By Express News Service
WHAT IS FAKE NEWS?
False or misleading information appears as real news
Tends to mislead people
Fake news can appear authentic at first and attempt to attract attention, shock, or shape opinion
Fake news can be created by individuals or groups acting individually or on serving interests of third parties
Fake news motivated by personal, political, or economic agendas
It is also the propaganda dressed up as believable information
Can spread very fast through social media and impact judgments of people
Difficult to detect early
Fake headlines: Most common. Headlines draw attention to fictitious facts. They are called clickbait headlines phrases designed to attract users’ attention and lure them to a web page they are not interested in or is fake
Targeted misinformation: Fictitious info shared for self-serving interest or directed at groups susceptible to such type of information. The content could be polarising if shared unthinkingly
Viral posts: Bombarding social media sites with a large number of fake articles, not giving enough time for users to check their veracity. Such news when shared or liked, creates its own momentum
Satire: Method used to promote fake or absurd events
Disinformation with ulterior motive or malicious intent
India on top: India has been on top among nations facing spread of fake news
FAKE NEWS: DECEPTION LADDER
Some fake news are not harmful, some are very incendiary.
Satire can be used to mislead, but causes no harm though has potential to fool user
Misleading content can be used to frame an individual or issue
Imposter content can be generated to impersonate somebody or something
Fabricated content is completely false content intended to deceive and harm users
False connections are made where text, visuals and headlines have no connection with one another and yet deceive user
False context is used to misinterpret genuine news or information; ultimately the entire information becomes false and dangerous if relied upon
Manipulated content can be extremely provocative and polarise people and views by twisting genuine information
