Jump to content

Fake news

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Scapulus (talk | contribs) at 04:56, 7 February 2017 (→History: Moving the "also"). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article is about the type of hoax. For its impact and the websites that publish it, see Fake news website. For other uses, see Fake news (disambiguation).

Journalism
Areas
Genres
Social impact
News media
Roles

Fake news is a type of hoax or deliberate spread of misinformation, be it via the traditional news media or via social media, with the intent to mislead in order to gain financially or politically.[1] It often employs eye-catching headlines or entirely fabricated news-stories in order to increase readership and online sharing.[1] Profit is made in a similar fashion to clickbait and relies on ad-revenue generated regardless of the veracity of the published stories.[1] Easy access to ad-revenue, increased political polarization and the ubiquity of social media, primarily the Facebook newsfeed have been implicated in the spread of fake news.[2][1] Anonymously hosted websites lacking known publishers have also been implicated, because they make it difficult to prosecute sources of fake news for slander.[3][4][5][6]

History

Fake news can be traced back to the 8th century, but the term itself arose in the United States in the late 19th century.[7] One of the earliest instances of fake news was the Great Moon Hoax of 1835. The New York Sun published articles about a real-life astronomer and a made-up colleague who, according to the hoax, had observed bizarre life on the moon. The fictionalized articles successfully attracted new subscribers, and the penny paper suffered very little backlash after it admitted the series had been a hoax the next month.[8]

Fake news is similar to the concept of yellow journalism and political propaganda, frequently employing the same strategies used by early 20th century penny presses.[9][10][11] In the late 1800s, Joseph Pulitzer and other yellow press publishers goaded the United States into the Spanish–American War, which was precipitated when the U.S.S. Maine exploded in the harbor of Havana, Cuba.[12]

Prior to 2016, the term "fake news" was frequently used to refer to satirical news, such as Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update or The Onion newspaper.[13][14] Later, this category of satirical fake news also came to include Jon Stewart's The Daily Show and Stephen Colbert's The Colbert Report.[15]

Fake news has been used in email phishing attacks for many years, with sensationalist fabrications incentivising users to click links and have their computers infected with malware.[16]

The origin of contemporary fake news is disputed, with accounts claiming[weasel words] it is part of a coordinated Russian propaganda effort aimed at the West.[17] Alternet reported that Donald Trump himself had been the source of some of the related misinformation.[18] Hillary Clinton was a prime target of fake news during her 2016 presidential candidacy, and it has been claimed[by whom?] that her loss was partly to be blamed on fake news.[19] However, a study by researchers at Stanford University and New York University concluded that fake news had "little to no effect on the outcome of the election", noting that only 8-percent of voters read a fake news story and that recall of the stories was low.[20][21][failed verification] The study concluded that "for fake news to have changed the outcome of the election, a single fake news article would need to have had the same persuasive effect as 36 television campaign ads".[22][23] Following Donald Trump's election it has been suggested[by whom?] that Angela Merkel has become the new primary target of fake news in the run-up to the 2017 German federal election.[24] The Facebook newsfeed has been heavily implicated in the spread of fake news[25][26] – Facebook itself initially denied this characterization.[27][26] In the aftermath of the American election and the run-up to the German election Facebook has begun labeling and warning of inaccurate news.[28][29][30] and partnered with independent fact-checkers to label inaccurate news, warning readers before sharing it.[31][32][33] The impact of fake news is global and part of a worldwide phenomenon.[34]

In the wake of western events China's Ren Xianling of the Cyberspace Administration of China suggested a "reward and punish" system be implemented to avoid fake news in that country.[35]

In late 2016 fake news gained notoriety following the uptick in news-content in the Facebook newsfeed,[36][2] and its prevalence on the micro-blogging site Twitter.[36] With a large portion of Americans using Facebook or Twitter to receive news,[37] in combination with increased political polarization, filter bubbles, the tendency for readers to mainly read headlines - fake news was implicated in influencing the 2016 American presidential election.[38][39] Fake news saw higher sharing on Facebook than legitimate news stories,[40][41][42] which analysts explained was because fake news often panders to expectations or is otherwise more exciting than legitimate news.[41][11] Fake news is often spread through the use of fake news websites, specializing in made up attention-grabbing news, while often impersonating widely known news sources in order to gain credibility.[43][44][45] Fake news items have occasionally spread from such sites to more well-established news-sites resulting in scandals including "Pizzagate".[46]

Definition

Fake news has been defined as news which is "completely made up and designed to deceive readers to maximise traffic and profit".[47] News satire uses exaggeration and introduces non-factural elements, but is intended to amuse or make a point, not deceive.[47]

