NDM News: Globalisation and fake news

The growing problem with fake news is a great example of the crossover between globalisation and the news industry. 

It has been linked with a range of political events across the world - from Brexit here in the UK to Trump's election in the USA. Many European countries are now worried fake news will influence their upcoming elections in 2017. 

Fake news: blog tasks


The Guardian & the global problem of fake news

1) Read this Guardian feature - Fake news: an insidious trend that's fast becoming a global problem 

2) What similarities do you notice between the different countries outlined in the article and their problems with fake news?
Usually fake news isn't made for a revenue basis but rather to create hate and influence audiences. 
Many countries have struggled with it
Fake news usually occurs during important times such as during elections, wars etc. 
More often found on social media sites like facebook 

3) Is fake news an inevitable consequence of the "culture of freedom and innovation" that the internet has brought with it? Is there a way to stop it?

Yes, because not everyone is going to agree with the news that being presented to them so they will almost retaliate against it even if it means lying. Moreover the varied opinions may motivate individuals to pursuade audiences by the mass to agree with their particular viewpoint, especially if it isn't all that popular, leading to fake news.
Innovation has allowed it to become more wide spread in terms of social media, eg. making it easier to share but also in terms of editing so now even fake edited photos that may appear genuine can accompany these fake news stories almost proving 'evidence'

Laws may be put in place with active reviewing both electronically and manually where everyone can judge if its true or not, based on fact or opinion. Preventing and banning some but making sure audiences are at least aware about the non-factual basis of what they are reading.


New York Times and the creation of fake news

1) Read this New York Times feature - Inside a Fake News Sausage Factory: ‘This Is All About Income’

2) Which fake news stories were particularly successful for Beqa Latsabidze, the 22-year-old student in Tbilisi, Georgia, who tried to make money from web articles on Trump? 

The story that was protrump was very successful with outrageous claims. With the trump supporters being most responsive to the stories. 

3) How much can Facebook and Google be blamed for this global rise in fake news?

I believe they can be blamed a good fair amount due to the fact that it has mostly happened on their platforms and they have failed to identify their sources and occurrences and therefore haven't been able to prevent the sharing and accessibility the reach of this fake news. However i am aware this would have to be on a very large scale which would be hard to conduct and may also face certain implications such as the lawful and ideological basis of removing certain stories eg. those that are based on opinion cleverly worded to sound like fact or are in fact lying completely. 

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