Category Archives: Fake News

Refilwe Moloto interviews Naledi Mashishi, a researcher at Africa Check.

A lot of fake videos and voice notes are doing the rounds right now

Africa Check verifies the authenticity of videos in a number of interesting ways

Individuals should check the authenticity of videos or documents before they pass them on (by checking government Twitter accounts, news organisations, calling supplied numbers, or sending them to Africa Check)

RELATED: Threats to 7 Cape Town malls is fake news - Premier Alan Winde

South Africa is in crisis, further inflamed by fake news posts.

One social media post is doing the rounds, claiming the army had given citizens the right to shoot to kill if they came across looters it even comes with a fake voice note.

Videos of violence and looting that are years old, but presented as new, are adding fuel to the raging fire.

Information is constantly coming at us how do we sort the facts from the fiction?

Refilwe Moloto interviewed Naledi Mashishi, a researcher at Africa Check (scroll up to listen).

Africa Check is a non-profit fact-checking organisation that aims to promote accuracy in public debate and the media.

We take screenshots of different stills in the video that look distinctive, then do a reverse image search

We can also look at 'context queues' What side of the road are cars driving on? Are there any flags? What do the license plates look like?

Check on actual government spokespeoples Twitter handles Have news organisations reported on it?... Are there spelling or grammar errors? We call the ministries to verify documents

You can send it to Africa Check as well.

See the original post here:

How to determine if its fake news or the real deal by Africa Check - CapeTalk

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, has completely rejected fake news on Facebook that schools in Cambodia will reopen on July 19, 2021.

Ros Soveacha, spokesman for the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, stated: Please be informed that the distribution of the reopening of the school on July 19, 2021 is not true news. The Ministry would like to completely reject what is shared on Facebook

His remarks were in response to a post, made by a bogus facebook page, using the MOEYS logo, that stated Announcement of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport Decided to open the school on July 19, 2021 ..! Get ready to enter the school again ..

The post has been shared over 2,000 times so far and attracted hundreds of comments.

Schools in Cambodia are currently closed to prevent further expansion of the COVID pandemic.

See original here:

Ministry of Education rejects 'fake news' reports that schools will reopen on July 19 - Khmer Times

Royal AM CEO Sinky Mnisi has dismissed as fake news a tweet alleging to quote him saying that the club will not attend their Premier Soccer League (PSL) disciplinary committee (DC) hearing on Saturday for not honouring four playoffs matches.

The tweet on the official account of a well-known football Twitter news account alleged to quote Mnisi saying: We went to court and the verdict will be announced at a later stage so why should we attend the DC.

The quote or a matching story did not appear on the same news sources official website.

Mnisi told TimesLIVE on Friday: Thats fake news. Im not even on Twitter Im not even on WhatsApp.

"I have said last week and I will repeat what I said that we will subject ourselves to the processes of the PSL. And it still stands. And obviously our legal team will deal with the matter - that's it period."

Mnisi was asked if he could explain where the quote on Twitter had originated from.

"I think somebody called me and I was speaking to them off record" he said.

The CEO added: "I'm saying we will subject ourselves to the processes of the PSL that's one. Two on record - our legal team are the ones who are handling this matter. And they know what needs to happen."

The DC case on Saturday is the latest event in the long saga involving Royal AM the GladAfrica Championship's (National First Division or NFD) final standings and the PSL's promotion-relegation playoffs.

An arbitration result before the final game of the NFD had awarded three points to Sekhukhune United regarding a game in February where Polokwane City did not field the required five under-23 players.

After the final round of results this made Sekhukhune champions for automatic promotion to the PSL and bumped Royal down to the playoffs.

Royal did not honour any of their four playoff matches interpreting an interdict they had earlier obtained against the playoffs proceeding as applying because they were applying to take their case to the Supreme Court of Appeal which is an ongoing matter.

The PSL's legal advice had been that the interdict fell away once deputy judge president Roland Sutherland had dismissed Royal's leave to appeal to the high court which had earlier upheld the arbitration ruling so proceeded with the playoffs.

In a dramatic turn Royal this week took an application for PSL CEO Mato Madlala to be held in contempt for the league's decision to continue with the playoffs.

The DC hearing on Saturday seems certain to uphold the rule of the NSL Handbook for a now-show by a team that a 3-0 win be awarded to the opposition. PSL prosecutor Nande Becker is expected to push for a hefty fine too.

