How to avoid being deceived by fake news?
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The definition and current situation of fake news
If we search [fake news](https://www.google.com/search?q=%E5%81%87%E6%96%B0%E8%81%9E&oq=%E5%81%87%E6%96%B0%E8%81%9E&aqs=chr About 118 million results can be found for the keyword ome..69i57j69i60l2j69i61j0l2.227j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8). It is obvious that fake news has emerged in endlessly and has become more and more serious. It can be said to be a common social phenomenon today.
What is [fake news](https://www.google.com/search?q=%E5%81%87%E6%96%B0%E8%81%9E&oq=%E5%81%87%E6% What about 96%B0%E8%81%9E&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60l2j69i61j0l2.227j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8)? According to Wikipedia, fake news news) deliberately uses traditional news media or [social media](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%A4%BE%E4%BC%9A%E5%8C%96%E5%AA%92 %E4%BD%93) to spread wrong information in order to mislead the public and bring political and economic benefits or a psychological sense of accomplishment.
Paul Chadwick, editor of the British “Guardian” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Chadwick), believes that so-called fake news refers to false content deliberately fabricated by intentional people, packaged and presented in documentary techniques, with the purpose of misleading the public to regard fictional events as facts, or to question facts that can be verified.
This also reminds me that the [Reuters Institute for Journalism at the University of Oxford, UK] (http://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/) has released a research report on global news consumption trends. The report surveyed more than 70,000 respondents around the world and found that global consumers’ trust in news media is generally not high, ranging from 23% to 62%. Even in the United States, less than 40% (38%) of the respondents said they can completely trust the media; and in our neighboring South Korea, the figure is as low as only 23%, which is evident from this.
The V-Dem database hosted by the University of Gothenburg in Sweden released the latest survey data in April 2019. Among them, Taiwan ranks first in the world in terms of “attacks by foreign disinformation” (https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/2754163), and the score is quite different from other countries.换言之，台湾虽然拥有高度的言论自由，但受到假新闻的危害程度却也高居世界第一，值得我们警惕。
You may be wondering, why is fake news so prevalent now?
This is because some unscrupulous people want to achieve specific goals, and communication through the media and the community is most likely to work! In addition, if we can increase Internet traffic in one fell swoop, we can exchange for advertising revenue, so it is not difficult to find that many media are eager to pursue various content that is easy to spread and render. If ordinary consumers are unable to realize the seriousness of this problem and just passively receive information from the media, they will easily fall into the trap of fake news.
The social reality drama “[The Distance Between Us and Evil]” was recently aired on Taiwan Public Television (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%88%91%E5%80%91%E 8%88%87%E6%83%A1%E7%9A%84%E8%B7%9D%E9%9B%A2)”, once discussed the phenomenon that the media and modern society are increasingly relying on some fake news or shady content reports. We know that this approach is wrong, but the media industry is unable to resist, and some companies have even begun to sink, only looking at the ratings without caring about the rights and wrongs.
Of course, it is also because these malicious organizations are too arrogant in attacking the media and their manipulation methods are becoming more and more crude. This not only allows fake news to circulate everywhere, but also reduces the credibility of mainstream media in the eyes of the people, and makes people feel disgusted.
Many friends also point to social media, led by Facebook, as the culprit of this wave of fake news. They believe that this company with 2 billion members only cares about making advertising fees, but does not fulfill its responsibility to control the situation. In order to prevent fake news from continuing to circulate on Facebook, the world’s largest social media platform, Facebook not only spent US$14 million to develop a fake news verification mechanism, but also cooperated with the [News Pollution Prevention and Control Foundation] (http://www.fam e.org.tw/), Taiwan Media Watch Education Foundation and News Helper work together to combat fake news.
Ten tips for identifying Facebook
In order to prevent the spread of false reports, Facebook officially posted [Tips for identifying false reports] (https://www.facebook.com/help/188118808357379) on its website, hoping to help the majority of netizens stay away from the interference of these fake news.
These Ten tips for identifying false reports include:
- Be skeptical of headlines.
- Pay careful attention to the website address.
- Research news sources.
- Watch for unusual formatting.
- Check the photos.
- Check the date.
- Check the evidence.
- Refer to other reports.
- Is the report just for Bojun’s smile?
- Deliberately fabricated report content.
