sc568816@ohio.edu
Following the 2016 presidential election, “fake news” about the presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, ran rampantly on social media, especially Facebook. Social media has changed how information is shared. It has become harder to fact check and easier to publish and spread false information.
Social media’s influence on false information
Although the spread of fake news is not new, social media has given anyone and everyone with an opinion a platform to spread it.
According to a Buzzfeed News study, the most popular fake news stories from Facebook during the 2016 garnered more engagement than the top stories from national media outlets.
The ease of access means anyone has the chance to engage with any information. But it also means that individuals have to filter the false information themselves, rather than relying on a few trusted sources to, without a doubt, tell the truth.
Political ideology influences vulnerability to fake news
Many fake news sources present themselves as news for a certain audience. Fake news sources pander to political ideologies, because, according to a paper by Gordon Pennycook and David G. Rand, two Yale professors, audiences look to confirm their own beliefs by reading news.
That trend, however, is divided by political ideologies. Hillary Clinton supporters, during the 2016 election, were able to distinguish fake and real news within their own political leaning. Donald Trump supporters were less likely to determine whether a story was fake or real.
Donald Trump repeatedly attacked the American media during the 2016 election cycle, which could likely explain his supporters’ inability to distinguish between real and fake news. They were more likely to believe negative, false stories about Hillary Clinton because those stories fell within their political leaning. The source, in this case, did not matter to Trump-supporting audiences; the content, however, did.
How is fake news spread?
Fake news runs rampant when a story is sensational.
In 2016, 4chan, an online forum, spread a rumor on Facebook, Twitter and blogging website Tumblr, claiming pedophiles were trying to gain acceptance in the LGBT community.
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| Via snopes.com |
The rumor was widespread and reoccurs frequently on social media. The exact rumor and poster were circulating again in 2018, two years after the original rumor was spread. The pro-pedophilia image or content, which has been repeatedly fact checked and disproved, was spread on Facebook and Twitter through individuals.
Although the information is false, many anti-LGBT groups promoted the poster as evidence against the LGBT community. Because the rumor pandered to their beliefs, audiences were less likely to fact check the rumor.
Who is responsible for fact checking?
Before the internet, journalists were responsible for publishing accurate information. Because of user-generated content, however, the responsibility falls increasingly on the audience to filter its own information.
Social media outlets, such as Facebook, have taken increased steps since the 2016 election to filter false content. Although Facebook can take steps to prevent false information from being shared, the responsibility still falls on the user to judge the validity of the content.
Fake news is spread solely because audiences either refuse to fact check, or because the information presented to them fits their political beliefs, and they don't consider the possibility of it being fake. Each reader has a responsibility to fact check information before they share it, because spreading false information is potentially dangerous.
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