Social media: Fake News

Fake news is effective because it is often created to closely resemble real stories. These outlandish stories are made believable by clever use of language and manipulation of digital imagery.

For the savvy media consumer, questioning the validity of reports, their source, the source URL and the presence of manipulated images will usually point to fake news. However, the ‘scroll through’ culture of Facebook and social media, as well as the tendency to share before reading, means that precious few social media users are taking the time to critically engage with content.

There are five categories of fake news:

• ·         News created entirely to deceive readers
• ·         Satirical sites (like The Onion) which can spiral out of control when taken out of            context
• ·         Hoaxes
• ·         Selective reporting or presentation of facts (fictionalized truth)
• ·         Reporting bias (be it intentional or subconscious)

The Devastating Impact Of Fake News On Small Business

Fake news, malicious targeting and social media scandals have crippled many a small business. The content goes viral  and, suddenly, you are on the world’s stage for a crime you didn’t commit. Here are some steps you can take to try and contain the damage.

• ·         Report fake news about your business by marking it as spam.
• ·         Notify Facebook if your business is being targeted.
• ·         If you are getting malicious, negative reviews you can turn off your review function and prevent visitor posts.

What should we do about the  Impact of Fake News on Content Marketing And Social Media Marketing?

• ·         Many readers are becoming increasingly skeptical of sponsored content. To combat this, good social media marketing will cite third party references. Content will be appropriately labelled and any bias will be transparent.
• ·         Gain back the truth of your audience by referring to authentic media.
• ·         Research, research and research. Lazy sharing or a lack of fact checking will mean that you report on fake news. This greatly damages your reputation and, given the nature of the internet, could mean embarrassment on a large scale.
• ·         Make sure the content you create is authentic and honest.
• ·         Make sure your headlines are powerful and that they are an accurate representation of your content . In addition to this, make sure your use of images is appropriate.
• ·         Make sure your team can identify fake news and that they know exactly how damaging it can be to your business.
• ·         Use what you know about fake news to go viral in a good way: emotionally engaging content, ‘shareable’ articles and strong use of images.
• ·         Never post or repost rumors or unsubstantiated reports via your business page.
• ·         Read before sharing and make sure this isn’t an ‘echo chamber’ story.
• ·         Put a strategy in place NOW to defend yourself if you’re caught up in a fake news scandal.

 The term "fake news" has been used widely during the run up to the August 8 vote in Kenya, with most of what has been classified under the term playing out online.  Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter are perhaps the three most popular social media platforms in Kenya, and have been used to share opinions, predictions and fabrications alike before and after the election. There have been websites as well, designed to give the impression that they are authoritative sources of news, that have carried all sorts of (mis)information and propaganda. As has been widely reported, fake news articles and videos bearing CNN, BBC and even NTV Kenya logos were also disseminated and shared widely on social media platforms.

All in all, it had been a controversial election season in Kenya, in which distinguishing truth from lie and real information from "fake news" has been difficult.Misinformation and propaganda around elections are not new in Kenya, as these tools have most certainly been used to influence voters in past elections. However, this election season has seen these migrate to popular social media platforms, to either play at existing beliefs, fears and biases, or to sway perceptions and even votes on August 8.

Social media is the go-to platform for information for young people, who constituted more than half of the 19.6 million registered Kenyan voters this election. These young people do not necessarily tune into prime time news on television, for instance, as they operate in a real-time news dissemination system, in which they tune in and out, and select what to consume and when, as they deem fit.

It is, therefore, not surprising that Kenyan social media was filled with misinformation and fake news, aiming to alter these young voters' perceptions, views and actions both before and after the general election.