Fake News

Fake news is a type of yellow journalism that exhibits a deliberate attempt to misinform its
intended audience via traditional media, and today much more through social media. In the past, this
phenomenon was only loosely called sensationalism as it was perceived to be vehicle to satirize a news
item in order to generate public interest, not to mention some hearty laughs. But sensationalism has
taken a back seat to fake news. Fake news has been defined by this generation as a tool to mislead its
audience in order to gain financially or politically.

Much of this political gain is said to have been enjoyed by parties who sided with Donald Trump
during the recent US presidential elections. According to Buzzfeed, the top 20 fake news stories about
the 2016 US presidential elections registered much more readership in Facebook than the top 20 news
items from legitimate news agencies in the US. In the business side, social media has become a breeding
ground for advertisements that hide behind very catchy news and feature articles. Online advertisers
today have developed a keen sense of how to use the online ‘clickbait’ headlines and lure readers into
reading news items regardless of their veracity, more specifically engage in massive online advertising
clothed in fake news. Guy Campanile, a producer of CBS 60 Minutes even said that fake news are stories
that are fabricated deliberately, or stories concocted not to exaggerate nor elicit laughter, but simply lie.

Is the concept of fake news an entirely new concept? No, it’s not. Ancient history had its fair
share of fake news which were only called lies and propaganda but nonetheless sprang from the same
intention of framing up stories or individuals. In the 1 st century BC, Octavian did everything in his power
to ruin his rival Mark Anthony by spreading rumors of the latter’s weaknesses involving the then
Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. This eventually led to Mark Anthony’s downfall in politics. Queen Cleopatra
from her end also contributed to the demise of Mark Anthony by circulating false stories of her suicide
which devastated Mark Anthony to the point of death.

In the era of slavery in the US, the staunch supporters of the trade spread fake news of how
even history and the founding fathers of America considered African-Americans to be inferior to white
Americans. Violence ensued due to the news slant against African-Americans and fear gripped the
hearts of many Americans at the time. These and other stories of falsehood were already in existence in
the past and have affected lives and history itself to unimaginable lengths. If anything, citizens across
nations should have realized that the concept of fake news has hounded us overtime and we should
have dealt with it a long time ago in the strongest terms as possible. But there is no use crying over spilt
milk. Communication experts today have finally realized that fake news is already ‘hitting us in the face’
and that we do not have a choice but to fight it head on.

Modern media practitioners have classified fake news this way:

1. Parody- (with the intention to fool or make fun of)

2. False Connection- (content misaligned with captions)
3. Misleading Content- (with deliberate intention of framing a story or an individual)
4. False Content- (with legitimate content combined with those imagined)
5. Imposter Content- (with imagined sources)
6. Manipulated Content- (with photos or other images deliberately altered)
7. Deceptive News – (100% false content, bent on harming organizations or individuals)
Major news organizations have developed some ways to recognize fake news. Some of these are:

1. Read past the headline, and check the source.

2. Verify the authors and the date of publication.
3. Check if is only meant to make you laugh.
4. Consult experts.
5. Re-examine your own biases and prejudices.

While much have been said about fake news, about how to control them, the fact remains that
much of its proliferation is due to patronage. This generation, our generation must exercise extreme
caution before believing and subscribing to what we see on TV, what is read on print, and much more
seriously, what we have on our newsfeed every time we check our Facebook or Instagram account.
There is no stopping the information explosion synonymous with online technology. Our responsibility is
to get into the habit of fact-checking, source-verification, and sense of objectivity before taking a news
item to be true and reliable. Real news comes from legitimate and recognized news organizations.

The Social Media Day

What better way of recognizing social media as a social force than actually giving it a day of
commemoration. The Social Media Day is celebrated on the 30 th of June. The celebration depicts the fact
that communication among friend and family will never be the same again in the advent of Friendster in
2002, MySpace in 2003, Facebook in 2004 and so on. Indeed, there is more than enough reasons to
commemorate social media as it continues to dominate our social life, even business, or our life in
general.

Social Media Day was created in 2010 by Mashable, a digital multi-media website and entertainment
company. The celebration is in effect a conference that encourages creativity, shared experiences, and
exploration of the limitless possibilities of social media. In Philadelphia, the objective of the social media
day is to gather as many digital marketing professionals as it can within the community. With the
celebration, the awareness on how to enhance business with social media is highlighted.

The king of social media network is still Facebook. It has become the biggest social media influencer
of this generation.

The Business of Social Media

Recent studies have declared that in 2018, the number of social media users will balloon to as big as
2.5 billion which will put premium on the role of social media in product marketing. For Jeff Bullas -CEO,
the social network phenomenon has given birth to one very strong platform for business which we call
live streaming- an invention in 2004. This technology has allowed anyone with camera , or to as simple
as smart phone , to record, upload and view videos about everything and anything under the sun. Live
footages, short and full length films , and product endorsements abound the sensation that is YouTube.
Needless to say, both consumers and producers are now empowered to publish and entice following via
the online community.

A social media influencer is someone who is a social media persona that can affect actions of others.
In business, influencers affect the purchase decisions of others because of their perceived authority or
knowledge about the product or about quality in general.
ASSIGNMENTS:

1. Read and study the two handouts sent to you and be ready to take the next quiz on April 14-15.
2. Look for five examples of fake news and classify them according to type. Explain what makes
them fake. To be submitted on April 23-24.

Announcements:

1. Submission of the written speech will be until April 20 only.

2. Missed quizzes will be reopened on April 21-22 for those who were not able to take them.