Faces of Fake News

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:

https://en.unesco.org/courier/july-september-2017/fake-news-sound-bites-burning-topic

https://uh.edu/news-events/stories/2019/august-2019/08072019-uh-researcher-explores-fake-news-phenomenon.php

https://guides.lib.umich.edu/fakenews

https://www.webwise.ie/teachers/what-is-fake-news/

https://mailchimp.com/resources/fake-news-on-social-media/

https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/pl/security/news/cybercrime-and-digital-threats/fake-news-cyber-propaganda-the-abuse-of-social-media

To Die or Not to Die

There are a lot of things in my mind in the last couple of months ever since the quarantine reared its ugly head and most of them are not good things. I have been thinking of the worth of my life and what I have accomplished, and it is not a very remarkable sight to say the very least.

I graduated as the first place in Senior High for the Humanities and Social Sciences track. I played piano and won a couple of championship trophies. And that is it. My crowning glories. It is sad to say but I cannot think of anything else noteworthy.

I want to learn new languages, be better in my studies, do well in life but it does not seem plausible now. Especially when I am fighting against myself and the entirety of my being. I am tired. I want to just sleep and not think about anything at all. 

My fingers no longer as nimble when I was younger, my head is a stuttering mess. I cannot focus on the things that I loved. I cannot look at my reflection in the mirror and say to myself that I am proud of the things I have done, of the things that I have accomplished.

I have been recently diagnosed with Episodic Depression, and as much that says something about my mental being. It does not ignore the fact that my willingness to do anything is compromised not by a mere sickness but my own drive as well. Let us be honest, depression is indeed a sickness, a dog that follows you around obediently, but you could still be in control if you truly wanted it out of your life. Sure, it is a hard process, and it is an ugly one at that, but we can fight it. I just do not see any reason why I would persevere still.

I do not have any ambitions now. I do not want to do anything at all. So much for flowery words and beautiful nuances of "dreams" and "aspirations" when you have come into the point where nothing else matters, where nothing matters. Music? I have seemed to just grow tired. The static in my head seem to be loud enough. Films? Too tired to even understand a word the characters spout most of the time. Books? I still like them, but I cannot seem to flip another page, I think I have grown utterly bored of them.

I do not have any memories that I am very fond of. We grow old, we forget.  Same with life lessons, most that I have learned seem to be a vague notion now. It just baffles me how come there are people who have their life together, where they could function day by day without wanting to kill themselves. 

I am not special. I am not deluded into thinking that I am. There are a lot of people who have similar problems, who have it worse that I do. But it does not change the fact that how come we are so different? How come even though we want to be better, we still go back to that pitiful, pathetic state that we want to leave behind? 

Kudos to those who can live through this life and be better.