When talking about fake news there are several important concepts that need to be brought up. One of them is misinformation. Misinformation refers to false content that is disseminated by people who believe the information they transmit to be true, and which is not intentionally misleading. (Disinformation refers to false content especially created and disseminated for financial profit or that is meant to deceive the public.)
Misinformation spreads very quickly, mainly due to the use of social media platforms and private messaging apps for news sharing. All types of misinformation are spread, but the most common deal with political and medical issues.
Several platforms have taken measures to fight misinformation and disinformation, pulling videos or blocking accounts because they violate the standards on misinformation. The high speed of dissemination makes it very difficult for the general public to distinguish between real and false information.
Even well-known news organizations spread misinformation when they publish or broadcast some piece of information without thoroughly checking it. However, misinformation is characteristic of low quality journalism which includes unbalanced reporting, publishing stories without proper verification, or the use of emotional and dramatic headlines in order to get more clicks and viewers. This type of journalism allows misinformation to be spread because people make no distinction between the two types of content. Good quality journalism needs to be a viable alternative to misinformation.
That is why the need for media literacy is now greater than ever. In order to be well informed, people need to learn how to recognize and distinguish between misinformation, disinformation and real news. It can be rather difficult to recognize misinformation. An important element is to develop a critical perspective regarding the information received and cross-referencing it with other reliable sources. It is also important to establish if a media outlet is trustworthy, if there are any sources identified in the article, or if there’s any solid proof presented.
Misinformation has many consequences and the phenomenon represents a peril both for the public’s health and safety, and also to democracy. Misinformation is also a risk for journalism because it is introduced as news and people start to lose faith in media and journalists when they are exposed to this type of false content.
