Preventing Effects of Fake News
Fake news is not a modern phenomenon. It is a phenomenon that has always existed in some form or medium aimed at achieving a certain target of misleading. But with the advent of technology and the rise of social media and other communication technologies, fake news has metastasized to levels never seen before. But what does fake news mean or imply? Fake news is implied as to the deliberate or intentional disinformation and misinformation of people. The misinformation may also not be deliberately created to mislead a polity, but it is misinformation no less. Fake news is importantly effective in giving ahistorical data on certain facts, all of which aim to give subjective attention to a social problem, all for the benefit of the “owner” of the problem. To better handle the effects of fake news, it is important to recognize the information’s purveyor and their motives in sharing the news. It seeks one to be aware of their power and always strive to be accountable, and fact checks the information they have before sharing the news.
In the 21st century, the medium through which the message is sharing is as important as the message itself. McLuhan (1964) identifies that the medium is the message implying that the medium’s nature (channel in which the message is relayed to the listener) is as important in giving the message meaning or in shaping the content of the message. This essentially provides a spotlight to the person behind the message, pointing out that as a reader, or consumer of the message, it becomes important to know the reason why the message was shared as much as what is in the message to understand its implication.
With the growth in media and social media, most people can (that they did not have before) share their perspectives and ideologies with the world, even when it is not objective or factual. The medium (social media, news houses, etc.) can shape the message to their ends to maintain their self-interest. As such, an objectified view and a view that listens to both sides of the story is an important element in the analysis of news or information. Taking only a single side does not guarantee that the information is accurate. There is a great need to approach the issue without stereotypical assumptions and giving all perspectives a chance to express their views, and presenting both these views as the objective story.
Understanding the historical context of an argument is also critical in defining factual news from fake news. The media is an essential element in the construction of a social problem. The media’s role in spreading information is identifying the problem’s owner and giving both sides of the problem enough platform to share their views. People’s perception of their reality, that is, the objective reality and knowledge, depends on events that define those moments rather than the facts on the ground. Simmons and Lawrence (2001) argue that the social construction of a problem in the West has always been beneficial to the problem’s owner rather than the actual reality.
One should take time to have a holistic understanding of the problem based on its historical context and from their define the problem’s owner without disregarding their importance and demeaning their interests. It also considers social injustices that persist and the historical aspects that bring about a problem rather than just reviewing the problem at face value. As such, reviewing crime in America, for example, should not just dwell on defining crime through the contemporary statistics and their effects but also taking into account why crime came to be associated with a certain group and why it persists within the group. This allows a person to avoid stereotypical tendencies and become objective in their analysis of information central to defining a problem.
References
McLuhan, Marshall, (1967) The Medium Is the Massage. New York, London, Toronto: Bantam Books. Print.
Simmons, H. P., & Lawrence, R. G. (2001). The politics of force: Media and the construction of
police brutality. Contemporary Sociology, 30(5), 520.Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.2307/3089363
