Andrew Selhorst
as330215@ohio.edu


Fake news is a word we hear seemingly everyday anymore. But what is it and what does it mean. Fake news is the idea that what we are reading in the newspaper or hearing on the news channels is exactly that: fake.

So where exactly did fake news come from and why has it been such a hot topic over the past several years? The term "fake news" really seemed to peak during the last presidential election in 2016. The top two candidates in the election seemed to have new secrets revealed about them every day, and the words "fake news" began to be thrown around left and right. It seemed as if consumers did not know who to trust when it came to receiving their news, as lots of people were skeptical about what to believe. But why do people fall for this "fake news," and what makes it believable?

One may think the reason fake news is believable is due to motivated reasoning. Motivated reasoning is when a consumer of news has a certain belief or ideology already, and the fake news fits this belief or ideology. This article from niemanlab.org defines motivated reasoning as "the unconscious tendency of individuals to fit their processing of information to conclusions that suit some end or goal." And while this may seem like a very reasonable reason for people to fall for fake news, the study in the article linked above shows otherwise. The article states "participants were actually better able to discern real from fake news among stories that were consistent with their political ideology." So if motivated reasoning is not a major reason behind people falling for fake news, what is?

Well, according to an article from agilitypr.com, perhaps the reason behind the belief of fake news is the sheer availability of it. The article discusses the alarmingly high amount of people that believe huge conspiracy theories such as 9/11 being an inside job, or the moon landing being a hoax. YouTube is full of videos covering such controversial topics, and a quick google search gives a person access to a nearly unlimited supply of articles and webpages supporting these conspiracy theories. Authors and content creators give compelling "evidence" to support these theories. And with the prominence of social media in our everyday world, it has never been easier to reach millions of people with these ideas and fake news. This kind of news is everywhere, and with today's internet we have access to just about anything anyone can imagine. There are even stories and videos about how the life we live everyday is nothing more than a simulation, and there is an endless amount of support around the internet for this idea.

In conclusion, fake news is everywhere, and perhaps this is the reason that so many people are so inclined to believe it. The internet and the prominence of social media make fake news very believable, and almost anyone has access to it. It is important for us as consumers to keep this in mind, and important for us as journalists to be sure that we are only providing our consumers with what is the real news.