Fake News Impact on Social Media: A Detailed Report

This report examines the pervasive issue of fake news within the context of social media platforms. It begins by defining fake news and its characteristics, highlighting its detrimental impact on public perception and decision-making. The report analyzes how social media facilitates the rapid dissemination of false information, often through misleading headlines and fabricated sources. It explores the strategies used to create and spread fake news, including manipulation of images and the distortion of real events. The report references specific examples, such as the Christian Times Network, to illustrate the methods used to create and distribute false narratives. Furthermore, the report emphasizes the importance of critical evaluation and fact-checking, urging readers to be skeptical of information encountered on social media and to verify sources before accepting claims. The report concludes by highlighting the impact of fake news on political decisions and public opinion, emphasizing the need for informed media consumption and the role of platforms such as Snopes.com in combating misinformation. Students can find similar assignments and solutions on Desklib.

Running head: FAKE NEWS IN THE AGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Fake News in the Age of Social Media
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1FAKE NEWS IN THE AGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Fake news is a kind of yellow journalism that comprises deliberate misinformation
that is spread in traditional news format or over the medium of online social media (Allcott,
Hunt and Matthew Gentzkow). Social platforms like that of Face book and Twitter have
failed to control the flow of incorrect information and fake news as a result of which false
news are taking a toll on the life of ordinary people.
Christian Times Newspaper is an online source that is instrumental in publishing
news, opinions along with theories. On the 30th of September, 2016 an article was published
that reported that a large number of pre-marked ballots that were casted for Hillary Clinton
were discovered in the warehouse of Ohio. It was found at a later instance that this picture
was taken actually in Birmingham in the year 2015 and it was simply in relation to a man
who was unloading a truck that consisted of ballot boxes in a polling station. Christian Times
Network was responsible for altering the image and tampering with the news. It presents
itself as a legitimate publication but is responsible for publishing a lot of fake stories
(Campbell et al).
An important threat lurking in the modern age is in relation to the fake news. False
stories reach people more quickly via the medium of social media. Snopes.com is exposing
false stories from the middle of the 1990’s and it is mainly in relation to the fabricated
messages. The readers should be sceptical about the claims made over social media. A
provocative headline drawing the attention of the public should be read further before passing
on the information (Summers, Sarah, and Bill Riley). The headline does not point forward to
the whole story but should be read thoroughly in order to find out any discrepancies about the
news. The sources are often cited but on further checking one finds out that the source does
not back the claim. The real events are distorted and shown to the public. The mendacious
claims take a story that is legitimate and twists the news to produce false results.

2FAKE NEWS IN THE AGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
The busy lifestyle of the modern age does not leave one with a sufficient amount of
time to thoroughly research about a news article. When the reader comes across the stories on
social media platform they make a subtle impression (Haggerty, Parker and Dr Hana
Dobrovolny). The story becomes familiar that produces an illusion of truth. Fake news can
change the perspective of a person towards a political candidate. Fake news affect the
decisions and thoughts of people. The polling decisions are affected by fake news that has an
impact in the selection of leader of a country.

3FAKE NEWS IN THE AGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
References:
Allcott, Hunt, and Matthew Gentzkow. Social media and fake news in the 2016 election. No.
w23089. National Bureau of Economic Research, 2017.
Campbell, Richard, Christopher Martin, and Bettina Fabos. Media & culture: Mass
communication in a digital age. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014.
Haggerty, Parker, and Dr Hana Dobrovolny. "Comparing the Dynamics of Fake News and
Real News on Social Media." Bulletin of the American Physical Society (2017).
Summers, Sarah, and Bill Riley. "Tidal wave of fake news ruins thousands of student
projects!: Navigating technical and professional writing in the misinformation
age." Professional Communication Conference (ProComm), 2017 IEEE International. IEEE,
2017.

4FAKE NEWS IN THE AGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA