How To Spot Fake News on Social Media

Fake News can be described as “deliberately misleading or biased information; manipulated narrative or facts; propaganda. It has become a major challenge in a world where public debate is often very polarized and independent unbiased reporting is largely seen as a thing of the past. The widespread use of the internet, social media and smart phone technology has also made it difficult to determine what is real or not. There are however a few practioner tips that could help to decide what is fake news or otherwise.

To start off with lets, understand some basic terminology:

Misinformation is false or inaccurate information, especially that which is deliberately intended to deceive.

Disinformation on the other hand is False information which is intended to mislead, especially propaganda issued by a government organization to a rival power or the media.

Fake news is similar to misinformation as it is based on information that is either false or inaccurate. Unlike disinformation however, it could be a deliberate attempt to mislead or could also be dissemminated unknowingly. Especially when received by a trusted source. The nature of social media makes it vulnerable to fake news because it is received from those within your close inner circle, who also received from trusted connections. It is possible that all the receivers are unaware that the information being shared is false, inaccurate or misleading but it is shared based on trust in the sender. The inherent danger of fake news and its prominence in societies where there are weak institutions or government is in itself a driver of disinformation, means that citizens must have a way of determining if the information they receive via social media is to be trusted or not. Nigeria is therefore one of several countries that are at significantly high risk of fake news and misinformation.

Although it is difficult to fully validate the authenticity of all social media posts or narratives received, there are some time-tested tips used by practitioners that would go a long way to reducing one’s own vulnerability to fake news. A little bit of understanding about the social media platforms and how they are used, would go a long way to helping to understand how social media platforms help to amplify or diminish the risk of fake news. The following tips are based on insights from the social media landscape in Nigeria. Although some of these tips are universally applicable, some nuances are uniquely Nigerian as they are based on the peculiarities of the media landscape and are also derived from socio-cultural habits as well as how people consume news and interact on social media.

FACEBOOK

Facebook is one of the oldest social media platforms and it is used mostly by people in the older age groups from Generation X and above. It is also a place where connections are made between family, friends and close associates. Because of its unfiltered walls and general public architecture, it is the most vulnerable to fake news, misinformation and disinformation. It is very difficult to control the information flow on the platform or even determine the origin of stories or narratives. The audience is also less discerning than other social media users. Majority of the most prominent conspiracy theories in the world are active and thriving on facebook.

Some fact-checking tips you could apply:

• Be wary of stories that are only published on facebook and are not found anywhere else
• If a story is factual or verifiable, it is likely to be picked up by a local or national newspaper. If it is not, it is better to take it with a pinch of salt and not circulate it any further
• Information posted by institutions or brands on their own official Facebook pages can be treated as being authentic in terms of being an accurate reflection of comments made from source.
• Questions to be asked when you receive a post should include: Who is the source of this story? Why should I believe it? How can I confirm that this person actually said what is being attributed to him or her? Is there sufficient visual evidence to validate the narrative around the story?
• Google Search to see if story is reported on traditional media: i.e papers in print that have a physical location, editorial board, management team etc. eg in Nigeria – this would be newspapers like PUNCH, Daily Times, Thisday, Guardian etc

• Also search to see if posted on Twitter: If the story is only on Facebook, it is likely to be a fabricated story. Twitter is the most discerning social media platform patronized by people who are experts in their field and like constructive debate.

  • Most institutions, brands, organizations, public figures and governments have a twitter account so real-time fact-checking is much easier than on other platforms.
  • On Twitter in particular, if a fake story, photo or video is posted – there is likely to be someone in the comments highlighting that it is fake with credible evidence to support their argument i.e. link to an earlier news report or something else. 

WHATSAPP

• Be extremely cautious with WhatsApp threads: Especially with controversial messages signed off with a name that may or may not be known. No one signs their name off on a WhatsApp post and many of the shared messages are doctored, fabricated, misquoted, misrepresented and not credible. It is a statement attributed to a public figure, it should be posted on their own platforms as well. If not posted on their platforms, please disregard.
• Whatsapp is highly vulnerable to fake news and misinformation because it is a closed platform and there is no way for the receiver to verify the source or origin of the information. In that sense, it is actually worse than Facebook and other platforms

ALWAYS FACT-CHECK WITH PRINT MEDIA

News reports from print media are a good place to fact check misinformation on political stories in particular because impacted parties are likely to make a rebuttal if something inaccurate or disagreeable is widely spread about them online. And the newspapers are likely to pick up the story.

• Although it is possible that a factual story could be posted on social media and unreported on print media, it is unlikely that a negative and untrue story would go unchallenged by the impacted party on traditional print media if the individual or entity involved is a public figure or relatively high profile. (google the headline of the post and see what comes up)
• If a negative political or celebrity story is WIDELY circulated on social media and is not concisively debunked on print media by the impacted parties, then it is safe to assume that there may be some truth to the story; or the benefits of response is considered to be less than the cost of rebuttal

CAUTIONARY NOTE: VIDEOS AND PHOTOS

Videos and photos can be doctored to tell a different story.

A few tips:

• Look for details in the photo or video that show the time stamp
• Watch to see if it is a full flowing video or has numerous cuts to join words and visuals together
• Check to see if the audio matches what the lips seem to be saying
• The burden of proof should be on the video or image.
  • The video should clearly and incontestably validate the narrative that is being spun around it. (If the caption provides context that cannot be seen in the video or validated conclusively through another independent source eg. a newspaper article or public statement by the individual or credible institutions, then treat the narrative with suspicion until conclusively validated by more concrete evidence or credible reporting. The advise would be not to share or reference the information to anyone especially if it could be potentially life threatening or socially sensitive.)

COMPARATIVE VULNERABILITY TO FAKE NEWS 

• YouTube – Channels are obscure. Relatively enclosed spaces where hosts can say anything they want to their audiences. Many hosts are more concerned about clicks and views due to the channel-supported monetary incentive for generating high views.

VERDICT: High propensity for fake news.

• Twitter – Users are the most discerning on the internet. Comments will call out fake news in minutes.

VERDICT: Relatively low propensity for fake news.

• Instagram – Similar to YouTube but slightly less obscure because videos are short and you can stumble on them without clicking anything. Content is much easier to come to mainstream attention and be fact-checked.

VERDICT: Medium propensity for fake news.

• WhatsApp – A completely closed platform. No way of verifying the origin or time stamp of the content, unless if posted as a link to an open platform on the internet.

VERDICT: VERY HIGH propensity for fake news.

• Facebook – Similar to YouTube. Although the monetary incentive for high engagement is not as direct as YouTube, the communities are relatively enclosed so there is less opportunity for external fact-checking

VERDICT: High propensity for fake news.