The DC does not have the power to expel a club but can recommend such a drastic action to come before the PSL's Board of Governors.

See the article here:

Fake news: Sinky Mnisi says Royal AM will attend their PSL DC hearing - SowetanLIVE

The Code

The Australian Code of Practice on Disinformation and Misinformation (the Code) commenced on 22 February 2021, around 12 months after the Australian Government asked digital platforms to develop a voluntary code to address disinformation and misinformation and assist users of their services to more easily identify the reliability, trustworthiness and source of news content.

The request is part of a broader Australian Government strategy to reform the technology and information dissemination landscape and implement certain recommendations made by the ACCC in the Digital Platforms Inquiry.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) oversaw development of the Code, which was developed by industry association. Later this month, ACMA is due to report to the Australian Government on whether the actions and responses of those digital platforms that have adopted the Code sufficiently respond to the concerns identified by the ACCC regarding harmful misinformation and disinformation. The Government will then consider the need for further measures including potentially, the introduction of mandatory regulation.

So far, voluntary signatories to the Code include Twitter, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Redbubble, TikTok, Adobe and Apple. However, the Code encourages all other participants in the digital information sphere to use the Code as a guide to best practice in developing their own response to the evolving challenges of harmful disinformation and misinformation.

In anticipation of the ACMA report, this article explains the key features of the Code, key themes of the first signatory reports submitted under the Code, how the Code fits into the broader regulatory landscape of online content in Australia, and whats next.

Key features of the Code

The Code targets misinformation and disinformation which threatens to undermine democratic and policy making processes or public goods such as public health, safety, security or the environment (Harm).

Both misinformation and disinformation are defined as digital content that is verifiably false or misleading or deceptive, propagated by users of digital platforms and is reasonably likely to cause Harm. Misinformation is often legal digital content and may not have clearly intended to cause Harm, whereas disinformation captures behaviours which intend to artificially influence users online conversations and/or to encourage users of digital platforms to spread digital content, and the propagation of digital content via spam and other forms of deceptive, manipulative or bulk, aggressive behaviours.

There are two key requirements for signatories under the Code:

As the Code is voluntary, a signatory may withdraw from the Code or a particular commitment at any time.

What do the commitments actually require?

The Core Objective of the Code requires a signatory to:

The additional objectives a signatory may choose to adopt will depend on how content is delivered on its platform (e.g. a user-generated content platform would likely adopt different measures to a search engine). For example, a signatory could commit to implement measures that empower consumers to make better informed choices of digital content. This could take the form of returning diverse perspectives on matters of public interest in response to an online search request, a signal to users indicating the credibility of a news source, or enabling a user to check the authenticity or accuracy of online content or to identify the source of political advertising.

The Code also provides examples of how the objectives and outcomes may be met, but these are guidelines only and each signatory can decide how it will moderate harmful misinformation and disinformation on its platform.

More than just arbitrary evaluation

Digital platforms (including the current signatories) already evaluate and moderate content to varying degrees in accordance with their own discrete policies. The Code offers industry a clear, unifying objective, without reducing the flexibility digital platforms have in the way they choose to moderate content. It encourages them to be more accountable in their role as facilitators of free speech and open exchange of opinion, information debate and conversation, by turning the focus on their response to Harms caused by disinformation and misinformation. The common reporting requirement will also help digital platforms and other stakeholders to evaluate their practices against the practices of other industry participants.

The Code goes beyond self-assessment. It requires an industry facility for non-compliance to be established within six months of its commencement (approximately by the end of August 2021), and the establishment of an industry sub-committee to review the actions of signatories and their compliance on a six-monthly basis. The Code will also be reviewed after one year, and then every two years after that, by industry, government and other stakeholders. These additional mechanisms should encourage greater responsiveness and engagement from signatories.

The outcomes of the first reports

The eight current signatories to the Code issued their reports in response to the Code in May 2021. All of the signatories were able to demonstrate to varying degrees how their existing policy framework is aligned to the core objective and the other objectives they choose to adopt, and explained their areas of focus for the future.

Key themes from the reports include:

How the Code fits into online safety regulation in in Australia

The voluntary Code joins other laws and regulations which operate to address online safety in Australia, such as the Enhancing Online Safety Act 2015 (Cth) and the impending Online Safety Act, but sets itself apart by focusing on digital content that is false, misleading or deceptive.

