THE PANDEMIC OF FAKE NEWS

- Fr. Cleophas Braganza sdb

“Catholic nuns assaulted by upper caste women at the village water taps”, “Why PM
Modi called this Tripura IAS officer at 10 pm”, “Muslims in Mumbai’s Mira Road celebrate
the defeat of the Indian cricket team”… These are ‘breaking-news’ headlines that went viral
on social media recently. The first title caused consternation, shock and alarm in Christian
circles, the second one was lapped up with adulation bordering on blind belief by a section
of the population, and the third was widely spread on social media with the intention of
creating animosity towards a minority community. All these news items have one common
factor… that they are false claims!
Fake News is information that claims to be real, but which is either completely false,
misleading, distorted, based on half-truths or satirical in nature. Paid news is created for
some specific purpose and then shared on social media among targeted groups of people
who are likely to believe that it is true. A ‘click-bait’ is a headline which may boldly declare
some news, but the content of the article may narrate something else.
Some people exploit the fact that most social media users do not take the time or
effort to verify each ‘news’ item. Sharing news items on social media turns into a popularity
contest, but just because something is popular and widely-shared doesn’t mean it’s true.
There is also satire or comedy news which deliberately creates some ‘news’ to comment on
issues; this too has the potential to be spread as though it is real news by those who do not
understand its satirical/humorous nature.
Paid news, click-baits and viral social media posts are often funded by political parties,
ideological or religious associations, business consortiums or lobbies. Shady media
organisations create fake news on demand to influence public opinion or perception of
certain issues. Their intention is to sway people’s socio-political leanings, opinions on social
issues, preferences regarding buying, eating and dressing. Some types of fake news seek to
give a twist to religious beliefs and cultural traditions, as well as instil fear, suspicion and
discrimination in the minds of people. Extremist propaganda goes to the extent of inciting
people to hatred, violence and other anti-social activities.
Fortunately such news is quite easily discovered if we are alert and looking for tell-tale
signs. Here are a few tips.

1. Fake news will often not have any credible source of information; neither author nor
media house are mentioned, or sometimes the news is falsely attributed to some
journalist or unheard-of source.
2. No proper date or time will be cited in the article. Note that relative terms like today,
yesterday, last week, five months ago are not reliable indicators of time.
3. There may be no proper geographical indicators to help the reader to locate the
place(s) mentioned.
4. The news article may employ exaggerated language that is not usually used in
journalistic style. Superlative words like fantastic, never-before, exceptional, terrible,
 horrendous, breath-taking, superb, absolutely fascinating are typically used to create
an impression on gullible readers.
5. Fake news articles are often full of spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, capital
letters or dramatic punctuation (?!?!?!). Reputable sources have high proofreading
and grammatical standards.
6. Fake news creators resort to morphing images and videos, or circulating an existing
image/video but trying to pass it off as something else. A close look at such images
or video clips could reveal poor quality, mismatch of colours or sound, lack of lip-
sync or other attempts to tamper with the image/video.
7. Fake news is mostly not found on credible media channels who cross-check and
verify the information that they publish. A Google search will quickly help to
establish whether a particular news item is credible or not.
8. Fake news will sometimes attribute statements to persons or institutions as a way to
back false claims. Again a quick check on the Internet will help a discerning reader to
realise the truth of the matter.

As responsible citizens, we need to critically examine any information that we receive

through social media, email or even on mainstream news channels and newspapers. Instead
of instinctively tapping on the forward button every time we receive some ‘fantastic’,
‘scandalous’, ‘fearful’ or ‘out-of-this-world’ news, we should check whether the article can
pass the tests mentioned above. We need to consider the purpose of certain information
that may be in circulation. There are persons, organisations and big businesses who stand to
profit a lot by manipulating the minds and behaviour of people, and they will not stop at
anything to achieve their goals.
In today’s world where technology has enabled the rapid exchange of information, we need
to be doubly careful in discerning true from false. We also have the responsibility of
enlightening others who might be in the habit of indiscriminately forwarding ‘interesting
stuff’. At the same time, we have to be aware of our own biases and prejudices, and not let
these cloud our judgement when looking at the news. In other words, I should be careful
not to share an article, image or video without first verifying it, just because it fits in with my
own opinions or it is somehow convenient for me to pass it on. Our efforts in sifting facts
from fiction can help us arrive at a balanced understanding of situations, and can also help
prevent deliberate human tragedies that unscrupulous groups create for their own benefit.