FAKE News

How Can We Tell Real News from ➡️ Fake News?

Real News is defined as ethical, responsible, transparent, independent, impartial, and complete. In a world where every 60 seconds 500 hours of content is uploaded to YouTube, and almost 700,000 stories are shared on Instagram, how can we possibly hope to differentiate between the truth, the half-truths, and the outright lies?

In the case of war, propaganda is a tool that is used by the media (and governments) to "sell" the idea of war, boost weapons manufacturing and trade, and bolster governmental support for the heinous act of warfare. They create enemies and false flags to intentionally mislead the general public.

The BBC were recently criticized for its lack of evidence-based journalism regarding the War on Gaza in the much-publicised Asserson Report. They were accused of giving Israel favourable coverage, for failing to hold Israeli officials to account, and for downplaying Israeli atrocities. These criticisms came from more than 100 BBC staff members, and it reiterates the sentiment that we sometimes cannot even trust news from reputable sources.

A worrying statistic reveals that only 2% of young people are able to identify fake news.

Without media literacy skills citizens are left bombarded with sensationalised news, aimed at swaying readers opinions, promoting agendas, and justifying the unjustifiable.

What is the Impact of Fake News?

Whether intentional or not, fake news can be dangerous. With access to social media at our finger tips 24/7, it is very likely that we will be exposed to misleading and false information on a daily basis. These days, everyone with a smartphone can be a purveyor of ‘news’.

Fake news creates distrust in the media and government institutions, spreads conspiracy theories, weakens the democratic process, undermines science, spreads hate speech and violence, can create harmful stereotypes, and polarises public opinion.

Climate change disinformation, for example, has been used by various movements to discredit scientific findings by climate experts to propagate climate denial or resistance. The intentional dissemination of false information related to climate change can weaken public support for climate action, weaken trust in science, negatively affect policy adoption, undermine the seriousness of global warming, and can hinder international cooperation.

Climate disinformation, like other fake news, peaks around the publication of important events and developments such as the release of the IPCC reports, and the COP29 climate negotiations.

Below are some useful tips on how we can separate fact from fiction in today's media landscape -

• Make sure to analyse news sources. Make your own informed decisions, and do not accept things at face value.

• Check the creditability of the source. Research the website by checking their mission statement, the transparency of the site, and whether it is easy to find their contact information.

• Who is the author? All articles with integrity will name the author, provide a brief biography, and contact information. Search for other articles under their name on other sites to look for consistencies such as topics covered.

• When was the story originally published? Check that you aren’t mistaking a story for an event that happened in the past for an event that is currently developing.

• Do not fall for shock headlines. Sensationalist headlines are misleading, out of context, and often exaggerated. They are designed solely to draw your attention and create reader bias before you have even started the main text. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

• Are there any supporting sources? Credible journalists will list their sources either with hyperlinks embedded throughout the text or at the end as a reference tool. Check these sources and see if they corroborate with the original article.

• Try to separate fact from opinion. Media outlets try to include the reader in their own perspective, or the perspective of governments, leaders, or people in power.

• If an article is reporting on the actions or words of a government or corporation, check the quotations. Are they just paraphrasing or is the full picture provided? Check for links and citations to the original press release or report to verify.

• Is there video or photographic evidence? Check that there are multiple credible sources that agree with the media and summary provided.

• Who is funding the newspaper, magazine, blog, or website? Funders influence media content - a lot.

• Is there governmental influence? Where is the media outlet based? Countries tend to report on their own countries much more favourably. The media of other nations may be more or less critical depending on their view of that nation.

Journalism is now one of the world's deadliest professions. Members of the press are often subjected to harassment, persecution and detention just for exposing truths. According to the UNESCO Observatory of Killed Journalists, a journalist has been killed every four days on average in the last decade. Those who are delivering real news to the masses are doing so at an unprecedented risk to themselves as the corrupt and powerful attempt to hide their secrets.

Used correctly, the media is a powerful tool in holding governments and corporations accountable, disseminating critical information to the general public, and offering new perspectives on vitally important topics such as war, nuclear weapons, the military, the arms trade, conflict regions, and most importantly, promoting opportunities for peace as the first solution.

We must support and widely share this type of journalism. Media literacy plays a big part in ensuring that it is the real news that is trending and not the war mongering narratives of power-hungry politicians and corporate lobbyists.

Media is one of the most important tools for peace and democracy that we have.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 129 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed by Israeli forces. This is simply unacceptable. We must protect freedom of the press and ensure that all sides of a story are heard.

Author: Rachael Mellor 11.11.24 licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

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