Whats next

The measures taken by digital platforms in response to violations will be under review, with the ACMA poised to assess the effectiveness of the Code in addressing disinformation and misinformation on digital platforms later this month. Last year, the European Commission assessed the effectiveness of the similar, voluntary EU Code of Practice on Disinformation. It found a number of shortcomings owing to that codes self-regulatory nature, and recommended a number of measures to improve consistency of the key concepts of misinformation and disinformation, and appointing a regulatory body to enforce compliance with the code. Two things the Australian Code itself, does not prescribe.

Here is the original post:

Fake News: A look into the Australian Code of Practice on Disinformation and Misinformation - Lexology

GOOGLE has begun warning users that its search results may be unreliable.

The feature is aimed at breaking news stories, when information is often rapidly changing and sometimes inaccurate.

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Google announced the change earlier this month and has now begun testing it in some regions, according to a recent blog post.

Upon searching for keywords surrounding a breaking story, a warning reads: "It looks like these results are changing quickly".

The message continues: "If this topic is new, it can sometimes take time for results to be added by reliable sources".

In its June 25 blog post, Google suggested that users of its popular search engine may want to check back later when it's found more results.

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While Google Search will always be there with the most useful results we can provide, sometimes the reliable information youre searching for just isnt online yet," Google said.

"This can be particularly true for breaking news or emerging topics, when the information thats published first may not be the most reliable."

The company said it has trained its search algorithms to spot when a topic is rapidly evolving and a range of sources haven't weighed in yet.

"Well now show a notice indicating that it may be best to check back later when more information from a wider range of sources might be available," Google added.

The change is now live for select users and is expected to roll out to more people over the coming months.

It's the latest attempt by Silicon Valley to tackle online misinformation.

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Facebook, for instance, removes false claims made by users and news organisations about Covid-19 vaccines.

The claims first need to have been debunked by public health experts.

Facebook has also introduced a new pop-up that encourages people to read news articles before sharing them.

The warning message, currently being tested among select users, appears if someone clicks to share a link that they haven't opened.

Twitter implemented a similar system during the 2020 US Presidential election.

Tested

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In other news, Google this month put into action new rules for users that will lead to your photos being DELETED if you don't log on regularly.

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We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at tech@the-sun.co.uk

Original post:

Google will warn you about fake news websites before you click on them... - The Sun

The Government has clarified that it has issued no directive on resumption of Dearness Allowance for Central Government employees and Dearness Relief for Central Government pensioners from next month.

Citing a picture of an office memorandum which has been doing the rounds on social media and confirmed the resumption of DA and DR from next month, the Finance Ministry tweeted: A document is doing rounds on social media claiming resumption of DA to Central Government employees & Dearness Relief to Central Government pensioners from July 2021. This OM is #FAKE. No such OM has been issued by GOI.

Last year, the Ministry announced a freeze on the hike in DA and DR till July 2021.

On Saturday, the Congress accused the Union Government of adopting a malevolent approach towards scores of Central Government employees, Army staff and pensioners with regard to the payment of dearness allowance (DA) and demanded immediate repayment of arrears.

Addressing a press conference here, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi had said that on April 23, 2020, the Government had kicked the peoples stomachs by cutting Rs 37,500 crore.

Excerpt from:

'Fake news': FinMin on reported resumption of DA/DR from July - Daily Pioneer

A reminder of what a pleasure it is to draw breath, to be alive, to feel the kinetic energy of a wave underfoot.

I pulled into the St Andrews State Park lot on a hot, sunny early summer day.

It was full of work vans, trucks, and rusty old Volvo wagons with ancient Free Tibet and Gotcha stickers. Wave riders were scattered about the lot in various stages of their ritual, waxing up, changing, recounting high points of the day in excited tones and with animated hand gestures.

The first tropical swell of the year had arrived and a charge filled the air. I was cautiously optimistic, having not ridden waves of any consequence since my return from California.

My muscles felt weak, my body fragile.

The reckless confidence Id come to rely upon since a youth full of sandbottom tubes and concrete skate parks was gone. Suddenly, I felt very old. I tried to assume the countenance of all the other happy-go-lucky surfers attempting to match the vibe of the guy parked next to me just returning from a five-hour session.

The best Ive ever seen it! he said.

Yeah, I said to myself, People say that every year.

I had come home to the Gulf coast in December for Christmas with the family, a weeklong visit that turned into a nine-month ordeal.

