What are fake news and what's behind it? Find out how they work and how to recognize them.
Is false information, spread mainly on social networks in order to be relaunched by them. They are created to disinform and create scandal through the media, or to attract clicks on the Internet.
You will surely have come across fake news. They can be recognized by the tabloid headlines used to immediately arouse an emotion of anger, scandal or simply curiosity. It is precisely this emotion that triggers the impulse to share them, favoring a mechanism that multiplies them exponentially, reaching a large number of people in a very short time.
Fake news has a strong impact on the beliefs of a large number of people. They are created with the specific purpose of discrediting a person or a company. If built artfully, they are able to negatively affect a company's reputation by creating erroneous beliefs in consumers and customers that arise from a manipulation of reality.
It is difficult to say who is behind a fake new. We try below to identify them based on their purposes.
In some cases they are simple Trolls *, that is provocateurs who like to disturb and create havoc on social channels.
*Troll = In Internet jargon, a user of a virtual community, usually anonymous, who hinders the normal course of a discussion by sending provocative, irritating or off topic messages.
In other cases they are actors linked to private organizations, which create propaganda campaigns to the detriment and discredit of other companies.
In other cases they are actors linked to foreign government bodies, which create propaganda campaigns to the detriment and discredit of other companies, organizations or states.
Fake news are also very profitable for those who exploit them to make money with the advertising that often accompanies them.
Fake news often exploits real news, manipulated and artfully falsified, to generate negative reactions in those who read them. They often use subtle manipulative techniques that leverage cognitive biases, prejudices and human weaknesses. The information conveyed by fake news is false and biased and does not come from an official information source.
Here are some tips to recognize them
Fake news uses "catchy" headlines, which arouse negative reactions of outrage or scandal. The style is certainly not the one used by official online news outlets. The style should already allow you to recognize them at first sight.
Are the sources cited? If so, are they known and reliable sources? Do the links lead to trusted sites?
Is the news also reported by the main on-line newspapers? Do a quick Google search and find out if the news is also reported by other known and reliable sources, for example by the main online newspapers.
Several sites offer a "fact-checking" service, which allows you to distinguish fake news from real news. Some examples of sites you can use: hoaxsearch.com and the Italian bufale.net.
If you come across a fake news that directly or indirectly concerns your company and its image, immediately forward it to your company's External Communication.
