re962714@ohio.edu
There is no doubt that fake news, or at least the idea of fake news, dominates journalism as we know it today. Our President tweets his outrage about it on a nearly daily basis, and many people do not know what news sources and stories they can trust. But simply acknowledging fake news is not enough. What can be done to combat it?
Politicians' Role
It is hard to say, in our current political environment, that politicians can have a role in combating fake news, as President Trump has ultimately led the attack against the media and started the whole era of fake news. But politicians certainly play a role, just not always a positive one.
Donald Trump, and high-ranking members of the Republican party, have fought to expose and take down the "mainstream fake-news media," but statistics show, this may not be working. According to a Washington Post poll that shows who adults trust as a source information, 48% of people said they trusted more compared to 35% who said they trusted President Trump more. Trump lost 45% to 32% to MSNBC and 30% to 20% to Fox News.
However, this same poll shows that 77% of adults believe that major news networks report fake news occasionally, or on a regular basis. This statistic shows that Trump's fight against mainstream media is working to some degree, just not the way he would like it.
But, what can politicians do to combat fake news? It would be easy to say that politicians should come out and give their full support to the media, but that is not likely to happen. Politicians use the media to further their own position, which can lead to fake news. So, it may be necessary to look in another direction.
Social Media and the Public's Role
There is no question that social media has played a major role in the spread of fake news, as any article, tweet, or post can be shared to thousands of people with the simple click of a button. According to Buzzfeed News, the top 20 false election stories generated 8,711,000 shares, reactions and comments while the top 20 stories from major news websites only generated 7,367,000 shares, reactions, and comments.
This number is staggering and shows that the general public often looks for a clickbait headline without digging in to see the merit behind the story.
For a long period of time, Facebook did little to try to slow down the spread of false stories, but within the last few months they have released a new feature that gives more information about the article that was shared. It certainly cannot completely stop the spread of fake news, but it can certainly slow it down.
Another important issue to focus on here is the role of the general public. They obviously play a role in the increase of fake news, as they are typically the ones sharing it. But, again, is there anything they can do to combat it?
One might look at it and say the public must play their role and do their own fact checking to ensure the story they are sharing is accurate and factual, but people are going to share what they want. This is especially true during an election period. Many people will share anything that supports their own political belief.
The answer to the question on how to combat fake news ultimately starts and ends with the journalists. Journalists are responsible for the information they present in their stories, and whether that information is credible.
While it is clear there are thousands of excellent journalists throughout the country who do their research and present the facts of a story without trying to alter any details, journalists must continue to work to ensure the information they present is factual and presented in an ethical manner to end this era of "fake news."
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| Image via dailydot.com |
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