On January 1, 2020 I skipped my return flight to LAX to get some health issues checked out. One thing led to another and, after a week of workups, I found myself on the receiving end of a call from my familys homeopathic doctor instructing me in a somber tone that I needed to get to the hospital right away for a blood transfusion.

My haemoglobin was six. Was that bad?

The average range for a man is between thirteen and seventeen, I protested a bit, but the truth was I hadnt been feeling well for a while. My folks dropped me off in the ER parking lot at the hospital where I was born and I proceeded to endure one of the worst nights I can remember.

I had an allergic reaction at some point in the transfusion and spent most of the night in a delirium, fevered and sweating through my hospital gown (I hate those fucking gowns).

It was a night that seemed to last forever and I was reminded of a Jorge Luis Borges short about an old general due to be executed who lived the span of a lifetime in the moment just before he was shot.

I watched the shoulder-high peaks from sand just as I had went years prior as a cocksure, invincible youth.The surf was good, and not just by Gulf Coast standards. The swells wedged themselves along the jetties to the east, contorting into shapely peaks before roping west along the bar. A small handful of locals were picking the waves to pieces. One grom was having his way with the critical sections launching airs on the inside and drawing graceful lines over the deeper, outer bar.

After a bit of a battle I was in the lineup.

Well, I thought, at least Id made it out.

I had a premonition that my trip to the ER for a pint of blood was not going to be an overnight visit. Sure enough, a week later I was still an inmate of Tallahassee Memorial. I would go for walks around the halls in the mornings much to the alarm of the staff, and got myself stuck down a desolate passage one day when I lacked the strength to complete the journey.

I was escorted back to my cell by a stern nurse and was warned in a menacing tone to remain in my suite. After eight days, a bone marrow biopsy and countless blood tests and scans, the doctors told me I had stage 4B Classical Hodgkins Lymphoma.

And with that, I was allowed to go home.

Several days later the doctor called and announced the radiologist had noticed a bit of fluid around my heart on my MRI and decided it must be removed pronto. I said the fluid showed up on an MRI five years prior and had been perfectly harmless there minding its own damn business.

They removed the fluid from around my heart with a long needle at which point, Im told, my heart stopped. The doctors notes mention it remained thus for fifteen minutes, during which time the two largest fellows in the room, to whom Im forever indebted, applied maximum pressure to my chest in an effort to restart the old ticker while my mother prayed in tongues in the corner as they urgently ushered her out.

My objections were dismissed and I was brought in for the routine procedure.

They removed the fluid from around my heart with a long needle at which point, Im told, my heart stopped. The doctors notes mention it remained thus for fifteen minutes, during which time the two largest fellows in the room, to whom Im forever indebted, applied maximum pressure to my chest in an effort to restart the old ticker while my mother prayed in tongues in the corner as they urgently ushered her out.

Or attempted to, anyway.

She insisted on remaining and appealing to God Almighty on behalf of the surgeons and, presumably her son. Her requests must have been heard. I came back with full mental faculties (or at least as full as before) which Im told is quite rare after fifteen minutes gone.

Nonetheless my chest was subsequently sawed open at the surgeons hunch there was a clot somewhere. No clot. And just like that I was put back together more or less as they remembered me having been assembled in the first place.

The water was a radiant blue-green.

The tall dunes with their seagrasses and coast oaks bristled under the glaring Florida sun. I was thrilled just to be out among the roiling swells even if my chest felt tender, as if one wrong move could snap my sternum still healing from surgery.

A chunky left came my way and I paddled for it as if it were my final wave, momentarily forgetting the sharp pain across my ribs. To my surprise I felt the familiar lift and glide under the 64 quite early. I was up and riding before the wave ledged over the shallow bar and was momentarily at a loss for what to do with all the kinetic energy underfoot, but soon found some rhythm and was on my way down the line.

Coming to the inside with a surprising amount of speed, I drew out a bottom turn, but mistimed my closing maneuver and was obliterated by the end section.

Ive never been more stoked in my life

I took three waves in all that day.

After that first exhilarating left, two wide open, reeling rights after which I came in more exhausted and euphoric than after any session I can remember.

It had only been an hour or so but took a toll, what with the long break in surf sessions and all the chemo drugs coursing through my veins destroying cells.

I stashed the Album in the back of my car and retreated to the wooden overlook to watch the fading swell with all the bird watchers and toothless old salts gnawing on their cheap cigars.

A light wind had picked up cross offshore blowing off the tops of the waves and making little hollow sections on the inside.

