Nowadays, technology plays an integral role in every person’s life. Be it a phone, computer, TV, or radio, these sources serve as channels of information, allowing people to learn more about daily events. However, with the advent of technology and the Internet, the dissemination of any bits of information and exchange has become easier and faster, and any individual is capable of manipulating data. Modern news is shaped and filtered by millions of people and sometimes has the most dangerous outcomes. News and social media were a critical part of the 2016 U.S. elections. The events and news released during this period of time illustrated how the information is consumed by the general public and to what extent it can manipulate the perceptions of society. Thus, clickbait, sloppy journalism, and fabrications are the pillars of fake news in the 21st century, influencing the minds of society and causing butterfly effects across nations.
First, it is noteworthy that false news has existed for a long time, and as long as groups or communities of people have existed, rumors and fabricated narratives have been present, making it an old phenomenon that predates the invention of the press. A lot of distorted, wholly incorrect, and made-up stories were produced in leaflets during the 1600s of communication (Botha & Pieterse, 2020). These initiatives mostly aimed to increase reading and revenue (Botha & Pieterse, 2020). Nevertheless, as technology has developed, ways of communicating information have altered, and the 21st century presents new challenges (Bonnet & Rosenbaum, 2020). The creation and quick expansion of social media has made it possible to distribute and obtain information in a fraction of a second. This has enabled misleading material to circulate as quickly as possible. The media richness hypothesis serves as the foundation for this analysis of the idea of false news, its many manifestations, and biased material via social media (Botha & Pieterse, 2020). Therefore, social media is the preferred way of spreading fake news, which makes it a dangerous weapon.
Without a doubt, the elections with candidates like Trump and Clinton were not protected by a wave of fake news that permeated social media platforms. It is still unclear how false news operated on Twitter during the 2016 U.S. presidential election and what impact it had. In this study, researchers analyzed a collection of 171 million tweets from the five months prior to the voting day to find 30 million posts from 2.2 million people that link to news sources (Bovet, A., & Makse, 2019). Researchers discovered that 25% of such messages transmitted either fake news or material that was excessively biased, depending on the type of news source (Bovet, A., & Makse, 2019). Therefore, fake news is intended to influence the emotions and perceptions of readers.
As can be seen above, the flow of fake news was distributed during the elections, which indicates that media consumption during this time can result in high monetization for news sources or as a campaign tool. Amongst the preposterous examples of fake news during this period of time was the piece with the headline “Pope Francis shocks world, endorses Donald Trump for president” (Botha & Pieterse, 2020). With the help of this article, one can see the true essence of fake news in the 21st century. For instance, the firm element intrinsic to the modern era is clickbait, which involves the deliberate fabrication of news articles in order to enhance website traffic and advertising income. Aside from writing a text, the platforms additionally might add pictures to attract the attention of the readers. Here, the authors indicate that the news “shocks the world,” which immediately influences the interest of the individual. Therefore, enhanced access to the Internet and the use of media platforms lead to an increased amount of information that can increase profit and popularity.
Probably the most prevalent element of fake news in the 21st century is sloppy journalism. It involves the construction of news stories that could deceive consumers by utilizing incorrect information or untrustworthy sources. The article above, according to the authors, was retrieved from an unreliable source online, which was later deleted from the Internet (Van Heekeren, 2019). Undoubtedly, this is a common issue on social media when the material is retrieved from not credible sources, which are either biased or based on entirely fabricated data. Such type of news is usually used to either harm the reputation of an entity or, on the contrary, boost it. During the elections, it is obvious that it can be used for both purposes.
Finally, another example of fake news is entirely fabricated material, which does not have any truthful parts. While sloppy journalism has been present for centuries, nowadays, it has permeated the media channels since it can be used as a strong tool to manipulate markets or elections (Botha & Pieterse, 2020). Previously, TV and newspapers were the main channels of information. However, nowadays, people spend more time using more advanced technologies, such as phones or computers, which give access to the most recently published and updated information. As a result, the headline about the Pope and his endorsement of the candidate can be used to steer the public in the direction of this individual.
Hence, the three pillars of false news in the 21st century are clickbait, sloppy journalism, and fabrications. They affect public opinion and have global butterfly effects in any industry. The concept of fake news, its various expressions, and biased content on social media are based on the media richness hypothesis. Without a doubt, a wave of misleading news that swept social media platforms did not shield the elections from politicians like Trump and Clinton. The news article that immediately gained attention was the one that claimed Pope endorsed the candidate, Trump. Here, clickbait, which comprises the intentional creation of news articles in order to increase website traffic and advertising revenue, was used. Aside from clickbait, fabrication characterizes fake news that features in this article and in the news in general. Finally, sloppy journalism is the final component that is most common in the 21st century, based on retrieving information from unreliable sources.
References
Botha, J., & Pieterse, H. (2020). Fake news and deepfakes: A dangerous threat for 21st century information security. In International conference on cyber warfare and security (pp. 57-66).
Bonnet, J. L., & Rosenbaum, J. E. (2020). “Fake news,” misinformation, and political bias: Teaching news literacy in the 21st century. Communication Teacher, 34(2), 103-108. Web.
Bovet, A., & Makse, H. A. (2019). Influence of fake news in Twitter during the 2016 US presidential election. Nature Communications, 10(1), 1-14. Web.
Van Heekeren, M. (2020). The curative effect of social media on fake news: A historical re-evaluation. Journalism Studies, 21(3), 306-318. Web.