Fake news is a term that defines misleading information presented by the media. The primary aim of fake news is to damage the reputation of one’s enemies or entity or generate revenue through advertisements. Media plays a critical responsibility in developing and shaping society’s morality and ethical principles; hence, they have a crucial role in maintaining the authenticity of information as distributed to the public.
As a result, fake news has significantly influenced the nature of a country’s political, social, and economic state. Over the years, fake news has evolved from tv outlets to online dissemination of information. In the current society, governments and intelligence agencies use fake news as weapons to spread propaganda to gain public support. For instance, politicians use fake news to damage the reputation of their opponents and gain public confidence, increasing their probability of winning the elections. Therefore, fake news can spread through emails, tv news, and online platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Consequently, it is challenging for the public to distinguish between real and fake news, thus undermining the legitimacy of journalism. As technology advances, online media platforms allow the creation of accounts with fake identities, which aims at spreading an organization’s goals and objectives. On the other hand, the increasing rate of fake media loses the credibility of information. The mainstream media shapes the morality of society since people are likely to believe information disseminated by mainstream media; therefore, disinformation misleads society by recognizing something bad as good. For instance, spreading fake news on the going conflict between Russia and Ukraine can result in a politically influenced war that can destroy the economy and international relations. So, fake news affects society by undermining trust between mass media outlets and their consumers.