Breaking! This editorial is REAL news
Arguably, it all started here in New Zealand. In 2009, a fake news website reported Hollywood star Jeff Goldblum had fallen to his death on the Kauri Cliffs.
As it’s been said, a lie can travel around the world while the truth is still lacing up its boots.
It is made all the more difficult to discern what is real, when this year’s truth is stranger than fiction. At a time when Donald Trump is accused by the Jewish AntiDefamation League of antiSemitism, and by Hamas’ fundamentalist Muslim leadership of being a ‘‘Jew lover’’, it is hard to know who to believe.
When Auckland Imam Dr Mohammad Anwar Sahib blames the world’s woes on the Christians and Jews; and bishop Brian Tamaki blames the homosexuals; and the homosexuals ... well, by this point it’s hard to know who to disbelieve. Though, to the best of my knowledge, gays haven’t tried to blame anyone for the earthquakes.
The (real) news, that much of the presidential election coverage on Facebook was fake, provokes the question: do we know the difference between real and fake?
At the heart of of the more lurid stories that gained momentum online over the past months have been the tinder-boxes that are sex, race and religion.
Those who hold strong views at one political extreme or the other will often believe what they want to. Where once readers demanded evidence to back up every story, now all it takes for a story to gain credence is a ‘‘share’’ from a Facebook friend.
‘‘Pope Francis endorses Donald Trump for president,’’ read one headline. (It was fake).
‘‘BREAKING: Hillary Clinton files for divorce in New York court,’’ shouted Christian News. (Fake).
‘‘Drag queen Rupaul claims Trump touched him inappropriately.’’ (Fake again).
To discover how good we are at discerning the truth, it’s time for our news quiz: real or fake?
1.John Key delivered a blunt message this week to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg: ‘‘There’s a bit of a feeling – that would have got Donald Trump elected – that somehow the world wasn’t fair.’’ (Real).
2. West Coast Civil Defence warned of a large earthquake: ‘‘There is a possibility of large aftershocks in the area designated by Geonet.’’ (Fake – Civil Defence said it, but now admits it was ‘‘not factually correct’’).
3. ‘‘Mike Hosking’s vacuum cleaner has been stolen - and he’s not happy about it.’’ (Fake – he’s quite clearly delighted at the success of this ridiculous publicity stunt).
There is, at least, one piece of good news, right? Kiwis aren’t so gullible as to fall for fake news.
(Bzzz. Fake).