Table of Contents
Introduction
The meaning of ‘fake’ is not genuine or counterfeit. Fake news has been going on since the 1800s (Standage, 2017), but recently the upsurge of fake news has heightened. In a current survey to identify fake news, 4 in 5 were confident, but 90% got at least 1 wrong (Huiwen, 2018). As recent as Nov 2016, a post showing the collapsing of the Punggol Waterway Terraces managed to spread, causing widespread panic (Ng, 2016). There has even been a fake news bill (a proposed law) implemented to help stop the spread to protect society (Yuen-C, 2019). This paper will analyse the causes and effects of fake news. It will also cover why there are more fake news out there and how to tackle it by looking into the perspectives of sociology and law.
Causes of Fake News
Firstly, social influences are the main reason for fake news. For instances, using memes to spread messages and fake news on Facebook is becoming a trend. It is efficient and is easily spread by people (Brandtzæg, 2017). At this age and time, fake news is everywhere and posted by many people, especially teenagers, who are influenced by social media, such as Facebook and Instagram. Many believe it is cool or fun to make up fake news just to trick the community and to fit in with the social norm. Social media is where all our friends are and where we can find like-minded people who share the same interests. This identity is then reinforced the more we read similar news stories shared through our social network, confirming our ideas and biases (Matsa, 2017). Therefore, social media has a large role to play in the release of fake news as it connects all of us and is a platform where many people can share information they want with no limits.
Effects of fake new
As if more people creating fake news wasn’t enough, fake new can also result in anxiety and disbelief of the media.
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Panic
When people spread fake news, it could lead to an outbreak of distress and uncertainty. One example would be, ‘Claims that the roof of Punggol Waterway Terraces has collapsed’ (Ng, 2016). Where an anonymous citizen has used a popular social media website to post a picture of the roof of the Punggol Waterway Terraces collapsing. This has led many people to believe it and share it with all their friends and colleagues, resulting in a widespread panic of people who lived near the area. To make matters worse, they even contacted the Police and Civil Defence Force, cutting them off of other people that need them more. From the example, this shows that fake new can have a large impact on the community. When people start to panic, they tend to react before thinking. They start to spread the word, letting everyone know about the news, resulting in a spread of false information which can lead to disaster.
Distrust
Not only does the rise of fake news cause distress and chaos, but fake news also results in the readers to question if every article released is real. This leads the readers to feel lost as they will start to doubt every news article released. When there comes a time when the news is real but does not seem likely, people might just take it as another hoax and ignore it. An example would be “When people were asked why they don’t trust the media, about 45 per cent referred to things like inaccuracy or bias (Ingram, 2018). From the example, this shows that fake news results in distrust in the media. Therefore, social media is the main cause of fake news and measures should be taken to stop the continuous spread of fake news.
How to tackle Fake News
In the view of the law, stricter sets of rules and regulations are required to help negate the outbreak of fake news. Some might agree, “It will be very unwise for us to watch and do nothing because it can sweep us over very quickly.” (Yuen-C, Fake news law needed to retain trust in key institutions: Shanmugam, 2019). From what the home affairs and law minister has said, we require a new law to help deter people from abusing their freedom of speech and take the leniency of the government for granted.
The government has implemented a fake news bill (a proposed law) that the people will have to face should they attempt to create and spread fake news to create panic or distress. “as a government we owe a duty to our citizens to make sure that we protect our society,” (Yuen-C, Parliament: Up to 10 years’ jail for individuals and $1 million fine for firms under draft law against online falsehoods, 2019). Thus, should anyone spread online falsehoods with malicious intent to harm the public interest, they shall be charged with a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine of up to $1 million.
Conclusion
This report has summarised the causes and effects of fake news. Fake news has been an ongoing crisis and after seeing what results in the spread of fake news, we must all do our part to reduce the spread of fake news. We must be more aware of the news that we read or is sent to us on social media or genuine news sites. News that is definitely fake should be reported and taken down. When these simple procedures are carried out, the outbreak of fake news will definitely plummet and the media will easily gain more trust from the citizens. There is only so much the law implemented by the government can do to help curb the creation and spread of fake news. Thus, to have a safe environment without fake news, we should be more alert and help the community to detect fake news.
References
- Brandtzæg. (2017). Exposing the fake news on Social Media. Norwegian: Sintef.
- Huiwen, N. (2018). 4 in 5 Singaporeans confident in spotting fake news but 90 per cent wrong when put to the test: Survey. Singapore: The Strait Times.
- Ingram, M. (2018). Most Americans say they have lost trust in the media. America: Columbia Journalism Review.
- Matsa, E. (2017). The impact of Fake News: Society. United Kingdom: kingsleynapley.
- Ng, C. (2016). HDB files police report over Punggol Waterway Terraces photo hoax. Singapore: The Straits Times.
Standage, T. (2017). The True History of Fake News. New York: 1843Magazine. - Yuen-C, T. (2019). Fake news law needed to retain trust in key institutions: Shanmugam. Singapore: The Strait Times.
- Yuen-C, T. (2019). Fake news law needed to retain trust in key institutions: Shanmugam. Singapore: The strait Times.
- Yuen-C, T. (2019). Parliament: Up to 10 years’ jail for individuals and $1 million fine for firms under draft law against online falsehoods. Singapore: The Strait Times.
