fake news they are false news published by the media as if they were real information. This type of text, for the most part, is made and disseminated with the aim of legitimizing a point of view or harming a person or group (usually public figures).
At fake news have a big power viral, that is, they spread quickly. False information appeals to the reader/viewer's emotions, causing people to consume “news” material without confirming whether its content is true.
O persuasive power of fake news it is higher in populations with less education and who depend on social networks for information. However, fake news can also reach more educated people, as the content is often linked to political bias.
Video lesson about fake news
How did the term Fake News come about?
The term fake news gained strength worldwide in 2016, with the US presidential race, when content Falsehoods about candidate Hillary Clinton were heavily shared by Donald voters Trump
Read too:How are presidential elections conducted in the United States?
Despite the recent use of the term fake news, the concept of this kind of fake content comes from centuries past and there is no official date of origin. The word "fake” is also relatively new in vocabulary, as stated by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Until the 19th century, English-speaking countries used the term “false news” to name the rumors of great circulation.
At Fakes News they have always been present throughout history, what has changed is the nomenclature, the means used for dissemination and the persuasive potential that fake material has acquired in recent years.
Long before Journalism was harmed by fake news, writers already propagated false information about their enemies through press releases and works. Years later, advertising became the vehicle used to spread distorted data to the population, which gained momentum in the 20th century.
How does Fake News work?
The production and placement of Fake News constitute a real market, as shown in the Correio Braziliense newspaper special (to access the full article, click on here). This universe is fed by people of great influence, usually politicians in electoral campaigns, who hire teams specialized in this type of viral content. These teams can be composed of former journalists, advertisers, marketing professionals, technology professionals and even police officers, who guarantee the security of the headquarters and used equipments.
Some producers of fake news they illegally buy the email addresses and cell phone numbers of millions of people to “fire” fake content. There is a preference for contacts of religious leaders or political movements, as they pass it on to their followers and ask that the information (taken as true) be shared.
See too: How Fake News Falls in Entrance Exam and Enem
On social networks, fake profiles are created (with photos, personal data and daily posts) that start interacting with other people to prove themselves. Afterwards, the profiles start spreading news and videos from fake websites and encourage their contacts to do the same.
The sites that contain the fake news, for the most part, are also part of the strategy of teams specialized in this service. Those responsible for viral information buy page domains and adopt a visual identity similar to of the target (political party, for example), they start with publications that are sometimes true and thus attract their public. With the gain of relevance on search engines, Fake News producers start to publish false information as if it were real.
Contractors invest high amounts so that false news is produced and broadcast confidentially and without leaving any traces for possible investigations. There are expenses with temporary accommodation and with products such as prepaid cell phones and computers, which are thrown away after the news is produced.
Payments that are made usually come from reloadable cards so there is no tracking. It is common practice to use the CPF of the people to be defamed so that the cards can be registered and used. According to an article by Correio Braziliense, the tactic makes the victim decide to investigate the movement ends up reaching its own document, preventing it from continuing the search for criminals.
To avoid harassment, producers change locations constantly, just as the tech professionals on the team change the IP (type of computer address). The content produced is saved in so-called “clouds”.
The high investment in technology and the adoption of strategies to avoid identifying who hires the service and the people who do it are measures that make it difficult to track the disseminators of fake news. In addition to the difficulty of locating the culprits, Brazilian law does not have an exclusive punishment for this type of crime.
Does a story seem iffy? Be wary and research! Fake News is often sensational and appeals to the reader's emotion.
why people share fake news?
According to a survey carried out by communication vehicles, such as the Newspaper, the pages of fake news have greater participation of users of social networks than those of real journalistic content. From 2017 to 2018, traditional communication vehicles showed a 17% drop in their engagement (interaction), while the propagators of fake news had an increase of 61%.
To legitimize the fake news, the pages that produce and disseminate this type of information tend to mix false publications with the reproduction of true news from reliable sources. Another problem present in social networks are the sensationalist calls that lead to error. Anyone who wants to spread a rumor can take a data or statement out of context to use in their title or in the text of their post.
Do not stop now... There's more after the advertising ;)
Another feature of the fake news is the use of montages in videos and images. The internet user is very visual, so a manipulated or out-of-context photo can easily be advertised as true.
