We don’t need some big-shot name/s telling us that fake news has become rampant on Social Media. This has been an observable fact over the last few years. True enough, British researchers Andrew Chadwick and Cristian Vaccari say that:
“in today’s media systems people may be more likely to encounter false and misleading information on a daily basis.”
They explain that the difference between trustworthy and untrustworthy news on public forums has become a frequently discussed and occasionally volatile topic over the last few years, akin to what was already stated previously.
That’s So Fake
Social Media has become an unavoidable part of society now – can it be trusted as a news source? Well, yes, but not 100% of the time. That being said, a lot of fake news plagues the nigh-infinite expanse that is the Social Media landscape. Fortunately for us all, Mailchimp provides some insight on how we can better differentiate between misinformation and disinformation on Social Media, as well as how to spot fake news.
Misinformation and disinformation are two forms of fake news. According to researchers from Indiana University, they found that these two types of information often go viral because “information overload and users’ finite attention span limit the capacity of social media to discriminate information on the basis of quality.” Because Social Media is a public platform, anyone can practically post anything without being held accountable for fact-checking.
Misinformation
What differs this mainly from disinformation is the intent of the original poster (OP). From the previously-stated Indiana University study, misinformation is classified as “false or misleading content including hoaxes, conspiracy theories, fabricated reports, click-bait headlines, and even satire.” Misinformation is not deliberately intended to deceive but to sway public opinion.
Disinformation
Disinformation can be spread using many of the tactics of misinformation, such as hoaxes and clickbait. However, unlike misinformation, disinformation is intended to deceive. Chadwick and Vaccari’s study found that 24.8% of their respondents shared a news story they either thought was made up or knew was completely exaggerated.
There are enumerable reasons why individuals and even entire groups would spread disinformation, but regardless of the reason, it’s never a good idea to purposely share deceitful information just for gain. Disinformation can be dangerous because of its ability to sway public opinion and even influence user decisions.
Near the end of the article is a section that highlights specific questions you can ask to verify information, based on the type of account you’re looking at. Mailchimp categorizes accounts that you visit into two main types: personal and business or professional accounts. Though Mailchimp doesn’t specifically state examples that show clear examples of misinformation and disinformation, their introspective approach of asking questions is better at effectively training individuals to spot and rule out these kinds of fake news.
The Wrap
If you mean to combat fake news on Social Media, then it all comes down to how well you understand the goals of fellow posters and whatever platform/s you are on. This is important to note because certain Social Media platforms generate more engagement based on the amplification of fake news than others. Being aware that the news on your Feed is filtered based on previously collected data can help users be more aware of any inherent biases they might have, which, in the long run, does help clean out even the smallest hints of fake news, at least from their personal accounts. Fake news might be unavoidable on Social Media, but it’s not impossible. Think critically, and don’t just believe everything you see and hear online.
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