How games can help us spot fake news

With tech companies like Facebook introducing new features, and governments around the world considering laws to disrupt the spread of fake news, games are also being made to help spot fake news.

The University of Cambridge developed Bad News as an educational tool, helping people understand how fake news spread. Players are encouraged to pick provocative and clickbait headlines to garner attention and grow their imaginary social media following.

The game teaches techniques used by fake news purveyors in an attempt to ‘demistify and illuminate’ fake news. By learning these techniques, players can learn to recognise signs such as fake profiles, and not be influenced by fake news.

As we’ve covered before, while laws and changes are great, helping people engage in critical thinking and fact checking to stay as informed citizens is still the most effective way to combat disinformation. Drawing from Inoculation theory, Bad News confers resistance against fake news by giving you insights into the various tactics fake news-mongers use. If you can recognise it, you can resist it.

You can play the game at Bad News, and for more information check out the developers page.

-Maria

Facebook’s Fight against Fake News

Facebook recently announced that it would trial a ‘context’ button that would help its users identify fake news.

Source: Truly Deeply

Following Mark Zuckerberg’s questioning by the US Congress, Facebook launched a campaign to address concerns against data misuse and the spread of misinformation. The new ‘context’ button is their latest move in the fight against fake news.

The feature, which rolled out in the US and UK, will make its way to Australian users. The button will appear on posts, and will give details about the publisher (such as their Wikipedia page), what posts the publisher has previously shared, and which friends have shared the article. In cases where there is no Wikipedia entry, it will indicate that information is unavailable, which will also be helpful context.

So how helpful is this?

Giving people quick and easy access to contextual information that can help them evaluate articles is definitely a step in the right direction. However, Facebook’s personalised newsfeed acts as a filter bubble, or echo chamber. For example, if I believed in aliens, and Facebook knows this because I’ve like a bunch of pages and posts about aliens. My entire newsfeed will reflect what I like, and that context button won’t matter because I’ve already decided on what I believe in before I’ve even clicked on that information.

*X-Files theme intensifies*

Whatever we already see on our newsfeed is information that is already tailored for us, and a context button might not be all that helpful if we live in an echo chamber.

 

 

-Maria

 

Art of Conning: Actual Fake News

As the last part of the series, this one will focus on actual fake news.

Source: Swadeology

Unlike satire, actual fake news deliberately aim to mislead and misinform whether for revenue or political purposes.

Alex Jones & Infowars

Managed by far-right conspiracy theorist, Alex Jones, Infowars has published harmful stories such as the tragic Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and Boston Marathon bombing being hoaxes that involved ‘crisis actors’.

So, what are the tech companies doing?

After the Senate hearing about the alleged anti-conservative bias on major tech platforms where Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg, and Twitter CEO ,Jack Dorsey, testified, Twitter and Periscope permanently banned Alex Jones and Infowars from their platforms.

https://twitter.com/TwitterSafety/status/1037804427992686593?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1037804427992686593&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2F2018%2F9%2F6%2F17829264%2Falex-jones-info-wars-banned-twitter

Twitter follows Google parent, Alphabet, Inc, along with Apple, Facebook and Spotify in banning Jones and Infowars from posting content on their platforms. Since then, Paypal has also banned Jones and Infowars from using their service and platform.

Can of Worms?

While many has welcomed the ban, conservatives have criticised it as an infringement of free speech. To what extent does our opinions count as truths? How do we draw the line between an objective truth and an individual perspective?

-Maria

Art of Conning: PR Stunts and Satire

Remember that viral video of a hawk dropping a snake on an innocent family picnic by the Yarra river?

NOPE.

It was a PR stunt. The fake video reached 5 million views within 48 hours and was covered by multiple media outlets from around the world.

While this is relatively harmless, there’s an important question to be asked: when is satire satire and not fake news?

Satire or Fake News?

Along with his denouncement of mainstream media, Trump also lashed out at the Saturday Night Live skit featuring Alec Baldwin.

 

Watched Saturday Night Live hit job on me.Time to retire the boring and unfunny show. Alec Baldwin portrayal stinks. Media rigging election!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 16, 2016

On top of that, there are plenty of news satire sits such as The Onion and our very own, The Betoota Advocate. However, detecting satire may be a lost art form. The New York Times reported that China’s Reference News published a satirical article from the Borowitz Report, legitimately claiming that Trump ordered all White House phones to be covered in tin foils.

Source: The Washington Post

Why does it matter?

Satire has long played an important role in democracy- it subverts and questions authority. It also is accessible, and easily digestible, especially for millennials in the forms of memes, commentaries, and articles. Conflating ‘fake news’ with satire leaves an entire generation disillusioned, discouraging them from engaging in politics and debates.

In an era of post-truth, w need to better equip people with the necessary skills and tools to distinguish satire from fake news. This is why media literacy is so important.

Next in the series- Art of Conning: Actual Fake News

 

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

Facts vs. Fake

One of the best ways to combat the circulation of Fake News is digital and media literacy.

It’s not always easy to spot fake news. If you’re in doubt, here are some helpful tips on how to spot fake news:

Check the Website

 

• Look at the URL. Does it end with a ‘com.co’? Probably fake.
• Heaps of popups and ad banners?
• Check their About page

Read the Article

 

• Do they cite their sources?
• Are the links to legitimate websites?
• Is there a strong bias?

 

Still Doubting?

 

• If you’re still unsure, don’t share it
• Contribute to truths, don’t spread lies

 

 

Here’s a helpful infograph you can share:

 

-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

Why Fake News isn’t that Easy to Spot

You could say fake news or edited images as easy to spot: they’re often exaggerated, bizarre and totally unrealistic.

Melania Trump having a body double? Lizard people disguised as real humans and are planning for world domination?

Source: Giphy.com

But the problem with fake news is that it isn’t always easy to spot.

Does the #Truth matter anymore?

Truth & Technology

In a Guardian article, Katherine Viner asks: In an age where social media news reporting has dominated over media institutions, and everyone has their facts, ‘does the truth matter any more?’

Source: Sébastien Thibault

Technology is rapidly developing. This isn’t necessarily good or bad. But what is worrying is whether or not we have the skills to adapt to it. In an age where attention, clicks, and data are the new economy, less than 40% of us actually go further than the headline, and read the article.