Fake news, misleading news, rumors, speculations, and other forms of unreliable sources are not new. In fact, these things have always been with us throughout history. And in some cases, it has either helped or caused damage.
In the light of the 2016 presidential elections, many were really surprised by Donald Trump's victory, given that from several months before the voting period, the mainstream media and social media posts and videos were reporting that Hilary Clinton was definitely going to win - and must win. Since then, news organizations, tech companies, voters, and politicians are now aggressively questioning the credibility of the news being reported to the public. One good example is Facebook's "fake news" allegations that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is adamantly denying and is also trying to fix.
Fake News Sells!
Deny it or not, a scandal is a hundred times more to be reported and read compared to something positive. It is just our nature as human beings to gossip more toward the dark side of things. Also, fake news if on the positive note sounds so great that it would seem both so impossible yet somehow believable due to the sources backing it up. But then again, sometimes fake news was just an honest mistake.
One good example of an honest mistake of fake news is when it was rumored that the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will have a wireless charging feature. Everyone was excited about it and really expected it from the device. However, it turned out that it was not true and will be in fact featured in the iPhone 8 series instead.
Will The Fake News Stop?
It is reported that Facebook is rolling out easier tools for reporting hoaxes and fake news posted on their site. Though this is a step forward in eradicating fake news, this effort will only prove to be futile. As to why one good reason is that all news starts as rumors and speculations until it is proven to be "real news" or "fake news."
Example, if a person went to the police to report that he/she was raped, will the police immediately take the testimony as fact? No, they will first apprehend the suspect and let that person face trial to decide whether that individual is guilty or not, but of course, it will definitely stain that person's name for the rest of his/her life. This may seem to be a poor example, but hopefully, you get the idea. And yet, this is the true nature of Fake News, before we can judge if news is real or fake, we need to take a look at the evidence and proof.
