WHAT IS “FAKE NEWS”?

“Fake news” is a term used to refer to fabricated news. Fake news is

an invention – a lie created out of nothing – that takes the appearance
of real news with the aim of deceiving people. This is what is important
to remember: the information is false, but it seems true.

That’s logical! If it is too obvious that it is a lie, it won’t have any impact.
Fake news is a little like a false rumour, but on a large scale…

Just as true information has many faces, fake news can also come in
many forms. Here are a few of them.

Political fake news

This is the main reason there has been so much talk about fake news
in the past few years: because of the number of items during the 2016
presidential election campaign.

For example, the ETF News site published the following fake news
item: “Pope Francis Shocks World, Endorses Donald Trump for
President”. This article received over 960,000 Likes, comments or
shares. But this was a lie! And of all the news – true and false –
published during the American presidential election, this fake news
item was shared the most.

Spectacular fake news

Sometimes fake news is shared
because it is sensational. Like this
item about an automobile accident
supposedly caused by playing
Pokemon Go. In this case, the
authors used a real photo, but they
gave it a title that had nothing to do
with reality.

This is a trick often used by those

who invent fake news. This item
was shared 60,000 times on
Facebook and received 150,000 Likes. Thanks to this fake news,
somebody made money in ad revenue.

Fake news that stages a celebrity

Celebrities attract attention. One example was this item invented in
2017 by a website, The Mackenzie Post, claiming that Leonardo
DiCaprio had told People (a real American magazine) that he wanted
to move to Baie-Saint-Paul, QC, to live on a farm. This news item was
shared hundreds of times, but it was totally false.

And that’s not all: this item was republished with exactly the same text,
but featuring other celebrities.

Fake news that tries to sell something

It would seem that eating bananas for 12 days is a good detox cure to
lose weight! It would also prevent headaches, help you sleep better,
etc. In short, it’s a real miracle… and obviously 100% false.

News of this kind floods the Internet, and young people are often the
preferred targets: miracle diet to lose 10 kilos in one week, to become
a better athlete, to do well on your exams, etc. You must remember
that obviously, just because this was shared by a friend doesn’t make it
true, and just because it’s promoted by your favourite celebrity doesn’t
make it any truer! Everyone suspects that there are plenty of hidden
ads on the web, especially on Instagram, but we tend to forget that
when it’s said by a person we like. For example, a blogger who pitches
a special tea to lose weight and have a flat belly… But if this product
sells for $60 a month, it’s a good idea to think twice before committing
to such an expense.

The blogger herself may believe it. But it’s also possible she’s being
paid to sell this product— and nothing obliges her to tell us.

Fake news that creates fear

According to a post that
circulated on Facebook at one
time, evil clowns were
circulating in Saint-Jérôme, QC.
This post was shared over
63,000 times.

Maybe some people saw it as a

joke, but many believed it,
because the fear of evil clowns
— which is a false rumour — is
fairly widespread and has
raised fears all over the world ever since.
Fake news that promotes racist ideas
In 2017, this photo was
published on the web by an
anti-immigration group. People
were angry to see a bus full of
veiled women.

But these aren’t veiled women.

If you take a few seconds to
look at the picture carefully,
you’ll see that in reality, they are empty bus seats!

This is an example of a publication that contributes to sustaining fear of

others. It is also an example of a publication that primarily reaches
people who already have some fear when they think of a group
different from theirs. Instead of launching a discussion or a dialogue,
this type of publication instead serves to whip up fear or intolerance.
Although it was completely false, you should know this publication
generated plenty of Likes, comments and Shares on social media.

Fake news that sustains sexist ideas

According to the same logic, it is very easy to launch rumours or
information tailor-made to sustain erroneous ideas about women.

Several memes like these are

published on the Web. This post,
circulating on Facebook and
Instagram, maintains the idea that
girls are superficial, while boys
accomplish great things! Under the
cover of a joke, this post is overtly
sexist.

Fake news that sustains

myths and conspiracies
There are also myths and urban legends on the Web. For example, the
Illuminati who “control the world”, the UFOs the US military is “hiding
from us”, people who affirm the Earth is flat…

Obviously, this is nonsense, but it circulates extensively on the Web

and social media. There are an enormous number of conspiracy
videos on YouTube as well.
Pranks
The main purpose of a hoax is to draw us into a trap. Like an April
Fool’s joke.