Image manipulation
Image manipulation has been around for a long time. An example is the intervention in official photos of the Soviet regime, in the middle of the 20th century. a photo of Stalin, in 1926, underwent two amendments to exclude political enemies.
Left, original photo of Stalin with the leaders. On the right, postcard from the edited photo.
(Photograph: Collection of The David King Collection at Tate/BBC)
In Brazil, the manipulation of images intensified in times of election. In 2018, for example, people changed candidate numbers in their party advertisements, leading the voter to error.
consequences of fake news
Spread fake news it is a very dangerous act. Sharing false information, manipulated photos and videos, and questionable publications can pose risks to public health, encourage prejudice and result in deaths. See some examples:
• Innocent lynching
In 2014, Brazil witnessed the case of a fake news that had a tragic end. News released by UOL News reported that residents of Guarujá/SP lynched a woman to death because of a rumor posted on Facebook. She was accused of kidnapping children to perform black magic rituals, however, the information was false.
The use of social media to share news also perpetuates violence because of fake news In other countries. India is a worrying scenario in the dissemination of fake videos by WhatsApp. In 2018, fictional scenes were edited and broadcast as alleged kidnapping of children in Rainpada, a local village in India (To read the news, click on here). Desperate villagers began to pursue the alleged kidnappers, resulting in the deaths of five people.
• Public Health Issues
Anti-vaccination movements have started to grow again in recent years. Some people against the use of vaccines spread false news and spread their views that vaccinating the population is bad, which is a serious problem, as resistance to vaccination endangers population.
Read too: Know the importance of vaccination
Due to the growth of measles cases in Brazil in 2018, the Ministry of Health had to promote vaccination campaigns. to fight the fake news on the subject and encourage participation in campaigns, the Ministry of Health (MS) needed to launch advertisements and newsletters to combat the fake news about vaccines in different media and social networks.
See more: Outbreak of Measles in Brazil
• Homophobia
Another Ministry had to step in to deny rumors. In 2016, the Ministry of Education (MEC) needed to go public and clarify that there was no circulation of the fake "gay kit"in public schools in Brazil (to read the MEC statement, click on here).
• Prejudice - Xenophobia
The hate speech that takes over social media resulted in attacks on Venezuelan immigrant camps. Residents of Paracaima, the city of Roraima through which people from Venezuela enter Brazil, used sticks, stones and homemade bombs to attack the camps.
Another example was that of a merchant who was injured after being assaulted by a group of Venezuelans. At fake news about the case, they disclosed that the merchant was not helped because the priority was to assist Venezuelan immigrants. The information caused revolt in the city's population, which started to attack immigrants.
Read too: Crisis in Venezuela's economy and politics
• Legitimation of Violence
Positions contrary to a political ideology can fuel hate speech. fake news about councilwoman Marielle Franco, for example, murdered in 2018, were spread on social networks. Among the rumors was the alleged connection of the victim with trafficking. The justice of Rio de Janeiro entered the case and ordered the removal of the content from the air.
Marielle was a councilor linked to the fight for Human rights, especially of women and the black community of Rio de Janeiro. She denounced politicians and police officers for abuses of power and other violations and, as a result, created enmities with various public figures.
How to fight Fake News?
The fight against fake news it is difficult. The mechanisms for producing and disseminating false information are very efficient and hide the identity of criminals.
For the internet user, the important thing is to be able to identify false or sensational news and not share dubious content. Journalism agencies are a useful tool to know if a content is fake news or not.
THE Magnifying Glass Agencyis a creation of Revista Piauí with the Getúlio Vargas Foundation and the Um Brasil network. Launched in 2015, the site analyzes national and international content and classifies them into: true; true, but…; it's too early to tell; exaggerated; contradictory; unsustainable; fake and eye.
O Rumors.org is a site formed by several Brazilian journalists who investigate content circulating on the networks and inform readers whether it is true or false.
Another agency specializing in unraveling fake news é “to the facts”. Its creators are part of an international network of researchers and work with the analysis of the most popular issues on the internet. The site has a partnership with Facebook to help users of Messenger (the company's instant messaging service) in the navigation and identification of the veracity of posts. News is defined by the team as true, inaccurate, exaggerated, contradictory, unsustainable and false.
By Lorraine Vilela Campos
Brazil School Team
