PerspectiveNew Tech Aims to Help Societies Learn to Spot Fake News
Despite its relatively recent entrance into common parlance, “fake news” punctuated some of the most important elections of recent years, including 2016’s BREXIT referendum and U.S. presidential campaign. Thanks to social media, fake news can now be disseminated at breakneck pace to vast audiences that are often unable or unwilling to separate fact from fiction. Studies suggest that fake news spreads up to six times faster on social media than genuine stories, while false news stories are 70 percent more likely to be shared on Twitter. Preslav Nakov writes that all is not lost, though: “Fortunately, an emerging set of technologies are increasingly capable of identifying fake news for what it actually is, thereby laying the foundations for communities to do the same. The challenge is to ensure that these platforms get to where they are needed most.”
Despite its relatively recent entrance into commonparlance, “fake news” is not a new phenomenon. Wherever there are people, different cultures, and contrasting political opinions, there will be biased reporting based on questionable sources of information.
Preslav Nakov writes in Defense One thatfake news punctuated some of the most important elections of recent years, including 2016’s BREXIT referendum and U.S. presidential campaign. Not that this has overly harmed the winning parties; support for the victors on both sides of the Atlantic remains relatively buoyant. But the aftermath of both elections demonstrated that one person’s fake news is another’s cast-iron proof of fact. Put another way, it is difficult to consume fake news free from the influence of personal opinion. That’s where technology can help.
Nakov writes:
Thanks to social media, fake news can now be disseminated at breakneck pace to vast audiences that are often unable or unwilling to separate fact from fiction. Studies suggest that fake news spreads up to six times faster on social media than genuine stories, while false news stories are 70 percent more likely to be shared on Twitter. Observers call it “spam on steroids.” If one spam email is sent to only 1,000 people, it effectively dies. However, if fake news is sent to the same number of recipients, it’s more likely to be shared, become viral, and eventually reach millions.
But there is hope, he is quick to add: “Fortunately, an emerging set of technologies are increasingly capable of identifying fake news for what it actually is, thereby laying the foundations for communities to do the same. The challenge is to ensure that these platforms get to where they are needed most.”