A golden eagle flies away with a child in a park. This prank was
created by 3D animation students. The video was viewed 8 million
times, according to the newspaper La Presse. Many people believed it
was true. This was a joke deliberately constructed to fool people.
Fortunately, the students quickly revealed how they had arranged to
deceive us.

Satires
Things are a little different with satire. The goal is to make people
laugh, like this publication from The Onion. However, satires can lead
to confusion. In Québec, Le Journal de Mourréal and La Pravda are
satirical sites. Their publications are funny, but if you only see the
headlines on social media, they can fool people. Among the 65,000
people who shared this information on Facebook that the Hells Angels
demonstrated against the legalization of cannabis, some believed it
was a real news item.

In interviews they granted, the authors behind the Journal de Mourréal

confided that they knew some readers would be fooled, but they
believe it’s up to them to exercise their critical abilities.

Opinions and allegations presented as facts

An opinion is not a fabricated lie. The person may believe it in good
faith. But if the opinion or the allegation is presented as the truth, this
can lead to confusion. That’s because an opinion is not a fact and an
allegation is not a proven fact either.

Certain types of messages received by private

messaging
Some fake news circulates in private messages. This may be by text,
by email or by Messenger. For example, fraud attempts by text are
common.
You must never send money or
click on a link texted by an
unknown person. Banks,
governments and the police do not
communicate by text. Clicking on a
link may allow a fraudster to hack
your phone. Rumours can also
circulate on messaging applications
like Whatsapp or Snapchat. Often
people are asked to alert their
friends about a threat. Participating
in these rumours can be
dangerous.

In India, thirty people died after

rumours circulated on Whatsapp. The same thing happened in Nigeria,
where 11 people died because of fake photos that were circulating.
There were also similar incidents in Mexico.

You should realize that if there is really a danger, the police will alert
the public through other channels, such as TV or their own social
media accounts. You must not spread rumours or warnings when you
do not know the source.

Certain types of YouTube videos

YouTube is for amusement, but it is also an information source. Even
funny videos can attempt to influence you.

https://youtu.be/_BO3q6JloPg

In this case, Mouton lucide (Lucid Sheep) makes a comical video to

explain why the fluoride added to toothpaste is dangerous. But he is
wrong in the first few seconds when he affirms that fluoride is toxic.
This is true, but only in large doses. This is the case for all substances.
As chemists say, “it’s the dose that makes the poison”.

There are only three cases in history of people who were poisoned by
fluoride…including a woman who ate a whole tube of toothpaste every
day! In small doses, as in toothpaste, fluoride protects the teeth.

There are hundreds of videos like this one on YouTube in English. You
must always ask yourself if a YouTuber has the necessary
qualifications to talk about a given subject. Especially if this is a subject
concerning health!
Manipulated videos featuring celebrities…
Fake videos have existed for a long time. But until recently, this only
happened in Hollywood. It took talent and plenty of time to fake a
video.

Deepfake is a new technology that uses artificial intelligence to fake

videos. With an application that can be downloaded, images are used
to “teach” artificial intelligence to imitate a face. When this is done, the
software can insert the face in any video.

https://youtu.be/gLoI9hAX9dw

The results are not always convincing, but this is just the beginning.
The technology will surely improve. And this allows anyone to fake a
video, even with no talent.

This may seem funny, but it’s worrying. Imagine if someone created a
fake video of the President of the United States declaring war… In any
case, this type of technology worries a lot of people!

Just because you disagree with an opinion

doesn’t mean it’s fake news
Be careful not to consider an opinion to be fake news just because you
disagree with it. A politician, whenever he is criticized, might be
tempted to say it’s fake news, but that would be dishonest. First you
must ask yourself whether the criticism is based on facts or opinions.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion: people who say they don’t like a
specific politician or a specific film therefore cannot be accused of
publishing fake news. On the other hand, people who attribute
completely invented statements or dialogue to a politician or a film they
don’t like have published fake news in an attempt to present their
opinion as the truth.

Let’s emphasize once again: an opinion is not a fact.

Reference (Taken from)

Dubois International Inc. (2019). What is Fake News? #30 Sec to
Check it Out. Fighting Fake New.
https://30secondes.org/en/module/what-is-fake-news/