Lies sound like facts to those who have been conditioned to mis-recognize the truth."--DaShanne Stokes
They were written and then shared. Read by many, believed by some who checked the facts before jumping into that story.
*Image si credited to inforrm.org
To be in the world of internet, they are lurking in the dark side of the world wide web. Looking for some gullible people to take the bait. They often hide, pretending to be REAL but they are REEL. They are very common, it is just up to readers to take it or not, believe it or not.
Few days ago, I got to see a news regarding an accident in one of the famous place here in Ilocos. In the said news, it was mentioned about a family who dies instantly when a windmill hit their car. Well, the news was being shared by three of my "facebook friends".
Is it true of not?
Since I haven't been watching local or regional news lately, I called my brother, who is assigned on that place, to confirm. He was surprised about it. Told me that there was none. No accident had happened with regards to one of the famous windmills. Definitely fake news.
What is fake news?
Fake news is a type of yellow journalism or propaganda that consists of DELIBERATE MISINFORMATION OR HOAXES. They are not just from the internet, they have been in print before they have been going around the world wide web.
The intention of the fake news is to MISLEAD in order to damage an entity, an agency or a person, written in an exxagerated way, and with teh headlines that grab your attention.
With regards to the news about the windmills that killed a family, maybe the intention of the news is to try to put a scare with the people or delegates for the ASEAN forum which is now happening in Ilocos Norte. Defitely made with the "perfect timing". Just felt sorry to those who shared the fake news.
*Image si credited to inquistr.com
How to know if the news is fake or not?
1. The source of the news is unknown or shady.
When I saw the news source, I am not familiar with it. The news is not from any of those well-know news agency or news channels. And I have been following up a facebook page of those that I can say "REAL" news channels and I haven't seen such report.
*Image si credited to money.cnn.com
2. Other stories from the source are incredoulous.
Reading few of the headlines, you can definitely say that the source is just one of those who are trying to grab you attention but definitely not telling something real.
3. Reputable news sites aren't carrying it. Like I have said, if I haven't read in those MAINSTREAM MEDIA, I don't read them. Even in those news reports at night, until I heard it being flash on the news, that will be the time that a news is not really fake.
4. It predicts a future disaster. How many news have circulated about the DOOMSDAY? We have read a lot. Some chose to believe it, some chose not to, and just ignore about it.
5. It reveals cure for a major illness. With the discovery of new medicines, there is also something happening. New medicines, but somehow there is a new illness too, some are hard to be treated or cured while some are indeed curable. This is the most common news that is circulating in social media. And most people chosed to belived it, to the point that they are looking for those cures and try it for themselves. But, it would be great if they asked their doctors if it is real or not, or make sure that the source is legit.
6. Disclaimer. Most fake news or sites has this disclaimer that says, "This is satire!". Best to check everything before beliving about the truth of the news.
7. A little bit funny and interesting. There are news are just to good to be true too. Well, most of the time is definitely grab a readers' attention.
8. The domain name has an odd name. The URL looks strange. The siffixes will say a lot about the site.
9. The photos and the videos attached are not verifiable. So, I read the news about the windmill accident, upon clicking the video, I know that that is not a windmill in Ilocos Norte. They don't like one.
10. The story have made you angry. Fake news has the intention to draw your attention and can make you angry too. It will be hard to see the REEL and the REAL when your mind is being clouded with negative emotions.
We're living amid an artificial reality, persuaded to believe it's real by astroturf engineered to look like grassroots."--Sharyl Attkinson
*Video is credited to flackcheck via www.youtube.com
On making the fake real.
In facebook alone, there are a lot of facebook page that will never stop in spreading fake news. For one reason, most of the facebooks users tend to belive more on what they are reading, with their mind set that most of the news in the internet were real, don't take their time to check the facts. And that is the downside of the internet or the social media.
Warnings against those kind of news have been spread too, disseminated even in mainstream media, but why many of us still belives on those kind of news?
Personally, If I saw a news, being shared by a facebook friend, that seems to be strange, What I usually do is unfollow or hide anything from that news site. Thank you facebook for having that part, for that option. Somehow, I am lessening the readership/audience of that certain news. And at the same time stopping it from spreading.
There is too much of freedom of expression, of the press. But we have to more careful too. Because we don't know what or how will the news affect the readers.
Better check the facts before spreading the news.
*Image is credited to huffingtonpost
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Have the eyes to see the difference and have the mind to understand and also have the lips to spread the real ones.
