What is it? How can you spot it? What are its implications? FAKE NEWS What is it? How can you spot it? What are its implications?

Learning Goal Students will learn about and examine FAKE NEWS through the 5 Ws and 1 H: WHAT is it? WHEN did it start (and become a problem)? WHO creates it? WHERE can you find it? WHY is it so prevalent? HOW can we find it? HOW do the implications of FAKE NEWS affect us as consumers?

What is FAKE NEWS? The dictionary definition of the term is "false, often sensational, information disseminated under the guise of news reporting.” The term has been popularised by US President Donald Trump and its usage is said to have risen by 365% since 2016. In 2016, the issue of fake news became so prevalent that Oxford Dictionary labeled “post-truth” as the “Word of the Year.”

Post Truth 'Post-Truth' was Oxford Dictionaries' Word of the Year for 2016. ... The dictionary publisher defined post-truth as "relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief."

When did it start? The idea of disinformation has been around for thousands of years. Octavian famously used a campaign of disinformation to win victory over Marc Antony. During the 20th century, new forms of communication allowed governments to use propaganda for their own purposes. These were heavily biased, however, and as people became more used to mass media and communication (prior to the internet) they learned to easily see through the bias and propaganda. The term “fake news” first came into usage in the build-up to the 2016 US presidential election, where baseless articles aimed at smearing either candidate were widely shared.

Who creates it? Anyone can create fake news, and therein lies the problem… Governments News agencies Social media users Bloggers Etc... Before the internet, it was expensive to distribute information, building trust between the news agency and the consumer took years, and there were much simpler definitions of what made up news and media. This mean that regulation of informational media sources, and self-regulation of those sources, was easier. Now that people are able to exchange and distribute information themselves, the barriers to creating fake news have been undone.

Where can you find Fake News? Unfortunately, fake news can be found in a multitude of platforms - news articles, websites, news sites, t.v., social media, etc. What follows are a list of specific websites that distribute (sometimes not purposefully) fake news and that you need to be wary of: -Facebook (filter bubbles) -Twitter

Other sites to know about.... -Breitbart -National Report -The Burrard Street Journal -The Boston Tribune -World News Report -Info Wars

Why is fake news created? 1. Disinformation for profit Example: for profit hoax sites, based in Eastern Europe, engineered US election coverage that would be widely shared on Facebook so they could reap digital advertising revenue. 2. Disinformation for political gain What used to be referred to as propaganda has become something worse - state-funded fraudulent websites set up by one country to create confusion/chaos in another.

Why is fake news created? 3. Disinformation for crime Hackers can sometimes gain access to websites or social media accounts of reputable news outlets and disseminate fake stories. Though they may be motivated by profit or politics, sometimes it’s just to create confusion for their own amusement. 4. Viral pranks Even without nefarious motives or illegal tactics , individuals or groups can spread hoaxes for fun, falling somewhere in between fake news, pranks and publicity stunts.

Why it is so prevalent? Other reasons: Our ability to click and share so quickly; Our refusal to take the time to research and think about what we read; We are entertained by the dramatic Algorithms Automated “bots”

What are the implications of Fake News? Power shifts Panic/chaos Political conflict The free press is jeopardized Issues of control by governments Heightened incidents of racism/hate Loss of democracy as authoritarian governments use fake news to their advantage In October, 2016, fake news websites received 159 million visits The most widely shared news stories during the election turned out to be fake Twitter, Google, and Facebook have all announced measures to crack down on misinformation

How can we identify Fake News? You would think that it’s easy to tell fake news from real news. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Research from Stanford’s Graduate School of Education found that students were unable to evaluate information at even as basic a level as distinguishing advertisements from articles. It’s not that readers are stupid - news formats are easy to imitate and some stories are true, but seem impossible to be true, making us second guess what we are reading.

How can we identify Fake News? Ask yourself these questions: How does the information make you feel? Do you trust the source of the information? Have you ever heard of the source before? Is the information written in a strange way? What is the URL of the website? Does the website show any signs of mimicry? Is the source verified on social media? Is this the first time you have heard of this event/story? Is the news source satire (The Onion, The Beaverton)? https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=q-Y-z6HmRgI

What Fake News is not... 1. Stories from satire sites (The Onion, The Beaverton) 2. Satirical stories from regular news sites (opinion writing) 3. Honest reporting mistakes - if there is no intention to fool the consumer, it’s not fake news. 4. Critical reporting to determine is something is a hoax or not. 5. Reporting you just don’t like