I scrolling through my Instagram as I contemplated this week’s assignment understanding the delicacy of the situation. This assignment is a way to prevent fake news from spreading. What is fake news? Well most of us think its news that’s not real or something created by BuzzFeed but this can be any news with unreliable or untrue information. But how do I share the importance of misleading information without hurting someone’s feelings, if you are confronted it can feel as if you’re being attacked when someone questions your information or opinion.
As I scroll through the solution was shown to me as if it was a sign, one of the comedians I follow, Jackie Kashian has a post simply informing people of the signs of fake news and to not spread it, it’s not calling anyone out nor speaking of a specific instance of falsehood.
Although it isn’t my idea I honestly think this is the best way to spread information about fake news. People can get defensive when being specifically informed about their misinformation it is important to get through to them in a way they will receive acceptingly. By simply posting a notification reminding people that it is important to fact check and to put out reliable news.
The best way to go about this would be to create a post with the essential information to help to understand what fake news looks like and the effects it can have.
A media post would look like this:
Recognizing Fake News
Fake news can cause the spread of misinformation creating an uninformed population help stop it with these tips!
- When, where, who, why, what? These are important factors for understanding the credibility of the information.
- Sources, this is what the fakest news is missing and the most important part, Understanding the sources can really help in understanding your news, check the links!
- Confirmation Bias. What are your opinions on news? This is important to know so that you can look for alternative news to give you’re a well-rounded knowledge.
- Who published it? And are others? This can really affect the bias in the news and the credibility of the story.
- Think before you share. This is the most important thing to understand, the spread of news is up to us, we choose what is and isn’t popular.
