“Fake News is the enemy of the people”– Donald Trump. It is yet another toxic element surrounding us and spreads faster than the infamous coronavirus. Fake News, particularly rumours and half-truths is the cause of widespread panic since ages.
Human mind is influential and is more interested in knowing exclusive information. In the greed of sharing exclusivity, people and institutions have been serving fake news for personal benefits.
Fake news detection is a necessity to curb the spread of this self-generated toxicity and bring out the actual facts. Research has been going on for big data detection on fake news especially on Twitter which is the fastest re-blogging (re-tweeting) website and the news-maker of the world. But it also stands as the authenticated source to verify facts as all the official announcements and advisories are posted here.
There is already a chaos in US over fake news due to which Donald Trump ordered laws on censorship – targeting mainly Twitter and Facebook. On the other hand, the sheltered harbor accessible to internet based life in India may likewise be limited. Second, it requires a bigger discussion between tech stages on their worldwide guidelines for online discourse. In the event that online life is to be treated as an open square, as noted in the official request, calls for neighborhood measures will follow.
Next comes up the Whatsapp App, where sharing was fast and feasible. A person could forward information to n number of people in no time but recent reforms and restrictions on forwarding messages have turned out better in response to curbing the spread of false information. Given below is the link to the limitations on forwarding by Whatsapp.
https://faq.whatsapp.com/general/coronavirus-product-changes/about-forwarding-limits
METHODOLOGY OF FACT-CHECKERS AND FAKE NEWS DEBUNKING:
- Check for official speeches and tweets or announcements by authority.
- Compare the claim and the fact.
- Check how viral the claim is – that is its reach or spread, its source and then the nature of the claim.
DEBUNKING FAKE NEWS PROCEDURE:
- Google Reverse Image Search
If the information is in JPEG or PNG format. Put it up on Google Lens or G Reverse Image search to know the actual source of the claim as well the originality in it. You can even establish contact with the same and ask the claim source as well as the original source to prove themselves.
Procedure to run Google Image Search and Google Lens:
- Go to https://www.invid-project.eu/ for video verification. If the claim is in MP4 format, then InVID (used by The Quint’s WebQoof) is the best option. It breaks the video into frames and reverse image search each frame. This will help in debunking each and every element of the claim and catch digital manipulation, if any.
“The declining trust in mainstream media could be both a cause and a consequence of fake news gaining more attraction” – Allcot & Gentzkow
People have been relying more on ‘social media’ sources rather than mainstream media. This is both a blessing and curse. Mainstream media lost people’s trust while spreading misinformation for TRPs and on the other hand social media enjoyed creating panic.
Authorized FACT CHECKERS in India:
- Alt News – a fact-checking website especially designed to debunk fake news.
- PIB – Fact Check: Designed by Press Information Bureau amidst the spread of fake news related to coronavirus.
- WebQoof- By the Quint
- India Today Fact Check
- Factly
The “Fake News” order was earlier issued by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, headed by Smriti Irani but Prime Minister Narendra Modi overruled the order. The order asked the government to state punishments for journalists for spreading fake news. In India, free speech is a right and if there is any such issue taken up, this fundamental right is put to risk. So, it is now our duty to be our own fact-checkers and spread the truth.
By: Diya Arora
THOUGHT-SO-RAMA 