Looking at these ten tips for identifying false reports, there are actually no very complicated requirements. They can be said to be very basic interpretation principles. But you may be curious-why do we still believe fake news many times when we see it posted on Facebook or LINE?
The reason is that today’s fake news has become more sophisticated, and sometimes it is even packaged in warm and novel stories, making people inadvertently take off their guard.
The most important characteristic of fake news: it hits your inner anxiety, and at the same time it brings you good news! Even fake news can be defined this way: good news that hits your inner angst.
We live in an era of information explosion. Attention has become a rare currency, so everyone only pays attention to the title or the first paragraph of text. Usually, out of a rush or novelty mentality, many friends are not alert and do not carefully consider the source and context of the news, so they rush to share good news with their circle of friends. In this way, it is easy to fall into the trap of spreading rumors.
Use Meiyu Auntie to prevent fake messages on LINE
After talking about how to prevent false reports on Facebook, if you often use LINE, an instant messaging software, and even have endless LINE groups to visit every day… I would like to suggest that you quickly invite “[美玉aunt](https://medium.com/@sheseee/%E4%BD%A0%E4%BB%8A%E5 %A4%A9%E4%B9%9F%E6%8A%8A%E7%BE%8E%E7%8E%89%E5%A7%A8%E5%8A%A0%E5%85 %A5-line-%E7%BE%A4%E7%B5%84%E4%BA%86%E5%97%8E-6c71bf4e347)” entered the relevant group.
[Xu Xi](https://www.businesstoday.com.tw/article/category/154769/post/201901020016/80%E5%BE%8C%E5%A5%B3%E7%94%9F%20 %20%E4%B8%80%E6%89%8B%E5%82%AC%E7%94%9FLINE%E6%89%93%E5%81%87%E3%80%8C%E7%BE%8E%E7%8E%89%E5%A7%A8%E3%80%8D) told BBC Chinese, the job of “Aunt Meiyu” is not only to clarify fake news, or simply tell everyone Yes or No. “Aunt Meiyu” hopes that the public will develop the ability and responsibility to identify news information. If the public one day begins to question the simplistic views of “Aunt Meiyu”, then her greatest purpose in creating “Aunt Meiyu” will be achieved.
Become a smart reader
To avoid falling victim to fake news, we must first become smart readers. When reading online news in the future, you should think calmly first - determine the authenticity of the information and whether it comes from a credible unit, so as to avoid the recurrence of the former Osaka Office Director Su Qicheng’s suicide incident (https://news.ltn.com.tw/topic/%E8% 98%87%E5%95%9F%E8%AA%A0%E8%BC%95%E7%94%9F%E4%BA%8B%E4%BB%B6)’s [regret](https://tw.news.yahoo.com/%E6%95%91%E7%8 1%BD%E4%B8%8D%E5%8A%9B%E6%8C%A8%E8%BD%9F-%E9%A9%9A%E5%82%B3%E6%88%91%E9%A7%90%E5%A4%A7%E9%98%AA%E8%BE%A6%E 4%BA%8B%E8%99%95%E9%95%B7%E8%98%87%E5%95%9F%E8%AA%A0%E8%87%AA%E6%AE%BA%E8%BA%AB%E4%BA%A1-043830492.html)⋯⋯
If the report comes from an unfamiliar organization, you may want to pay special attention! Don’t be in a hurry to repost and share it right away. You might as well take some time to search for the background of this organization, or have reasonable doubts about the motives for posting. In addition, some false information often uses photos of real people to appear fake, so everyone should pay special attention to avoid being easily confused.
Psychologist Tom Stafford believes that we will benefit from being curious.
If we want to be a smart reader, we have a lot to learn. If you are interested, you can start by strengthening your Media Literacy (Media Literacy) ability! Wikipedia points out that “media literacy education” or “media education” does not specifically refer to media professional education that trains media practitioners. The main target of education is all citizens. The educational goal is to cultivate the ability of all people to think critically and produce information, and to [interpret] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:How_to_Spot_Fake_News.pdf) all media information from a critical perspective.
In addition, associate professor of the Department of Journalism and Communication at Fu Jen Catholic University [Chen Shunxiao] (https://axiao.tw/) also reminded everyone that citizens are not only readers who have the right to receive information, but also communicators who have the right to produce and send information.
——It is everyone’s responsibility to prevent fake news. Let’s work together to make this world a better place!
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💡 Photo Credit: Kayla Velasquez
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