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The concept known as fake news is not necessarily a new one, as it has existed since ancient times. However, it was during the 2016 presidential election when the term has caused a considerable amount of controversy. Although some people argue that fake news is not a major problem, many claim that it is indeed a serious cause for concern because it has enough power to influence the outcome of the election. The goal of this essay is to present the arguments and viewpoints of both sides as well as an opinion on what should be done with fake news.
First, it is necessary to take a look at arguments of those who are concerned about fake news. According to Bakir and McStay (2017), the main reasons why fake news is a serious social and democratic problem are that it produces misinformed citizens, traps them in echo chambers where they stay misinformed and provokes outrage due to its affective and provocative nature. All three of these issues are likely to bring social discontent with democratic outcome and process (Bakir and McStay, 2017). Another concern with fake news is that, due to low-level of many peoples cognitive processes, familiarity through constant repetition serves to make even the most implausible claims believable despite them being tagged as contested. (Pennycook, Cannon & Rand, 2017) Thus, it is necessary to find solutions that prevent people from reading fake news in the first place, as opposed to qualifiers that merely make people discount fake news (Pennycook et al., 2017).
On the other hand, some people dismiss concerns related to fake news, instead claiming that the overarching problem is in peoples waning trust in real reporting (Herrman 2016). The definition of fake news has widened to encompass not only the fabricated stories, but also the more traditional media on Facebook and elsewhere, which threatens the traditional medias ability to declare things as being true or not (Herrman 2016). In other words, pretty much any stories or sources, even the ones that are true, are at risk of being labeled as fake news.
Personally, I believe that fake news is one of the most serious threats to democracy, which the United States take great pride in and thus needs to be treated. Facebook has proposed a number of possible solutions, such as elevating quality of Related Articles on Facebooks News Feed, putting warning labels on stories flagged as false, listening to advice from the news industry etc. (Pennycook et al. 2017). However, because most fake news is generated not with political, but financial goals in mind it might be necessary to look into digital advertising and how it could help combat fake news. Even the most disreputable advertisers are not likely to want to be associated with untrustworthy sources. As such, it would be a good idea for advertisers to start identifying fake news websites and rejecting them, thus leaving them without a source of revenue. (Pennycook et al. 2017)
In conclusion, while the 2016 presidential election did not create the idea of fake news, it brought the idea into the public eye and revealed how it can be used as means of propaganda and for financial gain. The democracy is threatened by it now more than ever. As such, there is a new need to combat fake news and misinformation. While not a perfect solution, digital advertisers may play a significant part in making fake news less profitable.
Reference List
Bakir, V., & McStay, A. (2017). Fake News and The Economy of Emotions: Problems, causes, solutions. Digital Journalism, 1-22.
Pennycook, G., Cannon, T. D., & Rand, D. G. (2017). Prior exposure increases perceived accuracy of fake news.
Herrman J. (2016). Fixation on Fake News Overshadows Waning Trust in Real Reporting. The New York Times. Web.
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