A flock of gulls glided by, fishing boats returned from outer reefs. That kid was still out there ripping, hucking throwaway airs on the end section.

I was glad for him and watched intently hoping hed go on ripping for many years, never getting cancer or a broken bone or even mistiming a turn.

(Editors note: Greg Mitchell is an LA-based woodworker who builds handcrafted furniture for his companyWest of Noble, inspired by a lifetime of various creative pursuits, odd jobs, musical and literary influences, long stretches of no money and few prospects, barely running vintage cars, south american surf travel, and friends and family.)

Excerpt from:

Conservative mainstream press slams Surf Ranch Pro: It's been fake news all along, and now the giant concrete basin is hosting the most boring surfing...

Brenham, TX Sometimes the start of massive issues can originate from the smallest and most benign of things. Or, in this case, places. A seemingly random act or event can set things in motion that grow into massive calamities with devastating results. Some might call this Chaos Theory or The Butterfly Effect. Whatever the name of the phenomenon, the modern world does not lack for examples.

Thus, we come to the small Central Texas town of Brenham, TX. Located between Austin and Houston, this small city in the middle of Washington County is home to some of the best collections of wildflowers in the state of Texas. Its Germanic heritage lends itself to various festivals, and the potent combination of Texas barbecue and Germanic-based beers are a culinary delight.

Yet, for most in Texas and outside of the state, the name of Brenham is synonymous with one thing: Blue Bell Ice Cream. The Little Creamery, the source of the best mass-exported ice cream around (in our completely unbiased and objective opinionswhich, where Blue Bell Ice Cream is concerned is not an opinion, but certified truth and has not room for any Fake Newsy criticism) produces millions of gallons of sweet and cold delight for all the good red-blooded Americans and other international folks blessed to have tasted such divineness. It ranks in the top three ice cream producers in the country.

However, the Blue Bell Ice Creamery is also ground zero for something much darker and more sinister than anything previously known. From its vats of flavor, it spawned a plague, one that did not reveal its devastation immediately. However, the impacts still resonate to this day, and with devastating consequences. We speak, of course, of the listeriosis outbreak in 2015 that forced a massive shutdown of the Blue Bell Creamery and the export of the nectar of the gods that was Blue Bell Ice Cream.

The immediate impact: Well, setting aside the millions of dollars in lost revenue, there were significant human impacts. Multiple people reported illnesses from consuming the tainted product. Unfortunately, this outbreak struck in the spring, just as Texas (and most of the customer base for Blue Bell) was entering prime ice cream eating time. Thus, we came to see brutal second-order effects.

While eating tainted ice cream can do brutal things to a system, depriving Texans of a key staple of their diet proved just as devastating. There was the whole Jade Helm debacle, whereby people in Texas sudden grew all paranoid about a US takeover of their lands under the guise of a military exercise, never minding that the US flag had flown over the land for over 170 years to that point. If Texas still had its Blue Bell then, it might have easily batted aside such blatant propaganda.

However, the listeria outbreak at Blue Bell can also be placed at the center of the current state of the Houston Texans. While initially dismissed as a drunk illusion, multiple publications, such as Tin Foil Hat Weekly and The DumbfaQ Journal, along with credible Twitter insiders such as darealQ, basementdwellingking31, and Jason La Canfora, all claimed to have the insider scoop that the current state of the team can trace its current downfall from the 2015 outbreak.

When we posed the questions of how they came to this conclusion, they were only all-too-willing to offer their theories and suggestions. Look back to 2015 they said. The Texans, having rebounded from the debacle of the 2013 season with a 9-7 season, looked poised to return to glory. The only thing that they needed, as least a far as anyone could see, was the right QB. [Ryan] Fitzpatrick was long gone, but there was Ryan Mallett and Tom Savage, two decent, if not perfect, prospects (at the time). The team still had some draft picks, even in the 1st round, to consider some options, and there was some cap space.

Yet, it was in the spring that the team started to suffer the 1st and 2nd order effects of the listeria contamination. Suddenly, BOB, who had shown aptitude for quarterback development (2012 Matt McGloin, 2013 Christian Hackenburg, 2014 Ryan Fitzpatrick) suddenly lost his ability to develop coherent QB play. This was further compounded by the decision to accept a Brian Hoyer as a starting quarterback. This begat a nightmare trend of the mediocrity of Hoyer, Mallett, Savagethen the 72 million dollar mistake that was [NAME REDACTED]. Strange that the Texans brain trust would make that bet, especially if they had been watching the last couple of games [NAME REDACTED] played in Denver as Mannings backup. However, I think that is explained by the combination of listeria/Blue Bell withdraw.

