Should social media sites filter out fake news

This essay explores the need for social media sites to filter out fake news. It discusses the current use of social media for spreading fake news, ways to identify fake news, and the consequences of fake news. The essay also evaluates the reliability of sources and the need for an act of law to curb fake news.

Academic English Skills Coursework 1 Assessment: Source Report
Name: Class: Date:
Essay title or question:
Title: Should social media sites filter out fake news
Plan for overall structure of essay:
Plan for overall structure
Introduction – context and position:
Thesis statement:
Topic 1.
Topic 2.
Topic 3.
Topic 4.
Topic 5.
Conclusion
Use the following referencing format for your sources:
Books / chapters of books:
Surname, I. and Surname, I. (Year) Title of the book Place of Publication: Publisher
Surname, I. (Year) ‘Chapter of the book’ In: I. Surname & I. Surname (Eds) Title of the book Place of Publication:
Publisher pp.1 - 18
Journal articles (print/ online)
Surname, I. (Year) ‘The Title of the Article’ The Name of the Journal 1 (1), pp. 1- 18
Reports / articles online
Surname, I. (Year) ‘The Title of the Article or Report’ [Online] The Name of the Organisation or website. Available at: url [Last Accessed DD.MM.YY]
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Part 1: List of relevant sources
List 5 sources which will be useful in answering your essay question, and are suitable for academic use.
Make sure you use the referencing format provided on page 1. Outline how you found your sources, including where you found the source and how you found it. For three of
your sources, note why it is relevant to your essay.
Reference Type of source: I found this source by… This source is relevant to my
essay because…
1 Fardiah, D., Rinawati, R., Darmawan, F., Abdul, R. and Lucky, K., 2020.
Media literacy for dissemination anticipated fake news on social media.
Mediator: Jurnal Komunikasi, 13(2), pp.278-289.
☒ Academic journal
article
☐ Book
☐ Online report /
article
☐ Other (state which)
Searching academic
journals about fake news It helps gain a generalized idea
about the current use of social
media for spreading fake news
2 Alkawaz, M.H., Khan, S.A. and Abdullah, M.I., 2021, April. Plight of Social
Media Users: The Problem of Fake News on Social Media. In 2021 IEEE
11th IEEE Symposium on Computer Applications & Industrial Electronics
(ISCAIE) (pp. 289-293). IEEE.
☒ Academic journal
article
☐ Book
☐ Online report /
article
☐ Other (state which)
Journal search for social
media problems Understanding the details
regarding the problems brought
by fake news in social media
2

3
Nyow, N.X. and Chua, H.N., 2019, November. Detecting fake news with
tweets’ properties. In 2019 IEEE Conference on Application, Information
and Network Security (AINS) (pp. 24-29). IEEE.
☒ Academic journal
article
☐ Book
☐ Online report /
article
☐ Other (state which)
Journal search about ways
to identify fake news
Learning about how popular
social media sites are
countering and identifying this
problem
4 How should social media platforms combat misinformation and hate
speech, 2022 [online]
available through
<https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2019/04/09/how-
should-social
media-platforms-combat-misinformation-and-hate-speech/>
☐ Academic journal
article
☐ Book
☒ Online report /
article
☐ Other (state which)
Online search about hate
speech
Getting an idea about various
provisions used by social media
to address this problem
5 Social media companies could be sanctioned for fake news, says MEP, ☐ Academic journal
article
Online search about
consequences of fake
To drive home the fact that the
problem needs filtering or there
3

