aldous dela pena,
Do you believe everything you read on the internet? On Facebook? On news sites? One source feels more credible than the other, right? But what if I told you that they are almost one and the same when it comes to delivering information?
Have you heard of the word “clickbait?” This type of online content is quickly becoming a trend and its effects are only getting worse through the continuing time that it is not monitored and controlled. Clickbait is the exaggeration and stretching of information to invite more audience for various reasons such as for more views or fame. Though this minor attention-grabbing strategy seemed to pose little to no threat, its recent trend brought forth a more dangerous counterpart: fake news.
In a nutshell, fake news is proliferated by websites and newspapers shamelessly lying to people and declaring hearsay as fact just for people to share and further increase their audience. It is extremely dangerous because people send wrong information to other people. Worse, this kind of news can act as an agent for people to change their opinions and stands on certain topics, some too powerful and too precious to just manipulate, like votes and business transactions.
When a person receives fake news through a social media site, he/she will soon believe it is true, spread the word to his friends, and after little to no time at all, a large number of people will be spreading false information. Fake news isn’t just strong: it also spreads like wildfire. For example, back in 2007, a blog named Engadget stated that the Apple iPhone 4’s release would be delayed from June to October. Less than 15 minutes after the article was posted, Apple’s sales dropped by approximately 4 billion dollars. Yes, 4 billion dollars. This just proves how strong fake news can be.
But why do we have this problem? Why are these people and companies giving us stretched and exaggerated information? Are they simply just bad at what they do? Isn’t reporting reliable news their job? Well, that’s the problem. Because reporting reliable news isn’t their job. They’re not in the news business, they’re in the advertising business. Most companies or web pages we encounter don’t make money from the news that they make, they make money from the advertising companies that sponsor them. They just need good stories, or in this case, enticing titles, to attract the people to go on their website and see their advertiser’s products.
Most of what we see online are advertising platforms. With this in mind, we should consider thinking twice about the kinds of articles we read. And if this isn’t enough, the only way to differentiate fake news from authentic reports is to do the research ourselves, like checking for the consistency of the news, the credibility of the source, and so much more.
This isn’t just relevant for students, this is relevant for everyone because of our ever-increasing dependency on technology and the internet for information. Being aware and staying vigilant with what we read and consume on the web is extremely essential. Through this, we can help lessen the spread of false information and start raising awareness on what is true among the information that we receive every day. // by Aldous dela Peña
Opinion: Definitely not Clickbait: Fake News
Do you believe everything you read on the internet? On Facebook? On news sites? One source feels more credible than the other, right? But what if I told you that they are almost one and the same when it comes to delivering information?
Have you heard of the word “clickbait?” This type of online content is quickly becoming a trend and its effects are only getting worse through the continuing time that it is not monitored and controlled. Clickbait is the exaggeration and stretching of information to invite more audience for various reasons such as for more views or fame. Though this minor attention-grabbing strategy seemed to pose little to no threat, its recent trend brought forth a more dangerous counterpart: fake news.
In a nutshell, fake news is proliferated by websites and newspapers shamelessly lying to people and declaring hearsay as fact just for people to share and further increase their audience. It is extremely dangerous because people send wrong information to other people. Worse, this kind of news can act as an agent for people to change their opinions and stands on certain topics, some too powerful and too precious to just manipulate, like votes and business transactions.
When a person receives fake news through a social media site, he/she will soon believe it is true, spread the word to his friends, and after little to no time at all, a large number of people will be spreading false information. Fake news isn’t just strong: it also spreads like wildfire. For example, back in 2007, a blog named Engadget stated that the Apple iPhone 4’s release would be delayed from June to October. Less than 15 minutes after the article was posted, Apple’s sales dropped by approximately 4 billion dollars. Yes, 4 billion dollars. This just proves how strong fake news can be.
But why do we have this problem? Why are these people and companies giving us stretched and exaggerated information? Are they simply just bad at what they do? Isn’t reporting reliable news their job? Well, that’s the problem. Because reporting reliable news isn’t their job. They’re not in the news business, they’re in the advertising business. Most companies or web pages we encounter don’t make money from the news that they make, they make money from the advertising companies that sponsor them. They just need good stories, or in this case, enticing titles, to attract the people to go on their website and see their advertiser’s products.
Most of what we see online are advertising platforms. With this in mind, we should consider thinking twice about the kinds of articles we read. And if this isn’t enough, the only way to differentiate fake news from authentic reports is to do the research ourselves, like checking for the consistency of the news, the credibility of the source, and so much more.
This isn’t just relevant for students, this is relevant for everyone because of our ever-increasing dependency on technology and the internet for information. Being aware and staying vigilant with what we read and consume on the web is extremely essential. Through this, we can help lessen the spread of false information and start raising awareness on what is true among the information that we receive every day. // by Aldous dela Peña
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