The team was only bailed out by the fact that Rick Smith could buy off Cleveland with some draft picks. Yes, we got Watson, but then, Texans ownership, especially Cal, felt that BOB could easily step in, aided by Easterby, once Smith had to step away. Yet, the decisions and draft picks, when the team had them, continued to failed. The longer term effects of Blue Bell withdrawal are not always easily studied, but the Texans are a case-study on the dangerous impacts.

Think about some of the other actions. J.J. Watt didnt miss much time until 2015the Blue Bell withdrawal hit him very hard. The contacts for Whitney Mercilus, [NAME REDACTED], Eric Murray. Also, the decisions on and off the field, the fact that the team somehow blew that 24-0 leadI think you could even link this to the issues facing the 2020 starting quarterback, a sort of fallout-type thinglook, it is a weird theory, but it all [Easterby] fits.

While our crack polling system asked this question and came up with more conventional answers, we cant exactly dismiss the thesis presented to us at this time. While Blue Bell overcame its listeria outbreak, the memories linger, as do the impacts. While the evidence of what that is doing longer-term beyond the Houston Texans is a harder research project, it is something worth discussing. Maybe it explains so much, from increased polarization to the recent power grid incompetency. Or maybe not. We shall see.

This article is brought to you by...no one (held out hope for Blue Bell, but now, not so sure).

View post:

Totally Not Fake News: The True Source of The Problem - Battle Red Blog

From being a haphazard and sporadic activity, the phenomenon of fake news has been organized into a systematic campaign with an express aim to erode facts, undermine the truth and weaken peoples confidence. Driving this phenomenon is the unbelievable expansion of the media landscape in recent decades, propelled by the mind-blowing explosion in the field of information and communication technologies (ICTs).

The strides that the ICTs have made have broken the monopoly on news production and dissemination by providing unhindered access to people through open-source processes and tools. The democratization of the internet, coupled with easy availability of gadgets such as smartphones, has allowed people to report what they see, and stream their activities online at an incredible ease, requiring only the basic-level use of these gadgets. Media scholars have called this increasing engagement of common folks with media as citizen journalism.

However, this open-source access to media platforms has come at a cost. The practice of deploying these platforms as instruments of spreading particular points of view has become quite entrenched worldwide. So much so that special funds are allocated for amplifying the message and digital media specialists are hired, often at exorbitant salary packages, to advise governments, and private-sector companies on getting a wider traction for their brands.

This explains why campaigns and trends are launched most innovatively on social media platforms with a view to projecting a particular opinion and denouncing those that are opposed to it. The traditional means of communication have increasingly been overtaken by this new media, paving the way for the emergence of social media companies out to offer their services to the highest bidder.

The whole enterprise has been perfected into an art form marked by pre-campaign due diligence, identification of target audience, sharpening of messages and feedback loops to verify the effectiveness of the campaigns.

The multiplicity of media outlets means that the information overload is so endemic that it is nearly impossible for people to sift fact from fiction. The deepening polarisation that has emerged as the besetting sin of our times has helped the process of fake news become omnipresent and further harden the positions already taken.

The dangers of disinformation have been accentuated by what scholars have termed as a post-truth era, a phenomenon that denotes circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotions and personal belief. It is not the objective understanding of reality but its subjective and personalized interpretation that matters. Opinions rather than facts get masqueraded as the truth, cancelling out all other alternative versions that may seek to challenge this subjectivity.

Polarisation that is all encompassing in nature has sucked the space for objectivity. People believe in what accords with their preconceived notions and anything contrary is dismissed summarily as untruth and propaganda.

The propensity to accept what resonates with ones held opinions is gauged by a reference to a Pizzagate conspiracy that got traction on Twitter. According to the story, it was alleged that sexually abused children were kept at a Washington-based pizza parlour, named Comet Ping pong and that Hillary Clinton was in the know of the incident.

The story inspired Edger Welsh from North Carolina to travel to DC with an assault weapon to free the children. Upon being arrested, he told the police that he had read online that the Comet restaurant was harboring child sex slaves and that he wanted to see for himself if they were there.

Likewise, the role of fake news in altering opinions and managing perceptions is best illustrated in an earth-shaking major controversy surrounding the 2016 US elections. The Russian intervention in the American elections led to a special investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The 448-page report, consisting of two volumes, created a lot of high drama and kept Twitter-obsessed Trump on his toes.

