Lies not fake news
THE Collins English Dictionary defines “fake news” as false, often sensational, information disseminated under the guise of news reporting. Wikipedia (where most of the material for this piece is drawn) puts together a wide range of definitions and traces its beginnings to “the 13th century BC, when Rameses the Great spread lies and propaganda portraying the Battle of Kadesh as a stunning victory for the Egyptians; he depicted scenes of himself smiting his foes during the battle on the walls of nearly all his temples. The treaty between the Egyptians and the Hittites, however, reveals that the battle was really a stalemate.”
Among the definitions are: stories that are probably false, have enormous traction (popular appeal) in the culture and are consumed by millions of people(Michael Radutzky, a producer of CBS 60 Minutes); a type of yellow journalism or propaganda that consists of deliberate misinformation or hoaxes spread via traditional print and broadcast news media or online social media; and is invoked by politicians against the media for stories they don’t like or for comments that they don’t like (both from Wikipedia).
Merriam-Webster states that “fake news” is frequently used to describe a political story which is seen as damaging to an agency, entity, or person but contends that it is by no means restricted to politics and seems to have currency in terms of general use. However, it takes the view that “the reason fake news is unlikely to be entered in our dictionary anytime soon is that it is a selfexplanatory compound noun – a combination of two distinct words, both well known, which when used yield an easily understood meaning. Fake news is, quite simply, news (material reported in a newspaper or news periodical or on a newscast) that is fake (false, counterfeit).”
In today’s world, there seems to be a preponderance of “fake news” or is it because the politicians are quick to label anything they find contrary to their views as such? I find that increasingly there are attempts to undermine traditional media and destroy their credibility in favor of social media where there is no board of editors to vet stories and raw or false news is readily served up to the public. Governments have encouraged this trend especially those that credit their electoral victory to a network of blogsites (trolls?) who liberally flood social media with fake news extolling their handlers and demonizing the opposition.
Accepting reality, it is useful to get a sense of the variety of fake news and how to recognize them. Claire Wardie of First Draft News identifies seven types of fake news – “satire or parody (no intention to harm but has potential to fool); false connection (when headlines, visuals, or captions do not support the content); misleading content (misleading use of information to frame an issue or an individual); false content (when genuine content is shared with false contextual information); imposter content (when genuine sources are impersonated with false, made-up sources}; manipulated content (when genuine information or imagery is manipulated to deceive as with a doctored photo); and fabricated content (when new content is 100% false, designed to deceive and do harm).”
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions has published a summary in diagram form to help in recognizing fake news, with these main points – “Consider the source (to understand its mission and purpose); read beyond the headline (to understand the whole story); check the authors (to see if they are real and credible); assess the supporting sources (to ensure they support the claims); check the date of publication (to see if the story is relevant and up to date); ask if it is a joke (to determine if it is meant to be satire); review your own biases (to see if they’re affecting your judgment); and ask experts (to get confirmation from independent people with knowledge).”
For me, what Guy Campanile, a 60 Minutes producer said is worth considering: “What we are talking about are stories that are fabricated out of thin air. By most measures, deliberately, and by any definition, that’s a lie.’ ”
It’s not fake news; it’s a bunch of lies.