And the Fake News
Award Goes to…
(Commentary by Terence Tee)
“Fake news!” We are more than
familiar with these two words, especially over the past few years. Although
fake news has always been a serious issue in the digital era, it has never gained
much attention – until recently. Its rise in awareness is partly attributed to
the leader of the free world during his 2016 presidential race. The study that
follows this commentary, analyses Facebook posts of nearly 1,200 Facebook users
after the 2016 United States Presidential Election. It was found that people
over the age of sixty-five (65), especially conservatives, are seven (7) times
more likely to share fake news than users of another demographic.
Personally, I believe the
main reason of this is because there is a lack of digital media literacy. When
people of the older generation scroll around the social media site, they are less
likely to fact-check anything before sharing posts. Facebook, it can be hard to
tell where a story is coming from. Any users on Facebook can share anything
from any site; The majority of older users take whatever they see on Facebook as
the truth. The lack of interest to fact-check anything on the social media site
is why I believe fake news are able to thrive and spread on the internet.
People in the older
generation are accustomed to established media outlets. These media outlets are
brands built on accuracy and are trusted source of news. With the same mindset,
they tend to perceive the internet being as truthful as media outlets. The way
news is presented on social media sites, does not give you a strong sense of
what’s the brand or the reputation of the source. Many rogue websites, masquerading
as credible, has taken over the internet spreading misinformation. Fake news disseminates
faster than before because people have no way to know how credible the news
might be.
If you’re in a family WhatsApp
group, I’m sure you’ll be more than familiar with this scenario. Your Aunt
shares an article like “Drinking Cold Water Will Burst your Micro Blood
Vessels” to the family group chat, warning everyone about the danger of drinking
ice water in a hot day might burst your micro blood vessels and make you blind.
This is obviously fake because when we drink cold water in a hot day, we don’t
go blind. This is one of many examples that we can see from fake news being
spread around all forms of social media. I’m sure that another person, finding
the news credible, will then forward it again to another group of people.
The study also found that
people in the conservative end of the political spectrum were more likely to
share fake news during the run-up to the 2016 US Presidential Elections. In
addition to the lack of digital literacy, there is tendency to share fake news
within the conservative community because there is a substantially higher number of fake news that
are anti-Hillary and/or favours Trump.
This study serves as an
example on how the internet, whether you like it or not, has the ability to
manipulate to think in a certain way. It is crucial in today’s world that we are
fully aware of the huge influence the internet has on our lives. Until that
happens, the Fake News Award goes to old conservative people.
________________________________________________________________________
Older People, Conservatives
More Likely to Share Fake News: Study
 |
| The study, published in Science Advances, found less than only 8.5 percent of respondents shared a link from one of these websites. (Shutterstock/File) |
Facebook users aged 65 plus and conservatives are more
likely to share fake news on the platform than younger or more liberal
counterparts, according to a new study published Wednesday.
Researchers from Princeton University and New York
University analyzed the Facebook posts of nearly 1,200 people who agreed to
share their data in the aftermath of the 2016 US presidential election.
They then compared links the respondents had shared on
Facebook with several lists -- including one compiled by BuzzFeed -- of
websites known to share false information.
The study, published in Science Advances, found less than
only 8.5 percent of respondents shared a link from one of these websites.
However, those that did tended to be older and
self-identified as being on the conservative end of the political spectrum.
In fact, users over 65 -- regardless of political
affiliations -- shared "nearly seven times as many articles from fake news
domains" as 18 to 29-year-olds, the youngest age group studied.
"No other demographic characteristic seems to have a
consistent effect on sharing fake news," the authors reported.
"It is possible that an entire cohort of Americans,
now in their 60s and beyond, lacks the level of digital media literacy
necessary to reliably determine the trustworthiness of news encountered
online," they suggested.
The authors also suggested the impact of aging on memory
could have an effect.
"Under this account, memory deteriorates with age in a
way that particularly undermines resistance to "illusions of truth,"
they wrote.
Although the study found that Republicans shared more fake
news than Democrats, and ideologically, conservatives shared the most fake news
stories -- this could be due to the fact that most fake news articles produced
during the 2016 presidential campaign favored US President Donald Trump.
"Had the slant of fake news been pro-Clinton instead
of pro-Trump, it is possible that more liberals than conservatives would have
shared this content," the authors wrote in a Washington Post op-ed.
Facebook has been hammered for failing to stop information
manipulation and misinformation, including from Russian organizations during
the 2016 US election
Its leaders have promised more transparency in hearings in the US Congress and elsewhere, and the network has stepped up efforts to find and root out fake accounts and foreign influence campaigns.
Source:
Image source: memegenerator.net
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