It is harder than ever to trust that what we see or hear is actual real and factual information. With so much technology and tools for manipulating audio, video, and text, it's a wonder that we ever take in real info. We go online today at our own risk. We never know what we're in for when logging onto our social media accounts for example.
On Instagram I see many videos that fall under the category of having been manipulated or flat out fake just about every day. Sometimes it's even form supposedly reputable news and information websites. Plenty of accounts on Instagram manipulate video from other sources to make them funnier or more dramatic. It's funny when I see a video of an interview with an athlete from years prior where someone posts it and removes part of it or chops up the audio so what someone says it out of context. Like others, I'll immediately call that page/account out and post that the video in question is fake.
There has been a couple of times when I've had friends who's pictures have been stolen online and someone will clone their social media account and pretend to be them. This is scary and is basically like identity theft. I've actually seen this happen and if I come across the fake account I'll report it to that social media platform. It's scary to know that anyone can take your property whether it be images, audio, or video and post them for their amusement and pleasure.
Knowing what to look and listen for when it comes to fake news or video online is the first step in stopping false information from spreading across the web. There's an old saying that, it takes a village to raise a child. We should all take the same approach to ridding the internet of fake news stories, videos and audio. Sometimes I even have to do a double take on certain videos online or news stories especially if I'm scrolling through my timeline. Sometimes stuff pops up and I'm on autopilot. So, always being aware and awake at the wheel is also key.
This phenomenon of fake news and videos has risen to a level of epic proportion. Some platforms are worst than others and we all must be careful. I've seen multiple times where reputable reporters get duped by a fake story and they go ahead with it in an attempt to break the news first, only to find out the tip was fake. Then comes a retraction which no journalist ever wants to be called upon to do.
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