Fake news - A game or a problem?

The modern technologies nowadays have made it so easy for an individual to make up a story and spread it among the public. Publicists and journalists are having to put extra effort into confirming the authenticity of information before reporting it. However, mistakes sometimes happen when fake news is unfortunately reported by a credible source. This, in turn, has led many others, in the rush of trying to keep themselves up-to-date, into falsely reporting that incorrect information to the public.

The appearance of fake news has quickly become one of the biggest problems for public relations. Each day, public relations professionals encounter a lot of new information. With the pressure to be the first to report or to respond to the public, sometimes they skip out confirming the facts. For the most part, if the information is valid, their credibility is strengthened. However, if they got caught with reporting fake news, their credibility is then most likely cheapened.

As public relations professionals, how do we tackle this? Based on what I’ve learned, a simple but important step that I think we should all do is to always double-check the trustworthiness of our sources and information. Some might argue that the publicist world is so fast-paced that there is no time for us to pause and check. However, in my opinion, one time wrong is worse than five times right. Each time we report false information, our credibility is damaged. Because of this, it’s essential that we take the time to do proper researches beforehand.

Along with that, we should confirm our information from not just one, but multiple sources. This will enhance our news validation and prevent the spreading of fake news. It’s also a good idea to cite sources in our reports to ensure reliability.

When we talk about people who created fake news, the question of whether they should be penalized arises. In my opinion, depends on how serious the issue is, certain actions should be taken against that individual. For example, in 2012, Shashank Tripathi, a campaign manager for Republican congressional candidate Christopher Wight, reported a false rumor on the blackout of the whole Manhattan on his twitter account. The rumor escalated quickly and made its way to the National Weather Service and CNN. Wright then resigned from the position as a result of the tweet. However, based on how severe his action was, I think there should have been additional charges against him. If it was done, it would have set a precedent for people to not come up with damaging fake news to the public anymore. This, in turn, would’ve helped to prevent future appearances of fraudulent information.

Aside from recognizing fake news, it’s also important for us to understand the root of this problem. Nowadays, with social media being so easy to access, it has become even more difficult to identify fake news. Erik Wemple of The Washington Post once described social media as “one globally linked game of telephone”. This is somewhat true. Interactions on social media are now so important that the number of likes, comments, and followers can determine a person’s success. From a public relations practitioner’s point of view, I believe social media is not just a game, but a vital way to reach and touch audiences digitally. If a post gets a million shares, it means we’ve successfully created a publicity buzz.

All in all, fake news is causing a lot of issues for public relations professionals. Nevertheless, there are many ways for us to avoid it, starting simply by checking our facts, sources, and taking the time to do proper researches before responding to the public.

- Written by Lidaily