Cabral, Rainier Jade A.

Video Analysis on Fake News

In this digital era where most people find news and information on the web
through just a handful of social media sites and search engines, blatant fake news
cases are becoming countless. As a frequent user of social media platforms, particularly
Facebook, I always encounter posts that contain fake news. Fake news is intentionally
fabricate information and intended to make someone believe in its content that is not
true. Fake news is nothing new. But, what is new is how easy it's become to share
information – both true and false – on a massive scale. Social media platforms like
Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn allow almost anyone to publish their thoughts or share
stories to the world. The trouble is, most people don't check the source of the material
that they view online before they share it, which can lead to fake news spreading quickly
or even "going viral."

According to TRU Library, fake news has three characteristics: factually inaccurate,
optimized for sharing and meant to obscure or distort with emotions; preying on
prejudice or bias. A news story is not fake simply because it is impolite or inconvenient. 
A news story that challenges your beliefs or values isn't fake news.   A news story that
is rejected by those in power does not make that story a fake news story either. When
looking at news, you have to treat it as if you are trying to evaluate information for
research. Approach what you see and hear rationally and critically. As said in the video,
there five-step process to identify a fake news and it is called 5 c’s of critical consuming.
5c stands for credibility, context, construction, corroboration and compare. First, we
must look on the context of the article. Check the credibility of the sources if the site
have a reputation for journalistic integrity and if the author cite credible sources. Check
the URL of the page, too. .) Strange-sounding URLs that end in extensions like
".infonet" and ".offer," rather than ".com" or ".co.uk," or that contain spelling errors, may
mean that the source is suspect. Next is to analyze the construction if it is bias and if it
uses propaganda techniques or having pure speculations. If a story sounds
unbelievable, it probably is. Bear in mind that fake news is designed to "feed" your
biases or fears. And, remember, just because a story sounds "right" and true, doesn't
mean that it is. Corroborate the information with other credible news sources or other
well-known news publishers and compare to get a different perspective. If these tips
suggest that the information that you have is fake, or if you have any doubts about it,
avoid sharing it with others. According to one study of Stanford University, elementary,
middle, and high school students are shockingly bad at determining fact from fiction.
Fake news can affect the students. They might start to believe that they no longer need
facts to back up their arguments so learning becomes ineffective. Others start to
mistrust information all together. They stop listening to industry news or reports, and
disengage entirely, slowing their professional growth and development. Ultimately, this
can damage students’ learning culture. Fake news can affect behavior, too. It
encourages people to invent excuses, to dismiss others' ideas, to exaggerate the truth,
and to spread rumor. There is a role everyone should play in stopping the spread of
fake news. The very important to note is old saying “think before you click/share”. Use
all the tips to distinguish fake news. If we are all aware of the authenticity of the
information we encounter, then we can limit the widespread of fake one. Debunking a
fake news is a great help to inform the people around and help lessen the victims.

Fake news has been circulating on social media that first volunteer, Elisa
Granato, in the Oxford vaccine trial has died after three later. But according to Fergus
Walsh, a medical of correspondent of BBC News, she is very much alive and told him
via Skype that she is absolutely fine. In the Philippines, DDS bloggers said that local
transmission is not possible, especially not in a tropical country like Philippines because
heat kills viruses. According to World Health Organization, there is no proof that
summer heat can reduce COVID19 cases. Also there are a lot of cases of local
transmission of COVID19 here in the Philippines, according to WHO Philippines official.

Information shapes our world view; we make important decisions based on

information. We form an idea about people or a situation by obtaining information. So, if
the information we saw on the Web is invented, false, exaggerated, or distorted, we
won’t make good decisions. Fake news has become a real issue in recent times. It is
very alarming how fake news spread faster than the authentic one and it reaches many
audiences that can easily deceive because of lack of knowledge on how to identify fake
news. Communication becomes less effective if the information we receive and give are
fake. Fake news can influence public consciousness, trust and resilience during
disruptive events and crises. With the help of teachers and their commitment to media
literacy, fake news may no longer be used to mislead the masses or influence an
election. Students armed with a positive skepticism of fake news can become change
agents rather than victims.

References

Golding, A. (2020). Fact or Fiction: Fake News and Its Impact on Education.
Association of Middle Level Education.

LibGuides. (2020, April). Retrieved from https://libguides.lmu.edu/fakenews

Ma. Reina Tolentino, T. (March 9, 2020). WHO: No Proof heat can reduce Covid cases.
The Manila Times.

Schetinger, V. (2015). Humans Are Easily Fooled by Digital Images.

The Impact of Fake News. (2020). Emerging Issues.

Walsh, F. (2020). Vaccine Volunteer very much alive - despite reports. BBC News.