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Research Paper

Youth’s Susceptibility to Fake News

Marks: 45/50 = 90/100 A+

SAMPLE PAPER
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Index

 Introduction Page 3

 Literature Review Page 4

 Methodology Page 8
 Results Page 9
 Conclusion Page 11
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Preamble:

United Nations defines the ‘youth’ as any individual between the ages of 15-24.
This definition indicates that the youth being referred to belongs to Generation Z
who are born between 1997 onwards. The current youth has been born in a world
surrounded by technology and consequently an influx of information. Through the
internet, they have access to countless resources and sources of news. This
limitless spread of information has caused globalisation. Through this, hybrid
identities begin to emerge with multiple facets of identity, possibly conflicting,
evolving due to the spread of various cultures and information through social
media. Individuals begin to choose certain aspects of identity by relying on the
information they are presented with. However, their reliance may be damaging as
they have been born in an age where it has become easy to manipulate
information, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish between fake or
legitimate news. Fake news is a form of news that consists of intentional
disinformation spread through either traditional news media or online social
media. This causes a change in identity and values and beliefs and thus has an
extremely crucial effect on their lives. In this research paper, I want to find out
whether or not the youth is diligent enough to make the distinction.

Rationale and Aim

The reason I decided to choose this topic is that I believe that there is a common
conception that young adults are prone to believe and spread false information.
They do not feel any inclination to research the information they receive, before
disseminating it further. Within this project, I will try to determine whether the
youth makes the effort to research the authenticity of information and news they
are exposed to, or if not then why.
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Literature Review

a) The Social Dilemma is a documentary highlighting the issues of social media

being used as a device to influence and subliminally affect the thoughts and
views of those who use it. The sole sources of information they use in the
documentary are former employees or renowned experts of popular social
media companies and by doing so the documentary presents itself as an
authentic description of the motives behind these corporations and the extent
of their influence. It discusses how these different platforms (Google, Twitter,
etc.) focus their advertisements and content based on what they believe will
achieve consistent attention from the user. In the process of doing so, the need
to distinctly categorize between the factual and non-factual is not put first
which therefore leads to a wider acceptance of ‘fake news’ as it is what is put
forth. This means that the information an individual receives is not based on
whether it is accurate but instead on whether that attracts the attention of the
viewer. This has caused an increased polarisation among the population as
distinct opinions begin to be expressed and advertised that lead to resentment
towards anyone who opposes them. Another point of discussion is how the
youth is now even more greatly affected by these influences, as compared to
previous generations, due to their immersion into social media at a young age.
They internalise the standards they see in popular media which then have the
potential to affect their mental health. They begin to depend on these sites as a
source of validation and information and thus begin to believe a lot of the
content presented to them. 1

b) 5th Generation warfare and Pakistan2 is an op-ed focused on the term ‘fifth-
generation war’ and its role in the context of Pakistani society and what
measures we can use to reduce its effects. Fifth Generation War refers to the
conflict created by the manipulation of information and highlights that modern
warfare is not limited to state actors. With the increasing ease in spreading
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information and rapidly expanding communication systems, certain groups

have used that to incite hatred and propaganda regarding those they are in
conflict with. This is an extremely powerful use of fake news as through this
manipulation these parties can disrupt and even potentially dismantle the
systems of their oppositions. The need for Pakistan to understand this issue
and strategically react to it is severe. This can be utilised to emphasise the need
for the youth to be able to distinguish fake news and actively make choices to
not be susceptible to it, otherwise, there is a threat to not only their individual
autonomy but to their nation and community.

c) How analyzing patterns helps students spot deceptive media is an article that
examines the approach needed to distinguish fake news. The author, Claire
Ahn, describes methods to help the youth understand the approach they need
to take when receiving any article of news. Without critical thinking and
conscious intake of knowledge, students are susceptible to misinformation and
will then further disseminate that knowledge. Sources of news have a motive
behind their actions and utilise certain tools to achieve that motive. This
includes how documentaries use dramatic music or lightning to create more
suspense or how Television channels use bright images to emphasise an issue.
This can then adversely affect the individual as information presented with the
same tools is then more likely to be accepted as factual and can lead to
deception. To dismantle this students need to recognise these patterns and not
allow them to falsely stimulate them into belief and this is vital for them to
improve their media literacy. 3

d) The Effects of Participatory Propaganda: From Socialization to Internalization of

