Internet and social media platforms
Internet and social media platforms are used to share different information and news. Different people have different opinions and views, and whenever confronted with any negativity or positive effects, people turn to social media and internet platforms to share with others. The Internet has facilitated the spread of news at a very high speed enabling people from different parts to access the information easily. Some information shared by the internet and social media platform users can be true or false stories. The Internet has contributed to the spread of false and actual news leading to fake news and misinformation. Social media and the internet have, therefore, encouraged the spread of fake and misinformation news.
People have always turned to the internet to seek to align information with personal views and beliefs. A greater contributor to fake news is due to the desire other people have of wanting to look for the information that is already known to the others. When one person has a clue of something, they may share with others, and at the same, it may contribute to the spread of fake news. Viewers and supporters’ comments can help people to distinguish between fake and true news. True news will have positive comments to some extent, while the fake news may not have as many comments as the true news. People also tend to share with other people the type of news they came across while some of this news may not have strong bases to rely on.
With peer influence, fake news widely spread. This is attributed to the fact that some people may want to view what their friends have viewed. The reliable news can be found in almost all the websites with the reporters being accountable for their works and actions. On the other hand, fake news, there is nobody account for the news. Accountability counts, for instance, when there is a lack of clarity in some information. Only the true news the reporters will be ready to make the clarifications.
The spread of the under coverage news facilitates the spread of fake news. Some people want to take advantage of others. Laziness makes some reporters to make shallow research about a certain issue while others do not do any research. And because they want to post and update others on the spreading news, they share any information they can get without having an overview. Before they come to realize the mistakes in the shared news, millions of people have already accessed the wrong information. Lack of accountability and stealing other people’s information, has therefore contributed to fake information.
In general, misinformation and fake news have circulated over a long period. The circulation of such news has been influenced by the advanced use of the internet and social media. To many people, it is not easy for them to differentiate between true and fake news. The attention given to different news helps many people to differentiate between true and fake news. News misinterpretations and misinformation has been contributed by the wretchedness of the advanced use of the internet. Many reporters fail to do enough research so that to share actual news but want to use a short cut to benefit from others’ effort. It is the responsibility of all people to discourage fake news from circulating from one person to another.
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