Fake News in Social Media

Spotting fake news used to be as easy as using one’s common sense. But with the muddled online world nowadays, flagging fake news has become more complex. Click-bait article titles paid websites, trolls, targeted propaganda campaigns and a lot of other things factor in the proliferation of fake news online. Suddenly, the use of common sense isn’t the only thing needed to avoid being fooled by fake news creators.

Misinformation and other targeted propaganda ignite the public to form incorrect opinions, promote a culture of hate speech, cyber-bullying, violent extremism, and reduce trust in the media and the process of democracy. Considering this ugly side of the internet, the youth is handed an increased level of responsibility to evaluate online news and empower others to weed out disinformation in social media and across the online environment.