Fake News... What Does That Mean?
The Everchanging Media Platform
In the last 100 years, the purpose of media has changed drastically. What was first used for entertainment is now being used to spread information. Vice versa, information platforms are drifting into entertainment. What does this mean? Well, it means information now more than ever is subject to be falsified. Likewise, pertinent information is being mixed up with irrelevant matters.
Recalling the first-ever technological advancement related to media, the Gutenberg Press, it is known that nowadays information can be spread much easier. Technological advancements such as cellphones and computers now spread information like wildfire. Different platforms such as social media deliver information to people of all ages, races, genders, etc. Why does this matter? Because what if the information spread is false.
There are many instances where false information has been spread and thought to be true. This is a major problem for the public because of the repercussions of false information. People can lose their livelihoods over falsehoods. You might be reading this and say, "well what am I supposed to do about it? How will that affect me?" Hopefully, false information won't affect you as an individual, but let's look at an instance where it affected multiple people's opinions, values, and hearts:
Fact Checking & False Claims/ Social Media Post
Recently, in an attempt to stop falsehoods from spreading, websites such as Snopes have been created. These websites fact check for you. How convenient! Only thing is, how many people think to fact check? Being that false information is spread, evidently, not many people do this.
Recently, there was a claim that a Hindu woman was burned alive for attending a Christian prayer service. After reading an article published by Snopes, it has been proven to be a false claim. While this topic is gruesome and sad, it is important to address for many reasons. Claims such as this one ruin the reputation of Hindus and also exploits them. People who do not fact check claims such as this one can develop feelings of resent and hatred towards innocent groups which can create harmful situations in the future.
The claim began online when a video surfaced of a 16-year-old girl was beaten and burned to death. It spread like rapid fire, claiming that it was in India and that her death was because she attended a Christian prayer service. THE TRUTH: This girl was allegedly connected to the murder of a taxi driver in Guatemala. She was approached by an angry mob who then murdered her. It was not in India, nor was she attending a prayer service.
Snopes Article:
Comments
Post a Comment