Fake News Imposter

Fake News is a topic that is well-known across the globe. We encounter it every single day in some way, shape, or form. But how do we spot it? Why do people purposefully spread misinformation? When researching fake news, the main platform that carries fake news appears to be social media. For example, recently there has been national attention on a bullying case from September of 2023, which unfortunately led to a young girl losing her life. The media as of the last few weeks has been uproaring about the events and has been creating fake reports of the bullies and their parents getting reprimanded. Why? Because this is what the media wants to see, they want to see some form of justice for the family of the victim. The main sources of this have been Instagram and TikTok, but when further diving into this case, these "reports" are not true at all. The social media users who are spreading this information are using the emotional aspect of this case specifically to persuade the viewer to believe what they are putting out there. In a Psychology Today article "7 Reasons Why We Fall for Fake News" https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/thoughts-thinking/201911/7-reasons-why-we-fall-fake-news, written by Christopher Dwyer, states "Fake news, like propaganda, can evoke and breed emotions like fear and anger in the reader or listener. If you’re emotional, you’re not thinking rationally and are more susceptible to falling for fake news." The empathetic side is going to take over and block your critical thinking skills from rationalizing what is actually going on. To spot this, always cross-reference what you're seeing, and check big sources that you trust. I noticed this is an extremely common strategy that is used among those who want to spread misinformation. Using one of the most vulnerable aspects of a person to grab their attention and simply feed into it. Those who aim to stop the misinformation from spreading typically counteract the claim with links to news sites or sources relating directly to the issue or event. I usually find this is the case with recent events within the last couple of years since social media is where everything happens now. [1 link, 1 image, 1 quote, 368 words]