What’s With Fake News These Days?
Admit it, you’ve heard someone say, “that’s not news!” at least once in your life and judging by how such comment is delivered, it usually means that a piece of article or report is still news, but isn’t really fresh or interesting. Yes, daily news that aren’t worthy of your attention are a commonplace these days, like when someone reported about necrophilia on the front page of a paper, but the thing is nothing is really worse than fake news.
The way fake news is defined today is totally different to what we perceived several decades back. The very reasons (s) they’re written and published today has changed as well. In many of the instances, people make up fake stories that they perceive as something that definitely will compel readers to click on and read them considering how controversial the subject is. They will publish the content even if there are no factual claims or evidence to prove that the news is indeed true.
Perhaps the most terrifying aspect of fake news is the notion that its very purpose is to discredit the very foundations of credible journalism, plus the fact that it does nothing but to lure in readers for false information, in a manner that pretty much resembles how the devil tempts one person to do wrong. More and more people, even organizations, are using it since it’s one of the most effective ways of getting maximum attention without even spending a dime. So if we are to look at it this way, fake news is kind of an advertising tool as well.
News that do nothing but to stir debate and discussion without even weighing on if the story inside it is true or not are usually hosted on websites that bear resemblance to that of the most popular news websites. The name of the website they use are even closely related to or synonymous to those legitimate news sites they try to copy.
So whenever a visitor clicks that link, he will be forwarded to the website where the false news is found and in return, that website gets a generous, even high traffic, something that will eventually translate into profit.
To attest to the legitimacy of the threat posed by this fake news trend, even the likes of international news agencies, more particularly BBC, is already doing something in order to stop these websites from wreaking havoc to the freedom of expression. The British news agency is currently busy with a new project that aims at verifying information they get on multiple levels right before releasing it to the public as legitimate use. The intention of BBC is quite clear: it wants to steer clear from the criticism directed towards other renowned news agencies as well as social media platforms which are reportedly allowing fake news to appear in their pages.
In reality, BBC’s fight is something that has to be looked upon as a stiff climb considering how fake news these days have become so popular, and the most unfortunate reason for that is because readers seem to be more interested in what is intriguing and controversial news than what is true.