we could only hope for better outcomes. Disinformation is not something new,
and it always has been a pain in the neck of truth seekers out there. But with
the rise of digital media, everything seems to be spiralling out of control. And
it is not just showbiz on the headlines, Fake news is fuelled everything that our
fellowmen care about, by what intrigues them.
And it is not just politics. Where
here in the Philippines almost every single headline seems to be in support of
President Duterte’s government, that he is one of the best statesmen existing
in this day and age. Others are just to ruin reputation and to sully a person’s
name.
Not just entertainment or sports, where the former wants to pronounce someone either dead or sick with the latter merely misinforming the audience of false promises or just trying to engage someone into a controversial argument of who did what.
Fake news also extends to the academe. Coming across as a simple announcement in a page unrelated to a reliable one, or to rephrase a statement made by a prominent figure to meet their biased outlooks and to spark controversy.
And disinformation reaches to the medical field as well.
The point is, fake news is damaging and among the websites that we visit and the pages that we tend to linger to, its apparent that it exists almost everywhere. According to Verashni Pillay, the Editor-in-Chief of Huffington Post, South Africa, “Fake news poisons the atmosphere that we all operate in. Because fake news exists, audiences are now doubtful about all news. It has really damaged the relationship between audience members and the media.”
Through click bait posts, apparent propaganda and sloppy journalism, a lot of people are either more distrustful of reliable media or die-hard believers. Though in the past it has served to be a platform to empower truth and socio-political movement, fake news makes it hard for many to make good judgement.
Maria Ressa, co-founder, and CEO of Rappler, Philippines, has made it known to us that there are at least 300 websites spreading fake news within the Philippines, that in social media, disinformation is exacerbated. “With about 54 million Facebook users in the Philippines, social media is a powerful weapon used to silence dissent and mold public opinion.”
The term technological ease comes to mind when it comes to the relationship between Fake News and Social Media, where according to Guide authors, Shevon Desai, Hailey Mooney and Angela Oehrli (2020), the “copying, pasting, clicking and sharing content online has helped these types [Fake News] of articles to proliferate.” The overall intent to both misinform, to shape or change public opinion on a certain topic and disinform, to increase emotional response the reading audience.
In any case, all we can do at this point is to share and teach our colleagues, friends, and family in both recognizing fake news and how to combat it. As to spot false information, tell them to take a closer look and ask whether or not the website is satirical or not. We should also remind them to be wary of outlandish claims and to always double check whether the site they are reading the news at is actual reliable.
And if they are still not sure of the site they are visiting, the following online fact checking websites are just for them.
1. Snopes: snopes.com/
2. PolitiFact: politifact.com
3. Fact Check: factcheck.org/
4. Channel 4 Fact Check: channel4.com/news/factcheck
With that being said, there is also a need to stop the spread of fake news through reporting and flagging said media sites and to never mention such hoax in conversation or to share it to others through email or chat.
Fake news deliberately changes the truth and exaggerates facts to sensationalize an event, to generate ad revenue through web traffic, to besmirch the identity of a person, to exacerbate an existing problem or to push with a particular group's political agenda. It is a damaging phenomenon that deceives people and that it needs to be rid of to avoid further idiocies taking hold a person's belief or ideology.
Sources:
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