Since 2020, the Doomsday Clock has been set at 100 seconds to midnight, which is the closest it has ever been to civilisation-ending apocalypse and it is due to man-made threats like nuclear weapons, climate change, and new disruptive technologies. With the advancement of new media technologies like the internet, the news media landscape has been altered, giving rise to citizen journalism and blogging. With this new social media landscape comes a dark side: the emergence of fake news. Fake news has been defined as inaccurate, fabricated, or false information distributed/disseminated as news with the intent of misleading those who intend to read it.
Fake news dwells within a larger ecosystem of misinformation and disinformation. By misinformation, we mean false content that is unintentionally or unknowingly distributed. Disinformation on the other hand means false content that is deliberately circulated with intent to harm or deceive. With the presence of modern digital tools and various social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter, Telegram, etc, it has become very easy for false information to spread widely before it can be verified or removed.
Several surveys conducted worldwide have shown that over 70 percent of the world’s population receive their news online particularly from social media platforms. While this in itself is not a bad thing, it has become worrisome because the news shared via most of these platforms are often not use to promote civic engagement. Rather, social media and other digital platforms are used by individuals to mislead or deceive others through creating or spreading false information. Across the world, fake news, circulated via various media platforms, have led to violent conflicts, riots, clashes, and even war between people of different ethnic groups, religious groups, and even ideological beliefs. All of these act as threats to peace, security, and development.
It is often said that if there is going to be a Third World War, it will be as a result of the spread of misinformation, disinformation, fake news, and hate speech. Now, more that ever, we must ensure we work together to combat the scourge of fake news particularly those that seeks to fuel hatred and foster divisive tendencies. We must support and encourage investigative journalism, while also promoting digital literacy among the public. On our own part, let us not be in a hurry to share any news/post that comes our way. Before we share any information whether online or offline, we must take a breath and ask ourselves these questions:
1. Where is this news coming from? Is it from a verified and trusted source? Does the author or publisher have an established reputation? Is the news a recent one? Are there lots of spelling and grammatical errors?
2. What is missing from the news? Is the headline misleading? Sometimes, headlines do not tell the whole story. We must check what others and other verified sites are saying about such news before we think about sharing.
3. How do you feel about sharing such information? Will the news you are about to share help to incite conflict or violence? Or will it help in fostering peacebuilding and positive intergroup relations?
4. Is the language offensive or does it misrepresent certain religious or ethnic groups? Will I get offended if the post is about me or my loved ones? Is the information based on facts or just sentiments?
In this age of misinformation and disinformation, all hands must be on deck to curb this menace. Always try to debunk fake news. If you encounter any fake news online, try and report it so others don’t fall victim to such news. Don’t share any news if you are not 100% sure about it. When in doubt about any information, think twice. If you are still in doubt, do not share such information. In all, we must learn to practice conflict-sensitive journalism/reporting.