Conflicts explores topics such as the definition of the term propaganda and how
it is used as a device to manipulate the masses to participate in the
propagandists' agenda. Digital media has eradicated the gap between where
content is created and where it is consumed and discussed and thus has
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combined news consumption with social interaction. There no longer is a

distinction between content generation and content discussion so it further
amplifies the spread of propaganda or any potential opportunities to do so.
Forms of propaganda can be seen that focus on user engagement through the
portrayal of the emotional, imaginary, and so-called "fake news" and through
the activity of computational propaganda. Crowdsourcing helps understand
participatory propaganda as it highlights not only the use of mobile phones as a
distributor of news but as an instrument to tackle the issues seen. This
participatory propaganda has allowed the manipulation of the people to
become easier. The internalisation of conflict refers to how the individual views
conflict and how different objects are seen in regard to conflict. So propaganda,
especially digital propaganda, has created a change in how the conflict is
internalised and consequently shaped social interaction. 4

e) You’re probably more susceptible to misinformation than you think tackles not
only why people are susceptible to fake news but how it might be a conscious
decision. This refers to how people may know that they are sharing fake news
but may proceed to do as it supports bias. This comes with greater distrust of
media after which people have begun to question what is being told to them
and instead choose the information that helps support their belief. 'Spurious
thinking' as it is referred to in the article. However, the distrust alone cannot
attribute to this apparent rejection of critical thinking and so psychological
experiments have been conducted to find a definitive reason. These
experiments showed a likelihood that intelligence is not a factor. Rather the
focus should be on contextualising this decision. With this influx of information,
the individual is likely to believe any information that supports any previous
bias so that they would not have to do additional research on forfeit their
view.5

f) Digital Media Literacy: Social Media Use for News Consumption among
Teenagers in Pakistan is a research paper based in Pakistan. The internet can
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now be accessed through several gadgets on several platforms and as the

accessibility increases so does use of these by teenagers. In 2015, it estimated
that 92% of teenagers use some form of social media and in the 5 years since
that estimate the number is likely to have increased. Therefore, these social
media sites have moulded the delivery and use of news completely. With the
increased use also comes increased worry about social media. The research
carried out in the article shows that the youth is likely to not fact check the
information they are provided and thus are unconscious participants of the
spread of fake news. They cannot identify fact from fiction and that reflects on
the Pakistani education system. The need for critical thinking skills and media
literacy is greatly increasing as the amount of news increases and this needs to
be addressed by the government. 6

g) The Great Hack is a documentary centred on the issue of the power of data and,
particularly, its use in politics. Cambridge Analytica was one of the single
greatest stores of individual data and manipulated the information they had on
individuals and used that to further the motives of political campaigns like that
of Brexit and of Ted Cruz and Donald Trump in 2016. By using information
regarding each person’s content consumer habits, they presented them with
information that would influence support for that specific campaign. The
company focused on those who had the potential to be swayed in one direction
and would use targeted advertisements to do so. It demonstrates just the
control information can have over the population and how manipulation of
facts can cause a great change, such as how Ted Cruz became one of the least
popular candidates in the primaries to the most popular candidate right behind
Trump due to this company This led to one of the biggest scandal’s in social
media history when Facebook’s creator, Mark Zuckerberg, was made to appear
in front of the U.S. Senate and be confronted on these issues. It sparked a great
debate on the rights of people when it comes to data and how much
participation social media should have in these larger political issues that have
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long term effects across the globe. Data is now a commodity and, in fact, the
most valuable commodity there is. The youth play into this as they are the
greatest users of social media and websites owned by Facebook and thus are
the likely targets of this manipulation. 7