2022 [online] available
through <https://www.newstalk.com/news/social-media-companies-
could-be-sanctioned-for
fake-news-says-mep-1323160>
☐ Book
☒ Online report /
article
☐ Other (state which)
news will be dire adverse effects
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Part 2: Source Evaluation and Use of Sources
Complete the source evaluation and overview of useful points from the text for the two sources you did not discuss the relevance of in part 1. Summarise and paraphrase
key information in the text in order to demonstrate that you have understood the sources. You may use bullet points. You are not marked for your language accuracy, but
you will be penalised for copying text from the source.
Reference
How should social media platforms combat misinformation and hate speech, 2022 [online]
available through <https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2019/04/09/how-should-social
media-platforms-combat-misinformation-and-hate-speech/>
I have identified this source is reliable and appropriate for academic use because…
Criteria Tick all statements which apply and provide an example or evidence where required
Currency
The
timeliness
of the
information
☐The article is current
☐Research in the area has not been updated
☒My essay requires reference to older research
REASON: Fake news in social media has been a long-lasting problem and there have been many informative articles published about it from previous dates
as this one in 2019.
Authority
The source
of the
information
☒The authors have the appropriate level of expertise in the field
EVIDENCE: The author Niam Yaraghi is an assistant professor of Business Technology at Miami Herbert Business School and ahs experience in teaching and
identifying transparency in models and theories.
Accuracy
The
reliability
and
correctness
of the
☐The information has been peer-reviewed
☐The source uses academic conventions throughout
☒The arguments are supported by sound evidence
EVIDENCE: The recommended combat tools against fake news are all being used now such as Artificial intelligence
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information
Purpose
The reason
the
information
exists
☐This source has not been commissioned by a company or organisation
☐The purpose of this source is to inform / educate
☒The information contained in this source is presented without bias
EVIDENCE: There have been no recommendations or personal matter written and every recommendation is research tested
Use of source Note three points from the source which will be useful for your essay and how you will use them
Relevant key point from the text Supporting evidence / example/ data for the key
point
Which topic from your outline does this point relate
to and in what way?
The sheer volume of content shared on social media
makes it impossible to establish a comprehensive
editorial system. Take Twitter as an example: It is
estimated that 500 million tweets are sent per day.
The key point emphasizes and presents a number
to drive home the fact that social media sites are
tough to regulate
This point helps understand why the problem of
fake news hasn’t been addressed properly yet.
To overcome the editorial challenges of so much content,
I suggest that the companies focus on a limited number
of topics which are deemed important with significant
consequences. The anti-vaccination movement and those
who believe in flat-earth theory are both spreading anti-
scientific and fake content.
Both the exceptions given in the key point are very
important as matters of public health and scientific
awareness can harm the nation in the wrong hands
Helps identify the areas where fake news cannot be
tolerated, it can also help in forming KPI’s in the
filtering process
Once those limited number of topics are identified, social
media companies should decide on how to fight the
spread of such content.
Facilitates the various uses of different tools and
techniques to combat fake news
Directly supports the argument of filtering fake
news by allowing use of artificial intelligence and
data stream filtering
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Reference
Social media companies could be sanctioned for fake news, says MEP, 2022 [online] available
through <https://www.newstalk.com/news/social-media-companies-could-be-sanctioned-for
fake-news-says-mep-1323160>
I have identified this source is reliable and appropriate for academic use because…
Criteria Tick all statements which apply and provide an example or evidence where required
Currency
The
timeliness
of the
information
☒The article is current
☐Research in the area has not been updated
☐My essay requires reference to older research
REASON: The article is very recent and details a new potential rule relating to fake news filtration
Authority
The source
of the
information
☒The authors have the appropriate level of expertise in the field
EVIDENCE: The author has written various informative articles in fields where fake news is rampant such as vaccination and the US economy and elections
Accuracy
The
☐The information has been peer-reviewed
☒The source uses academic conventions throughout
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reliability
and
correctness
of the
information
☒The arguments are supported by sound evidence
EVIDENCE: Details the new digital services act and quotes official parliament members of UK
Purpose
The reason
the
information
exists
☐This source has not been commissioned by a company or organisation
☒The purpose of this source is to inform / educate
☐The information contained in this source is presented without bias
EVIDENCE: Informs about upcoming sanctions and confirms the answer of the topic as a resounding yes
Use of source Note three points from the source which will be useful for your essay and how you will use them
Relevant key point from the text Supporting evidence / example/ data for the key
point
Which topic from your outline does this point relate
to and in what way?
Social media companies could soon be subject to
sanctions if they don’t do more to tackle fake news and
disinformation, an MEP has said.
Supports the need of an act of law that will soon be
considered for implementation which is the digital
services act
Confirms the answer of the title as a yes and also
presents a case for filtration by adding
consequences
The European Commission’s proposed EU Digital Services
Act would ban spreading fake news and Ms Clune says
that social media giants are well aware of the changes
that will bring
The act stated has been designed to curb fake news
and comes from official governmental sources
Highlights the current government efforts to
address the problem and future avenues to curb
fake news
8

Ms Clune’s remarks come in the wake of Facebook and
YouTube confirming that they have taken down a deep
fake video that purported to show President Zelenskyy
surrendering to Russia
Presents the harmful real tie example of social
media being used as a weapon during an invasion
Describes a very strong example which supports
the argument to filter fake news in the main title
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Conclusions drawn from your reading
The conclusion drawn from my readings confirms the fact that social media in recent times has been used as a dangerous weapon being used for spreading lethal
propaganda about politics, crimes and wars which is a dangerous precedent and situation that needs urgent address in the light of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. With
the new proposed digital services act, the day is near where fake news might no longer be a matter of concern as it is currently.
Part 3 Bullet point key conclusions you have drawn from your reading of the five sources.
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