The Hidden Harm of Fake News
Creating or posting fake news online might seem like a bit of fun, but it can have devastating, lasting impacts.
You have probably noticed that this section of the website is dedicated to fake news - if the big title didnt give it away, the absurdity of the stories probably did. It might seem like a bit of fun, but this story has a more serious and true note.
The first important thing to know when sharing fake news, is that once you've put it online, it will be there forever. Even after deletion, people could have shared it or taken pictures of it. This can lead to negative professional impacts. Employers frequently check that employees or job aplicants havent posted any negative, unproffessional or controversial content online.
Fake news creates distrust, even in traditional or reliable media. It also leads to polarisation - it reinforces biases, driving comunities further apart and making consensuses on critical issues difficult.
Fake news can also have physical health risks. Promoting false cures, or encouraging people against vaccination can cause potentially life changing or even fatal consequences. Its also bad for mental health, as it can often be upsetting to some, even if its not distressing to you.
From a political perspective, it can manipulate ellections, which undermimes democracy, leading to objective facts are less influential than emotional appeals and personal beliefs. This is known as post-truth era. These are just some of the many reasons against posting or promoting fake news.
If theres so many negatives about fake news, how do you avoid seeing it and how do you identify it? If you want to avoid seeing entirely, try to avoid all media sources that don't have a good reputation, stick to reliable sources like BBC news. Avoiding social media is also another good method to avoid it as anyine can post anything and it spreads quickly.
You can check whether the news you see is true by checking if its from a trusted source, check the post date, look for evidence, check multiple sources, check its not from a site that is based around fake news. You can also use fact checking tools such as Full Fact or adding a browser extension that checks its reliability. If theres images, you can do a reverse image search using tools like reverse image search.
Remember, if you're ever concerned about something you see online, you can conatct Childline on 0800 1111 or Samaritans on 116 123.