It’s all too often that we read, watch and hear about news that shocks us only to later find that it is fake. With social networking news, no matter whether it is real or fake can spread worldwide in a matter of minutes with many not finding out the truth until hours or days later. The Internet has been a great resource to many people, however when it comes to the fast paced sharing society online fake news can be damaging to businesses, people and even their careers but there are ways that it can be reduced and ultimately stopped.
Social media has made many people vulnerable to fake news and can cause communication problems. There are however ways for people using social networking sites to complain about information that is found to be incorrect or out-dated. Unfortunately these articles can still be shared even after they have been reported but before they are able to do so they will receive a notification letting them know the validity of the article is being disputed.
Information that makes people feel uncomfortable is often avoided which is why the validity of news is so often looked past. It’s important to challenge information no matter how it may seem to work in your benefit should you not have the evidence to back up the claim. Rather than ignoring information that seems to be untrue the best practice is to report it so that it can be looked into properly. Although you may not wish to share it, others will and that is how fake news is spread.
Start using a newsfeed analyst tool to make a chart of the friends you have and how often their information appears in your newsfeed. If their information is regularly incorrect it could be an idea to let them know to give them the chance to remove it.
Look at the most recent election, it was greatly misjudged by journalists due to the fact they wanted to believe it would work in their favor. Mutual understanding and questioning is difficult when people are opposed. It is more beneficial to work together to find the truth before printing fake news and if already posted and questioned to be researched for validity.
Without a filter bubble that stops you from really taking note of what others are saying if it doesn’t agree with your beliefs it is more beneficial to see whether or not the information is correct. If it is not then you can revel in the fact you were right, if not it could very well change your viewpoint.
Viral fake news is usually used to damage a person or companies reputation and make money so before buying into stories online or otherwise it is always better to find out what the opposing parties would have to gain by creating fake information.
By uploading tools and using search engines to find out more information before deciding whether to share information or not, you could stop the fake news from being spread in its tracks. Be constructive in the way you share information and only share what you know to be true not what grabs your attention. If everyone takes this approach fake news could be a thing of the past.