With the amount of users on social media increasing constantly, it is no surprise that we are used to finding out the latest breaking news stories via these channels. One of the biggest advantages to the increase in social media is that almost as quickly as an incident has happened, we know about it. Tweets spread like wildfire and news that used to take hours or even days to reach us, hits us in seconds. Whilst this is a clear advantage, it also means that unreliable news and gossip spreads just as quickly – leaving us to work out what is true and what isn’t.
In the office last week we were all discussing the latest link to be sent around – the breaking news that a woman shipwrecked on a desert island for seven years had finally been found – by Google Earth! Just as we were ready to blog about the incredible story and how technology has yet again shown to be life-saving and a much needed tool in today’s society, we quickly discovered that the story was a hoax.
We were surprised at how we presumed the article was all fact – after all, everyone was talking and blogging about it so why would we doubt the authenticity of it?
Luke Allnutt, Editor of Radio Free Europe has explained how we have become more “susceptible to encountering and believing fakes – the rise of fake news is inextricably linked with the popularity, spread, and click dynamics of social media”. We’re used to seeing fake articles hit the web for April Fool’s day where we know to not believe everything we see and hear but how do we work out what is true and false for the rest of the year?
There is a wide selection of satire websites out there that deliberately post fake news articles or those which at least bend the truth. If you go straight onto the homepage of websites such as The Onion and Daily Currant then it is clear that these articles aren’t to be taken seriously, however add links to articles on these websites to a tweet or post and it isn’t as clear. What’s more if a well-meaning individual at another publication picks up on the story and re-blogs it, then it adds a level of credibility which didn’t exist before. The problem with social media is that the tone of voice isn’t always clear. A URL can be posted with an accompanied phrase such as “absolutely unbelievable” that can be meant in a sarcastic or serious tone that won’t necessarily come across.
This is why it is so important to not believe everything you read online and via social networking sites. If you see an article or news story trending and aren’t sure whether to believe it or not our advice is to wait for a trusted, reliable source such as the BBC to report on it before you begin sharing it and exacerbating the story even more.