Have you run across a news story on a website or posted on someone's facebook page that was just too outrageous to believe? Well more than likely, it wasn't true. It was probably fake news. Wikipedia defines fake news as: "a type of hoax or deliberate spread of misinformation (false information), be it via the traditional print or broadcasting new media or via internet-based social media."
Kinds of Fake News:
According to Melissa Zimdars, media professor of Merricack College, fake news can be categorized into the following four broad categories.
Category 1: Fake, false, regularly misleading sites which rely on outrage using distorted headlines and decontextualized or dubious information in order to generate likes, shares, and profits.
Catetory 2: Websites that may circulate misleading and/or potentially unreliable information.
Category 3: Websites that sometimes use clickbait-y headlines and social media description.
Category 4: Purposefully fake satire/comedy sites that can offer critical commentary on politics and society, but have the potential to be shared as actual/literal news.
Fake news is a real problem. Studies show that most people cannot identify fake news.
Forbes: Americans Believe They Can Detect Fake News. Studies Show They Can't.
NPR: Can You Tell Fake News From Real? Study Finds Students Have 'Dismaying' Inability
Pew Research Center: Many Americans Believe Fake News Is Sowing Confusion
The following chart demonstrates just how engaging fake news can be on Facebook. As shown, one of the more engaging of the stories falsely stated that Pope Francis had endorsed Donald Trump for the presidency. This story received almost one million engagements in shares, reactions, and comments. During the 2016 Presidential election, fake news stories on Facebook were viewed 1.4 million times more than real news stories.
You will find more statistics at Statista
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Fake news undermines the real news
Fake news has consequences
Fake news hampers an informed citizenry
Sharing fake news undermines your credibility