Effects of Fake News on Society
- showmethereality
- Jan 8, 2021
- 3 min read
A society in which information is abundant and easily accessible provides an excellent environment for fake news. The news might be false, but its impact on society is very much real. But what exactly happens if the news is not checked? They create confusion: Unlike informative and fact-based news, fake news has the potential to create great confusion. They may seem trivial, but if left unchecked, they can easily disrupt people’s thinking, confusing them and causing panic. Fake news has the potential to weaken confidence in facts. A great example of this is after reading an untrue article it becomes believable that brown cows produce cocoa milk.
Image source: medium.com
They form fake or scientifically false beliefs: Fake news can sometimes be so convincing that they are believed to be the reality. An example of this is a trend from 2015 called #KylieJennerChallenge. During this period, teenagers started sucking bottles to make their lips bigger. It sounds like it is not a big deal, harmless, right? But there have been occasional bruises on the lips of some teenagers instead of their lips being enlarged.
Image source: https://www.lolwot.com/
They encourage crime: Some people would go to the end of the world, just to prove that the news they have read is true, while it is not. This fact in itself might end up in them hurting themselves, but also the people around them. Many conspiracy theories are born in violent and dangerous situations. An example of this is a man who fired a gun inside a pizzeria in Washington to investigate a conspiracy theory about Democrats holding child slaves. The idea came solely from fake news.
Image source: medium.com
They ruin people and relationships: Fake news can encourage cyberbullying. People slander each other with little to no background information. One case of stolen identity is model and photographer Laura Hunter, who has been portrayed as a supporter of former President of the United States Donald Trump. She was set up as if she were anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant and very pro-Trump. She sued the fake news providers for framing her as something she was not.
Image source: https://www.healthline.com/
They can ruin businesses and reputation: Fake news is just as dangerous to companies and their reputation as it is to people. Lies can make them seem bad, dangerous and unreliable. If people lose confidence in a company, it can straight up ruin it.
Image source:https://www.execunet.com/
Fake news, however, also has an impact on finances and health. People buy things based on the recommendation of their favourite influencers or bloggers. They also follow diets that can be found on the internet that probably may not be recommended by a doctor. It can also have the effect of fear, extreme right thinking or racist behaviour.
Image source:https://pressroom.usc.edu/
Through the effects listed, we can easily understand that fake news can take on different faces. They can have a big impact on how our worldview shapes because we make important decisions based on information. By gaining information, we form an idea about certain people and situations. So if we figure out the facts we might have read on the internet are false, or exaggerated or distorted, we will most likely not make good decisions. Most people never realize that fake news poses a serious threat to society until there are casualties. Let us be part of the people who control the spread of fake news!
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