h) Fake news: a teenage dilemma limits the role of fake news in terms of teenagers
and their relationship with it. The author explains how the current generation
of teenagers and youth are faced with a vast amount of information and this
influx makes it difficult for them to discern false information. In a small
experiment they conducted with schoolchildren, they presented the students
with three articles of news and instructed them to distinguish whether they are
true or false. The students were seen to question the presented information
appropriately but would then not be able to accurately make the
distinguishment. The author believes this to be caused not by the level of
intelligence of the student but by the fact that, on a daily basis, they are
presented with so much data, with a lot of it being fake and manipulative, so it
becomes harder for them to distinctly view information. 8

i) 5 Things to Check Before Sharing News About Politics is an article pertaining to

the individual's agency in spreading information and the steps they may take to
prevent the dissemination of misinformation. Critical thinking is a highly
important ability that a person must equip themselves with so they may be able
to understand, evaluate, and question the news they are reading. They must
then fact check their information to ensure its validity and credibility. 9

Methodology

Data: The research will use primary data and secondary data.

Primary data: A Google form was administered consisting of 10 multiple-choice

questions. The questionnaire was distributed among individuals between the ages
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of 15-24. with 88 responses. Questions were regarding personal experiences with

fake news and the subsequent sharing of that news. The sample was largely from a
similar age group and age distribution was as follows

Results
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51% of parents and 62% of children have never heard of the term “fake news” a.

A study in 2019 found 43% of social media users admitted to sharing inaccurate
content themselves and 17.5% admitted that they thought the news was fake
before sharing it.b

a
[ CITATION BOŽ19 \l 1033 ]https://www.voicesofyouth.org/blog/fake-news-life-threatening-
phenomenon
b
(Chadwick 2019) https://www.lboro.ac.uk/media/media/subjects/communication-media-
studies/downloads/chadwick-vaccari-o3c-1-news-sharing-on-uk-social-media-1.pdf
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Thirty-one percent of kids aged 10 to 18 shared a news story online that they later
found out was wrong or inaccurate, while only 44% say they can tell a fake news
story from a real one, research published by Common Sense Media finds. c

Conclusion

From the data collected as well as the literature review, it can be concluded that
the youth is, in fact, susceptible to fake news and can be seen to actively participate
in the dissemination of that news. This is directly related to social media becoming
a primary source of news and due to the weaponization of information by external
forces who use these resources to spread propaganda. The rapid information
influx through social media has reduced the inclination to research news and thus
increases said susceptibility. News and information have now become instruments
in fifth-generation wars and the apparent susceptibility of the youth is utilised in
those conflicts.

c
(Robb 2017) https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/our-new-research-shows-where-kids-get-
their-news-and-how-they-feel-about-it
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Orlowski, Jeff. “The Social Dilemma”. Netflix. January 26, 2020

2
Durrani, Mohsin. “5th Generation warfare and Pakistan”. Daily Times. October 08, 2020.
https://dailytimes.com.pk/572553/5th-generation-warfare-and-pakistan/

3
Ahn, Claire. “How analyzing patterns helps students spot deceptive media”. The Conversation. February 4, 2019.
https://theconversation.com/how-analyzing-patterns-helps-students-spot-deceptive-media-110490

4
Asmolov, Gregory. “The Effects of Participatory Propaganda: From Socialization to Internalization of Conflicts”. Journal of
Design and Science. Aug 07, 2019
https://jods.mitpress.mit.edu/pub/jyzg7j6x/release/2

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Lilleker, Darren. “You’re probably more susceptible to misinformation than you think”. The Conversation. January
11, 2020.
https://theconversation.com/youre-probably-more-susceptible-to-misinformation-than-you-think-129171

6
Abbasi and Huang. “Digital Media Literacy: Social Media Use for News Consumption among Teenagers in
Pakistan.” Global Media Journal. May 30, 2020
https://www.globalmediajournal.com/open-access/digital-media-literacy-social-media-use-for-news-
consumption-among-teenagers-in-pakistan.php?aid=87981

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Amer, Noujaim. “The Great Hack.” January 26, 2019

8
Rajan and Amol. “Fake news: a teenage dilemma.” BBC News. 19 October 2017.
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-41665814

9
Knorr, Caroline. “5 Things to Check Before Sharing News About Politics”. Common Sense Media. March 8 th, 2020.
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/5-things-to-check-before-sharing-news-about-politics