Fake News in the Age of Social Media

By Annabel Gorman, September 22, 2021

In today’s political landscape, we often hear about “fake news,” specifically in relation to political news posted on Facebook and other social media sites. This term is often used by both political parties to describe news that does not serve their agenda. With the 2016 and 2020 election, we heard political leaders claiming that credible news sources and journalism where fake and rigged against them. Again, with covid-19, we have seen doctors’ opinions being described as fake news, as well as information about the covid-19 vaccine being described as fake news. This leaves the average reader wondering: what really is fake news?

 In UNESCO’s video segment, Fake News and Disinformation: A handbook for journalism education and training, Julie Posetti and George Papagiannis define fake news and describe its dangers (UNESCO, 2018). Posetti begins by pointing out that fake news is not really news, which must be rooted in reality. They explain that fake news has been used to discredit journalists as a way of avoiding accountability. This aligns with my personal view of fake news, which is that it is used by political leaders to silence opposition. 

In the video segment, Posetti and Papagiannis define the three types of fake news, which are also defined in Wyss’s Covering of the Environment (2008). The first type is disinformation, which is the spread of deliberately false information (Unesco, 2018). Disinformation is spread in a way that is meant to be conspicuous and not easily recognizable, which makes it a large threat to factual reporting. The second type of fake news is misinformation, which is false information that is spread without malicious intent (Unesco, 2018). While unintentional, this form of fake news can still negatively affect the reputation of journalism. The final form of fake news is malinformation. This is when information that may have an element of truth as well as misinformation is spread to intentionally cause harm. (Unesco, 2018). This poses a serious threat to journalists, especially women, who are often the target of violent or explicit malinformation (Unesco, 2018). 

The rise of fake news is also associated with the rise of social media. As Wyss says, citizens are often posting more about their experiences, but this leads to the potential for disinformation (2008, 200). In my personal experience with social media, I have seen the spread of disinformation, particularly regarding the covid-19 virus and vaccination. On Facebook, I often see residents from my hometown post stories about how masking does not work and how vaccines are ineffective. This typically leads to hundreds of people arguing in the comments, with both sides referring to each other as “fake news.” The World Health Organization says that the rise of misinformation regarding covid-19 can, in serious cases, lead to death (WHO, 2021). One example they give is that only 63% of people polled across 23 countries plan to get or have gotten the covid-19 vaccine (WHO, 2021). This percentage is under that which is needed for herd immunity, and may be a contributing factor to increasing deaths. 

Despite the spread of fake news, Wyss illustrates that social media does provide an invaluable platform for coverage. One example they give was during hurricane Harvey, citizens were able to use social media to report on flood damage as well as safety concerns (Wyss, 2008, 200).