What are fake news? Definition, types and methods to recognize them
More and more people are collecting information online and sharing daily millions of new posts, articles and videos on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. With the concentrated flow of information resulting from this increased use of social media, fake news has also become an integral part of our daily digital life. Social media algorithms still have problems determining the authenticity of information . Thus, images and videos that appear deceptive and real, which have been manipulated by professionals, spread. We now know that this disinformation can influence opinions and public debates .
We explain what fake news is, and how to unmask it quickly.
What are fake news?
The term " fake news is made up of the two English words "fake and" news, which means "false information. This news, which deliberately misleads opinion , tries to attract attention with something supposedly 'genuine, to shock or influence the opinion of others . Fake news is written by individuals and groups acting in their own interests or on behalf of others.s. The creation of this disinformation is mainly due to personal, political or economic motives .
However, the dissemination of information invented to orient social opinion on a certain subject n This is by no means a new strategy: thrilling headlines or articles that spread lies and propaganda for political ends have been used since the existence of the print media. But in the age of digital information exchange, fake news has become an online phenomenon that is difficult to control. By sharing posts on social media and by social media bots , which mimic human users and spread fake news even faster, they achieve a high level of visibility very quickly .
Fake News : Erroneous information in the form of articles, photos or videos disguised as "real news and designed to manipulate opinions are called fakes news." They are disseminated by social media users and secretly deployed social robots that comment, repost and retweet critical content.
Fake news is largely used to manipulate the public for political or commercial purposes with deliberately distorted information. However, fake news can also be used for other purposes. For example, some headlines are actually clickbait , which aims to increase the number of clicks and therefore the advertising revenue of the site Web linked. phishing attempts also use false information to exploit the good faith of Internet users. They are often asked to enter their personal details in forms that appear genuine, which can lead to identity theft. Another phenomenon is e-mail hoaxes in the form of strings letters , which threaten recipients with trouble if they are not forwarded.
Here are the four most common types of fake news.
- targeted disinformation : this is information invented and distributed for selfish purposes. Most often, these fake news target groups particularly sensitive to this type of information, classifying polarizing content as credible without verification and sharing it on social media;
- misleading headlines : titles, which present facts invented toto attract attention, has long been a stylistic device much used in questionable media. Often, upon reading the article, it turns out that the title is deliberately misleading and does not match the content of the text. These headlines are also known as "clickbait headlines;
- viral posts: on social media, endless new posts appear every second. Therefore, users do not take the time to verify the authenticity of each of them. As the major platforms are geared towards actions, likes and subscribers, the most popular posts are more often released, even if they are fake;
- satire : the news satiricals take up current debates and mix them up with invented and often absurd events. It is a stylistic way of drawing attention to social issues or exposing political mistakes. But there is a dAnger that the humorous component is not recognized and that the news is perceived as real information .
How to recognize fake news?
Although many fake news may seem deceptive at first glance, most can be unmasked with simple methods. The more you use the strategies listed below, the easier it will be to distinguish fakes news from real news.
Check sender
Before sharing a post , check the profile of the person it is from. Ask yourself the following questions:
- How long has the account been in existence?
- Does it have the blue verification badge? >
- ComHow many subscribers does he have?
- What types of posts are mainly shared on this subject?
A recently created account, a limited number friends / followers and high-profile content indicate that it could be a social bot or a troll spreading fake news.
Check photos and videos
Images can be quickly parsed out of context . Pay attention to certain clues such as billboards, traffic signs or license plates and check if they match the alleged location information. It is also useful to do a reverse image search through the image URL with tools like Tineye or the Google Chrome extension Reveye . So you can know when and in what context the photo was published forthe first time.
With videos, checking is a bit more difficult. This is because smart computer editing programs allow you to create Deepfake videos , where the faces of the original video are simply replaced. Amnesty International's YouTube DataViewer can help you find the original video, however.
Check the "About" section
The "about 'a website, which provides information about the authors , may be part of the analysis. If this section is missing or very vague, the author may not be a viable and verifiable source.
Check URL
Some fake news appear in pages seemingly emanating from brandstrusted media . It is therefore advisable to check the URL in the browser line. Sometimes the only difference is a hyphen or some other extension, for example.net instead of .fr or .com.
Always check the date of the report and whether other media is covering the matter. If there is no other source, it is very likely to be fake news.
While some fake news is relatively harmless, others can cause great harm by pitting people against each other, or by encouraging undemocratic thinking. Experts suspect that fakes news,combined with social robots, have had a significant impact on crucial global events such as the Brexit vote in 2016 or the US presidential elections in 2017, especially in recent years. Here are three examples of successful "fake news" that have toured the world and influenced the public:
- the AIDS conspiracy : even before the digitization of the information, the blind trust of the public in the media was exploited by disseminating fake news. On behalf of the secret services of the GDR and the USSR, the West German media spread rumors in the 1980s that the AIDS virus had been developed by the CIA, the US secret service. It's called a disinformation campaign;
- the Bitcoin scheme : with the increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies in recent years, more and more fraudulent practices have been developed to gainer new customers by making false statements. Bitcoin's purported trading platforms were advertising with fictitious recommendations from celebrities whose notoriety was supposed to inspire confidence. These bogus recommendations suggested the possibility of high profits for potential investors;
- refugee fake news: in the context of the migration crisis, lots of racist fake news were broadcast in order to polarize the European population. In April 2015, the sordid story of the murder of a little girl was, for example, shared overwhelmingly on social media by extreme right-wing groups who changed their title to accuse a migrant and stigmatize all refugees. Despite the gross falsification, this fake news was widely shared on social networks and caused a lot of damage to public opinion, as explained in the France 3 denial ,who released the information before it was picked up and edited.
What are the effects of fake news on society?
Celebrated in its early days as a democratic medium, the Web today has a rather bad reputation when it comes to the reliability of information. Indeed, almost anyone can create, distribute or manipulate content on the Internet. And as a growing majority of people learn about world events exclusively online, fake news is becoming a growing problem. On the one hand, a democracy lives on easily accessible information that helps to understand political, social and economic links. On the other hand, fake news promotes la mistrust and skepticism and makes discussion and resolution more difficult.n conflicts on a common basis.
How do social networks deal with fake news ?
More and more social media are responding to the calls for better control measures with regard to the dissemination of fake news. Each platform treats them differently.
In May 2020, for example, the news service Twitter verified a tweet from US President Trump, who made impossible statements to prove on postal voting.
In connection with the COVID-19 crisis and many conspiracy theories, YouTube revised its community guidelines the same month. These allow the platform to remove videos with deceptive content.
Facebook , on the other hand, cooperates with more than 50 independent organizations of fact-checking , in particular the newspaper “Liberation” which created a specific unit dedicated to the verification of information. If the posts are in error according to the criteria specified by Facebook, they are marked with a note and displayed less frequently. However, Facebook does not check messages and advertisements from politicians.
In June 2020, the European Commission released new guidelines to tackle disinformation through social media . In the future, they must provide monthly reports on the number, content and extent of fake news and fake user accounts. Social media platforms are also called upon to actively combat disinformation campaigns through fact-based posts.
You can find more information on the dangers of social media > in our dedicated article.
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