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How to identify fake news
Fake news existed even before the internet, but with the World Wide Web and social media, the problem has been elevated to a whole different level. Add to that the protests and volatility Bangladesh — and many other places in the world – have been witnessing, what you have is a breeding ground for fake news.
But the term itself is problematic: too broad, too vague, and overused and rotted by politicians worldwide! Words such as “misinformation” and “disinformation” and various theories and concepts have attempted to make better sense of it.
So, how do you go about spotting fake news?
Rely on the most reliable sources
If you can master just this, you can often easily steer away from fake news. When you come across a news story, simply check whether it is from a trusted news outlet. Reputed news organisations have a solid fact-checking process and gatekeeping. It is therefore less likely for a reputed brand to publish major inaccuracies, let alone publish totally fabricated or downright misleading content.
Beware of imposters
Getting into murky waters now, there is the concept of imposter content, imposter site, imposter account etc., where the source tries to mimic a trustworthy brand. So, for fake news, it can be about pretending to be a reputed news organisation which many people are familiar with, let’s say by adopting a similar name or URL.
Don’t drink old wine in a new bottle
Continuing with the example, you can come across videos and reels with false or misleading captions. A video, reel, and image may be “real”, but it does not necessarily mean that the caption is too. In other words, any content is as real as the caption itself.
You may come across a reel of a harrowing incident or a mob attack which happened a few years ago but with a caption framing it as something recent.
A good way to deal with it is to be politically aware and use your evaluation before sharing.
Tackle the threat of deep fakes
Artificial Intelligence can be scary! With technological tools, fake images/videos/audio clips can feature people doing things they never did or saying things they never said.
However, while deep fakes are getting better day by day, there can be glitches or inconsistencies. Does the number of fingers of the person add up? Does the skin look too smooth? Do the lip movements seem natural and sync with the voice? And so on.
There are deep fake detectors you can find online, but tell-tale signs and your judgment on the believability of the content can take you a long way, along with crosschecking from a few trusted brands.
We should improve our media literacy in the long run. For now, when in doubt, one should at least consider how believable the story is, crosscheck, and just apply common sense with a bit of sense of humour as well!
By M H Haider
Photo: Collected