In a cultural age that is so heavily influenced and guided by digital media, it comes as no surprise whatsoever that fake news and misinformation are two of the most concerning challenges that we are facing in the online sphere today.
Defined as ‘misleading information that is presented as truth’, both of these issues carry the potential and power to do things like influence election results, misguidedly mould/influence public perception and irrevocably erode trust in a targeted institution.
Fake news on the internet is by no means a new phenomenon, but there is no doubt that the growing digital age has ‘supercharged’ the reach and impact that it can have, particularly in the context of social media platforms where fake news can be unwittingly amplified in no time at all. When partnered with outright false news, questionable misinformation on the internet that is shared with malicious intent can create massively damaging levels of confusion and unrest among society, and often the most vulnerable to boot.
The growing prevalence of media misinformation across the web truly highlights the immediate need for stringent and effective anticipatory measures to be put into place, and media monitoring software is the logical place to start.
The truth is that the spread of fake news and misleading information the internet has hit alarming levels in the past decade or so. Encrypted private message apps, lower quality news and the various social media platforms sites are all guilty for the quickfire leaking and spreading of suspect information, often allowed to run without adequate verification checks. The problem is that these platforms' algorithms are designed with the precise intention of prioritizing user engagement above all alse, and this results in inadvertently amplifying the most sensational, and often most false, content. In real terms, this has led to a steep rise in the spreading of harmful misinformation online, with the result being harmful societal change.
Here is a rundown of some of the core factors that contribute to the presence of fake news on the internet:
As previously mentioned above, social media platform are designed with the intention of prioritizing posts that generate the most shares, likes and overall clicks. This means that the most sensationalized content tends to be the most viewed, all without verified sources.
A significant quirk of the online social world is that communities are formed in which an individual will more frequently be exposed to content and views that already align with their own, and this can create an unbalanced environment of bias reinforcement with little regard for fact checking.
One striking reason why spreading malicious content in media (whether deliberate or unintentional) is able to take such a stronghold is the poor level of critical assessment that some of the wider population possesses in terms of being able to deduce whether or not a story is false.
Bots are created with the intention of amplifying selected false narratives, flooding social media platforms with automated posts that create the illusion of a belief being much more widespread than it actually is.
The impact of false news and shared misinformation on the internet can often transcend just mere confusion, it can actually work in much more damaging ways that include weakening democracy and public trust, and destabilizing vulnerable societies. Undoubtedly one of the most potentially damaging ways that fake news affects society is when a large enough level of distrust in credible institutions is created, for example in governments, ‘real’ news outlets and health organizations.
An immediate and significant example of this can be found in the culture of the COVID-19 pandemic, where copious false narratives on the subject of things like vaccines and home remedies ended up hampering real recovery efforts and even costing lives. Similarly, the ways in which fake news on the internet can have real impact on world elections is worrying, often leading to the upturn in fortunes for authoritarian regimes.
As well as individuals on social media, higher level organizations like businesses, NGOs and governments are also not immune to the dangers of misinformation. For businesses, fake news can cause real reputational harm and lead to things like loss of customer trust and obviously financial downturn. For governments, there are countless challenges for attempts to implement policies when misinformation in media has worked to misguide the public opinion. And NGOs are so often reliant on public goodwill that any amount of media misinformation can harm their campaign efforts.
Understably, advanced technology is playing a crucial role in the fight against media misinformation. At the front of the pack, the OSAVUL Media Monitoring Platform is a suite of tools that is able to detect, track and combat false information in a real time manner. Some of the suite’s key features include:
Scanning selected social media platforms and news outlets to try and identify emerging suspicious narratives.
OSAVUL utilizes the full potential of artificial intelligence to help identify the patterns of emerging spreading fake news, simultaneously assessing the source credibility of each story.
OSAVUL makes use of data driven recommendations for the best countering strategies on threats to information integrity, a great step towards halting the spread of dangerous false narratives.
The following capabilities that OSAVUL has are particularly effective in fighting misinformation on the internet:
The ability to monitor chosen platforms in real time means that OSAVU is able to identify and flag any suspected occurrences of misinformation in media, before they are able to gain the intended traction.
The platform is able to evaluate the credibility of any selected content source, helping users to tell between established, trustworthy information and fake; avoiding the potential dangers of misinformation before they can take root.
Thanks to actionable insights, organizations using OSAVUL can tackle false narratives at the earliest possible opportunity, therefore minimizing the effects of fake news on their reputation with the public. This is notably crucial during any health crisis or political campaign, where false claims on social media can be addressed swiftly and spreading misinformation online can be minimized.
Before even getting into the technicalities of software, one of the most impactful ways to combat fake news on the internet is making sure that people (and institutions) are as educated on the matter as they can be. Widespread media programs have been implemented, particularly in educational settings, to teach people to critically assess online content, with the hope of being able to recognize threats in information security before they fall for them. Schools, workplaces and governments alike should be making a big effort to educate their charges on the dangers of misinformation.
The benefits of advanced technology like the OSAVUL platform simply cannot be underestimated in the role that they play for countering fake news affect dynamics. Incorporating these dedicated tools is the number one way for organizations to tackle misinformation in media, providing the necessary safeguards for the future.
Of course, there is no one ‘true’ way of addressing misinformation on the internet. It is an elusive and ever evolving task that involves collaboration across so many different sectors from government to tech companies and more. All whilst walking the fine line of making sure that freedom of speech is still preserved. More on this can be discovered in this latest batch of Ukrainian startups.
Ultimately, the swift rise of fake news on the internet and misinformation on the internet is absolutely something that requires urgent and dedicated action. They are challenges that are naturally fueled by technological advancement and human behavior, but equally it is those two factors that can be key to defeating the problem once and for all.
The dangers of misinformation spread across all domains from public health to business operations to government and more, so by tackling the core root causes of media information in culture, we can start to dampen the damaging power of fake news when it does inevitably land from time to time. With the help of OSAVUL, this issue of spreading fake news can hopefully become less and less serious as time and technology advances.
