“Fake News” – Real or Fake???
The recent presidential election created a new form of media, “fake news”. Fake news is information that has been manipulated by a writer to create a story that draws an audience. Fake news sounds true, and the place where it is published looks like a real news page, but it is all created to make money or create chaos. In the article, “Fake news author is fired; apologizes to those ‘disappointed’ by his actions”, by Joe Marusak, Cam Harris, a recent Davidson College grad and Republican intern, states, “While the initial motivation behind launching a fake news site was financially-based, the lesson I learned from the experience is far more important – and it’s one that can’t be covered in a tweet or even a NYT article.” Harris was the author of a fake news article, “BREAKING: Tens of thousands of fraudulent Clinton votes found in Ohio warehouse” that may or may not have swayed voters. His argument evinced the mantra “the election is rigged” and ” was eventually shared with 6 million people”. “Fake” news can be used as propaganda or for financial gain, but it is ethically irresponsible. Harris and Davidson College apologized for this action; however, there is no way to retract the information people have read and shared. Many are unable to deduce that the news found in these articles are not true.
In the article, the author use numbers and statistics to induce the reader to look closely at the news for validity. The fact that “Harris is a 23-year-old” who created such chaos at such a young age indicates the issues with fake news. The author may be saying that the younger generation does not realize how dangerous this type of news can be. The mention of “tens of thousands of fraudulent Clinton votes” was an impetus for the article to be “eventually shared with 6 million people” Harris’ use of such large numbers caused people to believe and spread the news. In his statement, Harris’ use of the phrase “large scale changes [are] occurring in America” makes the reader weary of “fake” news articles that are intractable once they get in the mainstream media.
An example of fake news from a popular film is when the Emperor announces that all Jedi are fractious and evil in Revenge of the Sith. He goes so far as to claim that the Jedi infringe his private office to attack him. The announcement was a lie intended to help create a dichotomy in the galaxy, and it worked, but it was still fake news.
Fake news author is fired; apologizes to those ‘disappointed’ by his actions.
Politifact Article: 2016 Lie of the Year: Fake News.