Fake news, fake news, misinformation, disinformation, distracting information, misleading information, hoaxes. These are a number of terms that occur frequently and will continue to occur. Fake news is not only textual, but also photos and videos. The purpose of fake news is to influence people or groups of people. The underlying intentions are then in line with the person spreading the fake news. Fake news existed before social media provided it further.
Before the age of social media, the focus was on monetizing clickbait articles. Clickbait (literally: "click bait") in internet journalism and, for example, YouTube entertainment, is the use of a misleading, sensational title of an article, video or the like, in an attempt to entice the reader to click a mouse and thus generate more revenue from internet advertising. To weaken the deception and also stimulate curiosity, the title in question often ends with a question mark.
The level of fake news will be further professionalized in the future, making recognition even more difficult. But for the time being, we can still detect it in time if we are dealing with fake news.
Definitions
Disinformation (misinformation, hoaxes) is untrue, inaccurate or misleading information that is deliberately created and spread to make money or to harm an individual, social group, organization or country.
Misinformation is incorrect information that is spread more or less accidentally.
Fake news is sometimes disinformation and sometimes misinformation. The term fake news is also used as a synonym for lies and careless journalism.
Texts
Contents are intended to appear truthful with the fake news. And because it is becoming more and more professional, the texts also seem correct. But if you look carefully at the content, you miss the correct substantiation and there is no possibility to do a traditional fact check. The deception is therefore difficult, if not impossible, to control.
Photos and videos
It doesn't stop at texts. Photos and videos are frequently used. Photos are digitally adjusted using special programs. The quality can be so good that it is almost impossible to tell that it is fake. Deepfake videos are those videos that have been very well edited.
How to recognize fake news?
Before you comment on a text, photo or video, it is recommended to check whether everything is correct. The following tips are for that.
Who is the sender?
Check via Google whether the writer of the text actually wrote the text. And also check whether the text fits in with that copywriter.
If there is a website of the writer or company, do not check via the link of the text, but completely separately via Google whether the text is also on the official website.
There are also websites that produce fake news as entertainment. De De Speld, De Gladiool and Nieuwspaal are those satirical websites.
Is it a legal website?
Check whether the website is a reliable news source. By clicking on the many buttons you can find out whether the website is correct. If clicking through does not work, provides no information, strange or incorrect information, it is fake.
Which source was used?
Fake news usually uses fictional sources. It is therefore important to look further than just stating the source. Is there an original source and are photo and text identical? Is there a link to the source? Use a search engine and preferably in an anonymous window to bypass the filter bubble.
Is the photo or video real?
Videos and in particular the deepfake videos, in which the distinction between real and fake is almost impossible to see. There are two options for faking these types of videos.
Firstly the mouth movement and secondly the whole face. At this point you can still see from the mouth movement whether it is exactly parallel to the text. If not, then it's fake.
With the entire face, you can still look closely at the edges of the face to see if there are any abnormalities. If so, then it's fake.
If you doubt the authenticity of a photo, you can use Google images and a (fake) profile photo. Websites like izitru can discover Photoshop edits.
Content aimed at you?
Check whether the text is specifically aimed at evoking emotions or whether it is specifically aimed at you. And if so, has the writer selected information? Was any information omitted? Is the context of the text no longer logical?
Is it also on other media?
Check whether the message was sent only to you or whether it is also mentioned on other media. If it's just you, and possibly many others that you can't see, be careful.
Advertorial check
When companies place advertising texts, they are obliged to indicate that it is advertising by using the term 'Advertorial'. This is not necessary for a real news report.
Current affairs
Check the date of posting. It happens that old messages are reposted, while the old date is still visible. In that case you may doubt its authenticity.
