Fake news – and what (not Clingendael Alert ) to do about it

[Jan Melissen], clingendael.org

Excerpt:

[Summary]

Fake news comes thick and fast, on national issues and in international politics. The public reaction to it varies from great concern and offence to a sense of being entertained. One of the main problems with fake news is that fabricated stories look real – that is their key distinguishing feature. They are believed, shared and circulated by people, thus making fake news what it is, “legit” for consumers-cum-multipliers of news. The role of technology in our societies has changed the nature, scale, speed and direction of disinformation. Digital technologies have turned fake news into a new form of 21st century propaganda. [JB emphasis]Apart from the challenge of making sense of what fake news is, one can observe a worrying tendency to counter it before understanding it. The difference between false news and fake news lies in its stylization. Printed fake news looks real and new technologies make it much harder to determine that pictures have been purposely doctored to mislead audiences for political purposes. ...

“Weaponized” communication is affecting governmental public diplomacy. After the initial euphoria about social media empowering ‘the people’, it was only a matter of time before the power of algorithms drew the attention of a growing number of governments. ...

No quick fix

Civil society involvement in fighting fake news deserves more emphasis, and greater resilience of persons – as the smallest units of our society – starts with the systematic introduction of meta-literacy in education. This probably remains the best antidote to fake news.