The events leading up to the mobs attack on the US Congress on January 6, as it was busy ratifying the votes of the Electoral College, were largely shaped by the populist line of thinking that claimed that the elections were stolen and the whole process was rigged. A major chunk of Americans actually believed in the veracity of what they were fed by Trump and those supporting his brand of politics.

Trumps shenanigans forced Twitter to tag his posts with advice to the users to take the claims with a pinch of salt. The damage wrought by fake news does not just undermine the social cohesion but more importantly eats into the vitals of democracy as well.

For many consumers of the news not well equipped with the ability to see past the glittering headlines and flashing news, it is not possible to distinguish between fake and real news. Trends endorsed by credible sources have greater potential to mislead and shape biased views.

While the world struggles with the fake news culture, no template of policy actions has still been found to be effective in stemming this rising trend in various contexts. Punitive legislative and administrative measures, which are easy to adopt, have fallen short of addressing the challenge. Stringent regulatory frameworks have resulted in further curtailing media freedoms, thus adversely impacting the quality of democracy globally.

A report titled How to combat fake news and disinformation, authored by Darren M West for Brookings Institute, recommended a set of actions to be performed by all stakeholders government authorities, media industry and technology companies.

The report recommends that governments around the world encourage independent, professional journalism in a bid to make sense of the mega-changes that mark the functioning of our world. It says that people are justified in looking up to reporters to unpack the changing nature of social, economic and political events for them, which in turn requires the media to be independent of the government authorities.

The report holds that the media industry would do well to continue to focus high-quality journalism that builds trust and attracts greater audiences. It says that when people place a higher level of confidence in the integrity of journalists and media outlets, it narrows space for organized disinformation.

The report urges media organizations to call out fake news and disinformation by employing the services of in-house professionals and fact-checkers. They should guide their readers about the sources through which fake news is spread through an elaborate and fact-based analysis of the stories and opinion pieces. One way of doing it is to crowdsource the fact-checking by encouraging readers to analyse the content and share their opinions.

The report asks the technology platforms to invest in technology to detect fake news. This, the report says, can be done via algorithms and by automating them into the digital platforms for identification of disinformation.

Furthermore, tech firms should ensure greater online transparency and accountability by which users are required to feed real information in order to be able to use the digital services. Such a process will stop the creation of fake accounts and hold the users responsible for what they post online.

The drafters of fake news and the drivers of disinformation campaigns indulge in such practices with an ulterior motive, money being one of the prime motivations. Digital companies should make it harder for these dodgy websites to monetize their lies, half-truths and propaganda.

Last but not the least, the report makes a strong case for the provision of funds to impart news literacy to the users. Such education will raise awareness and enable internet users to learn to differentiate between real and fake news. People can fact-check a news item on their own by following many perspectives.

Fake news is the scourge of our times. It will take a combination of efforts, and above all a stakeholders commitment, to deal with it over time.

The writer, a Chevening scholar, studied International Journalism at the University of Sussex.

Email: [emailprotected]

Twitter: @Amanat222

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Curbing fake news - The News International

Recall Dunleavy lawyer Scott Kendall went on Twitter today to tell the world what a shame it is that Gov. Mike Dunleavy is in New Jersey with former President Donald Trump at a fundraiser for Dunleavys reelection bid.

Only it just wasnt true. One look at Dunleavys Facebook page makes it clear that he is in Alaska on Friday, and in fact was at a ceremony to thank Korean War veterans that was held at the Kincaid Chalet in Anchorage.

Dunleavy had planned to go on a fundraising trip to the Bedminster Golf Club in New Jersey, but when the Legislature failed to pass a budget, and a shutdown of state government loomed, he changed his plans. Evidently no one told Scott Scooter Kendall.

Where is @GovDunleavy? Well hes on his way to a big $ fundraiser back East (charging $5k for a photo must be nice! Hanging out in New Jersey while AK suffers. SAD! Kendall wrote.

While Kendall was busy critiquing on social media, Dunleavy was posting his own message: What a privilege to join and honor our Korean War Veterans in Anchorage this morning. On the eve of Korea-Alaska Friendship Day, we thank our heroes who served our country and answered freedoms call.

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Fake news alert: Operative Scott Kendall tries to shame governor for being out of state, but his troll work comes up short - Must Read Alaska