Why fake news matters
Saying that fake news matters in today’s generation might earn me a couple of angry Facebook reactions or perhaps some 21st century virtual stoning but before you join in the sea of condemnation, you might want to hold your horses and hear me out.
In the age of New Media, fraudulent news websites have been around for quite some time now and as intermittent internet trolls vow to spread fear and hatred among susceptible netizens; it seems to me that these disconcerting stories reproduce faster than cells do lately. The intended dissemination of fake news is indeed detrimental to the minds of credulous individuals who have no knowledge of fact checking but, even so it surprisingly sets the scene for a much more sagacious use of social media these days.
The hazards affiliated with the abuse of social media have long been discerned by arbiters of truth and justice. About 5 years ago, GMA7 launched a campaign known as Think Before You Click which encouraged responsible actions from social media users by impelling them to reflect upon their choices and the corresponding consequences of these decisions. It is no secret that satirical news websites are existing for the sole purpose of deliberate falsification of statements and incidents. These websites could be functioning for the profit they earn through web traffic, for propaganda purposes or for all one knows they simply crave for attention.
Contrary to popular belief that only the naïve and easily deceived netizens get entangled in this double-dealing scheme, there are also legitimate newsmen who inadvertently fall into the trap of erroneous sources induced by irresponsible journalism or as the local jargon dubs it, nakuryente. Who could forget about that 2014 newscast on flesh eating disease in Pangasinan which elicited mass hysteria and farcical prophecies? Then, there are also those that are clearly preposterous to begin with such as the viral news article regarding Jinggoy Estrada’s alleged arrest after smuggling cold cash in his chest through US airport security back in 2013.
It might be foolish to give these satirical news websites the benefit of the doubt but the sad reality of life is that people have got the need to have a taste of blunder before they try to embody a perspicacious behavior. A person confronted by an unsparing public backlash after mistakenly retweeting or sharing an obviously fabricated story on the internet could urge him to be more cautious and vigilant the next time he lays eyes on an intriguing headline.
I am in NO way promoting the proliferation of fake news because no one in their right mind would aspire for a society inhabited by misinformed and brainwashed citizens. It is, however, my agenda to encourage responsible citizen journalism by considering these satire news as an instrument to prompt fact-checking among news audience.
After all, wouldn’t it be amusing to be a nation of critical thinkers who know exactly how to distinguish a factual story from a viral piece of hoax? But then again, it would be a tad bit ambitious to expect so much from a country perpetually dragged by the seemingly incessant problems deeply-rooted from being subjected to years and years of maltreatment by those in power.
