Art of Conning: Manipulation

The second part of this series will look at what we all think of when it comes to fake news: manipulation.

Manipulating Audio, Video, or Image

When we think of fake news, we think of [badly] photoshopped images or videos. Remember when Donald Trump, Jr. instagrammed this [badly] edited poll to show his dad winning?

It’s definitely not the Photoshop magic wand tool with smart select

While stuff like these are easy to spot, technology is advancing and the tools to manipulate images, audios, and videos are becoming more sophisticated. In fact, we aren’t actually that smart to identify manipulated images.

See if you can spot the real image used in the study:

Fake Profiles

After major events, especially tragic ones, photo collages of victims or missing people have become common practice on social media. However, these photos can be hoaxes and are often shared by well-meaning people.

Following the shooting in Santa Fe, people created fake profiles of the shooter to fit their political narrative. Some presented him as a Trump supporter and others pinned him as a Democrat.

That hat is totally legit, guys

Gone are the days of badly photoshopped images and memes, and we’ve now entered the era of ‘deep fakes‘. Barack Obama can be made to lipsync. Donald Trump’s face can be manipulated. Yet our media literacy and skills to spot what is fake and manipulated hasn’t caught up with technology.

 

The real image was A. by the way  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

Next in the series- Art of Conning: PR stunts and Satire

-Maria

Art of Conning: A Half-Truth

 

We all think we’re pretty smart enough not to believe that weird article your grandma shared on Facebook.

Ok, Grandma

Source: Imgur

Thing is, fake news isn’t always that easy to spot. Sign in to any social media and the endless scrolling overwhelms you with huge amounts of information. On top of that, fake news spread quickly online, and before you can even fact check one article someone’s already got their pitchforks ready.

So, beyond obviously fake and manipulated photos/videos, how are you being conned online? This series will look at the ways were being deceived online by fake news when we least suspect it.

The first part of this series looks at how fake news deceive even the most media literate of us- when something real and true is presented as a lie.

When the Truth becomes a Lie

With millions of photos and videos being shared everyday, the Internet provides a rich database of content. Content that can easily be misinterpreted or decontextualised. According to a research by the Visual Social Media Lab, 30 percent of problematic photos are real, but out-of-context, photos.

During September 2017, a Facebook post claimed that the following video was Hurricane Irma tearing through Antigua and Barbuda.

 

This video wasn’t even shot in the Carribean. It was actually from April 2016, during a tornado in Dolores, Uruguay.

 

A Half-Truth

A half-truth is defined as a statement that contains elements of the truth, but is deceptive in nature.

In January 2018, Donald Trump, tweeted that Black Unemployment was at its lowest due to his policies.

Somebody please inform Jay-Z that because of my policies, Black Unemployment has just been reported to be at the LOWEST RATE EVER RECORDED!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 28, 2018

He isn’t technically wrong. Black unemployment was at record low, but the rate has been in decline since 2010.

Source: politifact

This is precisely what is problematic, and potentially terrifying, about fake news. We often see truth and facts as the means to combat fake news. But what happens when truth can be manipulated and presented as a lie? Who do we trust then?

Next in the series- Art of Conning: Manipulation

-Maria

And the Oscars goes to this Guy…

Covering natural disasters has always been a ritual for news. One particular coverage by Weather Channel reporter, Mike Seidel, has gone viral for all the wrong reasons.

So dramatic! Dude from the weather channel bracing for his life, as 2 dudes just stroll past. #HurricaneFlorence pic.twitter.com/8FRyM4NLbL

— Tony scar. (@gourdnibler) September 14, 2018

In this video, Seidel is seen struggling against the winds and bracing ‘for his life’. Meanwhile, two guys in the background casually stroll by.

 

You’re doing amazing, sweetie

Source: metro.co.uk

Sensationalist images like this proves that fake news isn’t just limited to the political sphere.  Sensationalism sells, and the media knows it. Viewers are motivated by the pleasure of an emotional impact.

While videos like this are easy to spot and roast endlessly till we find the next cringe meme, some are harder to spot. That’s why an informed audience is important in combatting the rise of fake news. We need to equip ourselves with the tools and skills necessary to know what information is worth absorbing and what needs to be overlooked.

-Maria

Read before you Share

Here’s a random thought, how about we all read a full article before we share it to our friends? – simple enough yeah? In reality, statistics show that:

59 Percent Of You Will Share an Article without even Reading It

Why you ask? First, the human attention span is getting shorter everyday- why else are we so attracted to GIFs and MEMES?

Second, we are lazy (to put it bluntly). It requires time and effort to read an article.

Third, some headlines are just too intriguingly funny, weird, touching or interesting not to share right away. In fact, we love the attention from friends and social media when we share an article and the ‘fake’ reputation that we read.  It’s no wonder that the strength and popularity of a piece sometimes comes down to the strength of its headline.

But do we really want to become a generation of lazy, manipulated, misinformed users? 

In the war against fake news, we’ve already tried multiple solutions.

1. we’ve used algorithms by digitally identifying false information and validating information- but, how reliable is this? Can machines differentiate humoristic or sarcasm or even bias?
2. Our friend Facebook has actively installed tools to prevent misleading/spam posts. They have provided us options to hide content with our own classifications of what is false. – but, have any of you used these tools yet?
3. Even Governments have been active, countries such as Malaysia have turned to legislation and laws to combat fake news. However , censorship and freedom of speech concerns render the laws ineffective and counterproductive as debates of whether fake news should be considered ‘illegal’ continue

The real solution lies in you

We can’t escape from bias but we can’t escape from facts either. Think twice before you share the next thing you read. 

Cecilia