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"Fake news" in the time of COVID-19

Presentation · March 2020

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.17440.74243

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Danilo Araña Arao

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Danilo A. Arao
Associate Professor of Journalism
University of the Philippines (UP)
Diliman

Associate Editor, Bulatlat

Editor, Media Asia
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D. A. Arao 27 March 2020

Discussion outline
• What is “fake news”?
• What are examples of “fake news”?
• How do you spot “fake news”?
• Why are there “fake news”?
• Who benefits from “fake news”?
• How should we analyze “fake news”
• What is to be done? (conclusion)
• Where do we go from here? (recommendation)
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D. A. Arao 27 March 2020

What is “fake news”?

• (Compound Noun) “false, often sensational,
information disseminated under the guise of
news reporting” (Collins Dictionary; word of the
Year in 2017)
• Refers to lies, misinformation and
disinformation; also “alternative facts”
• Used since 1890 as a compound noun; before
that the term “false news” was used
• Related term used in the recent past: “zombie
facts”
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D. A. Arao 27 March 2020

What is “fake news”?

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D. A. Arao 27 March 2020

What
is
“fake
news”?
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D. A. Arao 27 March 2020

What
is
“fake
news”?
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D. A. Arao 27 March 2020

What are examples

of “fake news”?
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D. A. Arao 27 March 2020

What are examples of “fake news”?

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D. A. Arao 27 March 2020

What
are
examples
of “fake
news”?
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D. A. Arao 27 March 2020

What is “fake news”?

Allegedly real (1:40 p.m.) Allegedly fake (12:52 p.m.)

@bongbongmarcos @hackneyedutopia

Only BBM tested; still waiting for Testing done for BBM and all staff;
results results negative
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D. A. Arao 27 March 2020

What is “fake news”?

• @hackneyedutopia
▫ Name: GABBY (no surname)
▫ Profile: "New Account • Naturalist • Marcos
Loyalist •"
▫ First tweet: March 18, 10:15 p.m.
▫ 357 tweets as of March 26, 9:36 p.m.
▫ 75 following, 9 followers
• Some media organizations and socmed
“influencers” used this “dubious” account as
source in reporting the alleged statement of Liza
Marcos about her husband Bongbong.
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D. A. Arao 27 March 2020

What is “fake news”?

• Looks fake, but REAL
• Reflection of the kind of officials we have
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D. A. Arao 27 March 2020

What is “fake news”?

• Looks fake,
but REAL
(alarmist
spin)
• Reflection
of the kind
of officials
we have
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REAL COVID-19 DATA

As of March 27, 2020 Philippines World

1:30 p.m.
Deaths 45 21,031
Confirmed cases 707 465,915
Case fatality rate 6.36% 4.51%
(deaths / cases) x 100
Sources of basic data: DOH, WHO
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FAKE COVID-19 INFO

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How do you spot “fake news”?

• Form
▫ Grammar, syntax, diction
▫ Source (i.e., institution, author, URL, handle)
▫ Graphics (i.e., logo, pictures, footage)
• Content
▫ Names, places, events, dates
▫ Verifiability of messages
▫ Sense of “urgency,” “alarm” and other subjective
feelings
▫ Eagerness to share
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D. A. Arao 27 March 2020

Why are there “fake news”?

• To silence dissent by spreading lies repeated
over and over by an army of trolls
• To discredit the critical media by branding them
as “fake news” peddlers
• To consolidate the regime’s support base by
framing an “alternative reality” based on
“alternative facts”
• To justify repressive policies and programs in
the absence of truth
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D. A. Arao 27 March 2020

Who benefits from “fake news”?

• Authoritarian governments (e.g., Hitler’s
reference to the media as the “lying press”)
• Organized online trolls who earn from engaging
in flame wars, character assassinations and
other logical fallacies
• Individuals who engage in debates without the
benefit of research
• Defenders of the status quo, no matter how
repressive it has become
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D. A. Arao 27 March 2020

How should we
analyze “fake news”?
• Fake news as an industry
• Dominant media’s corporate
structure makes it prone to
spreading “fake news”
▫ e.g., Facebook’s profit-
oriented perspective
prevents filtering
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How should
we analyze
“fake news”?
• Selection
of
columnists
is based on
what?
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D. A. Arao 27 March 2020

How should we
analyze
“fake news”?
• And while we’re at
it, selection of
broadcasters is
based on what?
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Last case study...

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What is to be done?
• Be critical
▫ Don’t believe everything you read, watch or listen
to
• Don’t feed the trolls
▫ Engage in constructive criticism if necessary
• Take the media to task for their weaknesses
• Don’t just depend on one source of information
▫ Multi-sourcing is most important
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D. A. Arao 27 March 2020

Where do we go from here?

• Expose the government and many its supporters
(especially online) as purveyors of “fake news”
• Oppose “fake news” provision in RA 11469
• Expose baseless media accreditation for
coverage in quarantine areas
• Be critical of how national and local government
repress freedom of the press and of expression
in the guise of containing COVID-19 pandemic
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D. A. Arao 27 March 2020

Danilo A. Arao
Associate Editor, Bulatlat