A couple of weeks ago, The Toronto Star’s Public Editor nailed it in an editorial on an issue that’s been bugging me but I didn’t quite click the Lego pieces together as well as she did. The gist is this: there’s a misunderstanding about what fake news is.
Donald Trump has made “fake news” all the rage. Oh, he takes it much further, calling journalists dishonest and evil. Now he’s skipping the White House Correspondent’s Dinner, a huge break with tradition. And because of his toddler-like tantrums over people who dare to criticize him, fake news has become a thing, mainly among people who don’t quite get what it is.
Here’s what it isn’t. Fake news isn’t a story you disagree with. Fake news is a story created on a website that’s not part of a legitimate news organization, and usually has a fantastic headline such as, Lady Gaga’s Superbowl Performance A Tribute to Muslims! That was an actual fake news story that circulated after the Superbowl. It was posted by a marketing firm attempting to spark buzz around a new movie. It backfired and they apologized. But that brings us to another definition of fake news: it is intentionally created to mislead. Fake news isn’t real news with an error in it. It’s fake from the outset, and deliberately made so.
The third definition of fake news, as shared in the Star editorial, is that it is designed for financial gain. Facebook clicks and shares, for example, all result in increased ad dollars. It’s insidious, really. And in this increasingly polarized political climate, no one is exempt and no one is immune. Remember, we curate our social media feeds to mostly contain stuff we agree with. So if someone sees something that’s vehemently opposed to their point of view, it sticks out. Too often, it gets misidentified as fake, simply because it doesn’t reflect their opinion.
Real journalists don’t make up news. Ever. Period.
A professor at Western University and her students have developed an algorithm they say can identify fake news with 85% accuracy. I guess we’ve officially given up on checking sources and critical thinking!
My definition of news is somewhat more clear:
Fraudulent news which is false from start to finish; Fake news which is based on and for financial gain; and real news presented via the journalistic conduit from the source to the consumer.