Impact

Main article: Fake news by country

A Pew Research poll conducted in December 2016 found that 64% of U.S. adults believed completely made-up news had caused "a great deal of confusion" about the basic facts of current events, while 24% claimed it had caused "some confusion" and 11% said it had caused "not much or no confusion".[48] Additionally, 23% of those polled admitted they had personally shared fake news, either knowingly or not.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Hunt, Elle (December 17, 2016). "What is fake news? How to spot it and what you can do to stop it". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  2. ^ a b Woolf, Nicky (November 11, 2016). "How to solve Facebook's fake news problem: experts pitch their ideas". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  3. ^ "Who's to blame for fake news and what can be done about it?". Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  4. ^ Callan, Paul. "Sue over fake news? Not so fast". CNN. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  5. ^ Harvey, Kerric; author; Media, the Encyclopedia of Social; Politics. "Did Social Media Ruin Election 2016?". NPR.org. Retrieved January 15, 2017. {{cite web}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  6. ^ Woolf, Nicky (November 17, 2016). "As fake news takes over Facebook feeds, many are taking satire as fact". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  7. ^ http://archives.cjr.org/feature/before_jon_stewart.php
  8. ^ http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-great-moon-hoax
  9. ^ "To Fix Fake News, Look To Yellow Journalism | JSTOR Daily". JSTOR Daily. November 29, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  10. ^ "Russian propaganda effort helped spread 'fake news' during election, experts say". Washington Post. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  11. ^ a b Agrawal, Nina. "Where fake news came from — and why some readers believe it". latimes.com. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  12. ^ https://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/yellow-journalism
  13. ^ http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a23798/michael-che-weekend-update-snl/
  14. ^ http://www.npr.org/2013/08/29/216439725/area-man-realizes-hes-been-reading-fake-news-for-25-years
  15. ^ http://www.newsobserver.com/entertainment/books/article121956252.html
  16. ^ Tomlinson, Kerry (January 27, 2017). "Fake news can poison your computer as well as your mind". Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  17. ^ Seddon, Max (January 13, 2017). "From Russia with bluff: social media strategy sows confusion". Financial Times. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  18. ^ Holliway, Kali (January 12, 2017). "14 Fake News Stories Created or Publicized by Donald Trump". AlterNet. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  19. ^ "Clinton decries fake news 'epidemic'". POLITICO. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  20. ^ "Stanford research suggests we should stop freaking out over fake news". San Francisco Chronicle. January 24, 2017. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
  21. ^ Concha, Joe (February 2, 2017). "Fake news did not change result of 2016 election: study". The Hill. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
  22. ^ Crawford, Krysten. "Stanford study examines fake news and the 2016 presidential election". Stanford News. Stanford University. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
  23. ^ Allcott, Hunt (2017). Social Media and Fake News in the 2016 Election (PDF). Stanford University. p. 1. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
  24. ^ "Angela Merkel replaces Hillary Clinton as prime target of fake news, analysis finds". Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  25. ^ Isaac, Mike (December 12, 2016). "Facebook, in Cross Hairs After Election, Is Said to Question Its Influence". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  26. ^ a b Matthew Garrahan and Tim Bradshaw, Richard Waters, (November 21, 2016). "Harsh truths about fake news for Facebook, Google and Twitter". Financial Times. Retrieved January 17, 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ Isaac, Mike (November 12, 2016). "Facebook, in Cross Hairs After Election, Is Said to Question Its Influence". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  28. ^ Stelter, Brian (January 15, 2017). "Facebook to begin warning users of fake news before German election". CNNMoney. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  29. ^ "Clamping down on viral fake news, Facebook partners with sites like Snopes and adds new user reporting". Nieman Lab. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  30. ^ Kuchler, Hannah (January 15, 2017). "Facebook rolls out fake-news filtering service to Germany". Financial Times. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  31. ^ Stelter, Brian (January 15, 2017). "Facebook to begin warning users of fake news before German election". CNNMoney. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  32. ^ "Clamping down on viral fake news, Facebook partners with sites like Snopes and adds new user reporting". Nieman Lab. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  33. ^ Kuchler, Hannah (January 15, 2017). "Facebook rolls out fake-news filtering service to Germany". Financial Times. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  34. ^ Connolly, Kate; Chrisafis, Angelique; McPherson, Poppy; Kirchgaessner, Stephanie; Haas, Benjamin; Phillips, Dominic; Hunt, Elle; Safi, Michael (December 2, 2016). "Fake news: an insidious trend that's fast becoming a global problem". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  35. ^ "China says terrorism, fake news impel greater global internet curbs". Reuters. November 20, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  36. ^ a b "The Long and Brutal History of Fake News". POLITICO Magazine. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  37. ^ Gottfried, Jeffrey; Shearer, Elisa (May 26, 2016). "News Use Across Social Media Platforms 2016". Pew Research Center's Journalism Project. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  38. ^ "Forget Facebook and Google, burst your own filter bubble". Digital Trends. December 6, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  39. ^ Solon, Olivia (November 10, 2016). "Facebook's failure: did fake news and polarized politics get Trump elected?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  40. ^ "This Analysis Shows How Fake Election News Stories Outperformed Real News On Facebook". BuzzFeed. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  41. ^ a b "Just how partisan is Facebook's fake news? We tested it". PCWorld. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  42. ^ "Fake news is dominating Facebook". 6abc Philadelphia. November 23, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  43. ^ Chen, Adrian (June 2, 2015). "The Agency". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 25, 2016.
  44. ^ LaCapria, Kim (November 2, 2016), "Snopes' Field Guide to Fake News Sites and Hoax Purveyors - Snopes.com's updated guide to the internet's clickbaiting, news-faking, social media exploiting dark side.", Snopes.com, retrieved November 19, 2016
  45. ^ Ben Gilbert (November 15, 2016), "Fed up with fake news, Facebook users are solving the problem with a simple list", Business Insider, retrieved November 16, 2016, Some of these sites are intended to look like real publications (there are false versions of major outlets like ABC and MSNBC) but share only fake news; others are straight-up propaganda created by foreign nations (Russia and Macedonia, among others).
  46. ^ "Evidence ridiculously thin for Clinton sex network claim". @politifact. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  47. ^ a b Hunt, Elle (December 17, 2016). "What is fake news? How to spot it and what you can do to stop it". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  48. ^ Barthel, Michael; Mitchell, Amy; Holcomb, Jesse (December 15, 2016). "Many Americans Believe Fake News Is Sowing Confusion". Pew Research Center's Journalism Project. Retrieved January 27, 2017.

Further reading

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fake_news&oldid=764118137"