Let's Identify Fact From Fiction...

Fake news is not a recent phenomenon. We have numerous mythological, historic and literary evidences that suggest how the spread of false information changed the course of some major events. The speed and ease with which fake news circulates makes it a very strong weapon of mass destruction.

I know, most of us, many times, without even giving a pinch to the cerebrum, share many irrelevant information through social media applications, thinking it’s important and true. There is no denial to the fact that fake news is omnipresent and cannot be ignored. Our social apps are flooded with pieces of misleading information and differentiating fact from fiction is becoming the need of the hour.

First and foremost, it is very important to understand the concept of fake news and the reason behind its creation. Fake news can be defined as news stories that are either distorted or invented or are not news at all but made to look like one. The only purpose of such content is to spread misinformation for malice, fun or to persuade people to support a point of view.

In this era of technology where we get most of our news from social media and other online platforms, we should be even more careful of the sources we refer to and make sure that we educate our friends, children and acquaintances of the potential fake news that they might be victims of. In this regard it is very necessary to teach ourselves how:

1. To spot fake news.
2. To verify whether it’s factually correct or not.
3. To view stories critically.

A 2019 research published in The Guardian notes that less than 10% of British teenagers meet the recommended guidelines for sleep, exercise, and screen time. About three fourth of the studied group spent over two hours every day interacting with screens.[1]

Let’s now discuss TEN essential points to critically consider when we encounter any piece of news:

1. The source of the news: This implies the sender/creator of the particular piece of content. You should always critically analyze the credibility of the news by examining its source.
2. Timeliness: Sometimes people alter and mould an old piece of information to fit in the existing scenario for preparing fake news. In this case you should always try looking for the date of the information and draw its relevance to the current times.
3. Check the URL: You must also check the URL of the news content. Many suspected sources may be identified by simply checking the spelling errors. There are many web pages and doctored images that look identical to the official account but aren’t. Therefore, it is always better to verify the suspicious content from other reliable sources.
4. Photo shopped image, video or audio: You should never rely on the images and videos; because most of the time they might be doctored. Tools like Google Reverse Image Search is the easiest way to validate the reliability of the photo.
5. Does the message encourage you to share: Often fake news will persuade one to reshare the information for making it viral.
6. Whom does the message benefit or harm?
7. Does this look like propaganda?
8. Is the news created from a third party or a news organization you never heard of?
9. Check for the organization's official logo and verify its correct official name.
10. Build critical thinking and contemplate before sharing.

DEBUNKING

In the month of March 2020, we all came across a BBC tweet claiming that Daniel Radcliffe had been tested positive for corona-virus. The tweet used BBC’s logo and the particular account was registered under the username @BBCNewsTonight

FACT: The tweet definitely seemed to be true at first and also fooled many of the users including New York Times Reporter. But later on, it was revealed that the account was unofficial and fake which apparently was last updated in 2017.

Therefore, a quick check from the steps described above, we can conclude that the above content is :

• From a fake source
• Not at all credible
• Encouraged many to reshare
• Message created from a third party

FACT CHECKING WEBSITES

We can always verify the content through some of these facts checking websites.

• AP Fact Check and Full Fact : These two websites highlight common fake news stories.
• Snopes.com : Another fact checking website is snopes which believes in investigative reporting.
• Healthinote: An application called Healthinote provides reliable information about the coronavirus. This app is developed by Cognitant to combat misinformation and uses information from the NHS, medical charities, universities and pharmaceutical companies.
• ASTOSCREEN: This is a London based startup which uses artificial intelligence to seek out disinformation on social media. Astroscreen helps in hunting down fake accounts and helps to put a stop to it.

Develop a digital literacy and a critical mindset before believing and sharing any suspicious shared viral piece of information.

Written by Nida Zakaria, LiC Research Intern

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/aug/26/uk-teens-exercise-screen-time-guidelines