Fighting Fake News on Social Media

There is no doubt that social media has substantially, perhaps even irreversibly, impacted the way that we connect and communicate with one another. Social media platforms have become a source of news that people consume regularly. But how often is that news factually correct? The proliferation of fake news on social media has created a concerning climate for news outlets and various other organizations as they strive to combat this rapidly increasing phenomenon.

A 2017 study found that consumers today believe that out of all the news, 40% of it is somewhat fake or made up. The amount of misinformation that exists is staggering, there are ways to fight back against fake news.

Table of Contents

• What is Misinformation?

• What is Disinformation?

• Types of Misinformation on Social Media

• How to Fight Fake News and Misinformation

• Reporting Fake News on Social Media

What is Misinformation?

Misinformation is defined as "false information that is spread, regardless of intent to mislead." (Dictionary.com) 

Misinformation is spread on a daily basis, intentionally or not. (Disinformation on the other hand, is fake news that is intentionally spread on social media. We'll go into disinformation a bit later).

For example, if you receive a meeting invitation for 10AM but you mistakenly misread it as 10PM and tell your colleagues about the the misread time you are, in effect, sharing misinformation. This may seem like a minor example, compared to what happens on social media, but the point is that you shared misinformation by mistake and with no intention to do so.

When it comes to social media misinformation spreads rapidly, largely due to social media users sharing posts and articles without checking to see if they're true. While the onus does fall somewhat on the user to do their own research before sharing a questionable post, the bigger conversation is what responsibility lies with tech companies to prevent the spread of misinformation and fake news on social media. 

What is Disinformation?

Disinformation is "deliberately misleading or biased information." (Dictionary.com)

If we go back to our above example, if you intentionally tell your colleagues that the meeting is at 10PM because you want to sabotage everyone else, this would be considered disinformation because you are spreading false information on purpose. 

Disinformation is powerful and can be extremely destructive, and is often what causes deep divisions on social media. For journalists in particular, it can be can be difficult to untangle a disinformation campaign — and they must remain vigilant in order to stay ethical. 

So, when distinguishing between misinformation and disinformation, intent is really what separates the two.

Types of Misinformation on Social Media 

Be on the lookout for these common types of fake news and misinformation that can spread quickly on social media.

1. Clickbait

Clickbait is a "a sensationalized headline that encourages you to click a link to an article, image, or video." From news stories and blog posts to videos and interviews, clickbait is presented in such a way as to attract as many clicks as possible on social media. 

While clickbait is great for increasing page views, driving traffic to your website or generating more social shares for your content, its misleading nature can tarnish the reputation of reputable news sources that share content with a misleading headline.

When people click on a piece of content on social media, they are expecting to view content that matches the expectations set by the headline. If you don't deliver on this, people may begin to question the credibility of the content which can cause damage to your brand. 

2. Propaganda

Propaganda is the deliberate spread of information, ideas or rumors that help or harm an individual, a group of people, an institution or a country. 

According to NBC News, more governments are using social media to promote propaganda as this seems to work better than censorship. Research by the Oxford Internet Institute found that more governments and political parties are making use of social media algorithms, automation and big data to influence the vast majority of public opinion.

3. AI

With the advent and sophistication of AI, images and videos depicting false events are all to easy to produce and share on social media. Some platforms have begun to add certain safeguards, such as a watermark or label that clearly indicates "AI-generated" however these tags are not perfect and won't catch every bit of AI media out there. So once again it falls on the consumer to be vigilant and pursue their own fact-checking if something seems fishy.

How to Fight Fake News and Misinformation

In order to fight fake news and misinformation on social media, you need to be able to recognize it first. You will know that you are dealing with fake news when you can a clear bias is evident or if a piece of content is trying to invoke feelings of anger and mistrust in a particular person, group of people, or cause. Sometimes, this content may come from a news outlet that sounds unfamiliar, is unknown, or has no markers of credibility. 

In these cases, it is best to fact-check before you decide to share with your own followers. Are the author names real? Can you validate the sources mentioned in the article? Do the claims sound suspicious? If these are the questions you can't seem to find an accurate answer to, then chances are, you have a piece of false information in your hands.

Things to look out for when identifying social media fake news include: 

• the credibility of the website
• if there are a number of spelling and grammatical errors
• if claims made don't make sense
• if there are no accurate sources being cited

Check for signs of fake accounts

Fake social media accounts have become increasingly common, and are a fairly standard tactic for those wishing to encourage the spread of fake news.

Fake accounts, or bots, tend to spam legitimate social media users by posting inappropriate or irrelevant content. You can often spot a bot by: 

• a default avatar or low-quality profile picture
• a username with numbers in it
• an incomplete bio
• a suspicious link in the bio
• a lack of original content on their profile 
• a low amount of followers but following a high amount of people
• alternatively they may have a lot of followers but extremely low engagement which indicates fake followers

Real world example

Code for Africa, an NGO, is the continent's largest network of civic technology and data journalism labs. They build digital democracy solutions that give citizens access to factual and actionable information that empowers them to make informed decisions.

This is especially true in moments when fake news is being spread on social media. Using Meltwater, Code for Africa debunked claims and fact checked trending topical conversations to ensure that the general public had accurate information delivered to them in a timely manner to refute any misleading claims. Since using Meltwater, Code for Africa have been able to combat disinformation in Niger, misinformation regarding the Uganda elections, and political trolls in Kenya. 

Reporting Fake News on Social Media

Not all social media platforms have a clear guideline on how you can fight fake news on social media. However, if you do come across misinformation, you can (and should) report it. Each platform has a way of doing this, which is specified below: 

Facebook

1. When you spot content with misinformation that is intentionally harmful, click on the 3 dots on the top-right corner of the post.
2. On the drop-down menu, click on “Find Support or Report Post.”
3. Select “False Information” when prompted to choose a problem to report, then click “Next” to report the post.
4. Similarly, if you come across a Facebook page that contains harmful misinformation, you can click on the 3 dots at the top of the page and select “Find Support or Report Page.” Select “Scams and Fake Pages,” then click “Next” to report the Facebook page.

Instagram

1. Click on the 3 dots at the top-right corner of the post.
2. Select “Report...” on a mobile phone or “Report inappropriate” on desktop.
3. Select "False information" or "Scam or fraud" to report the post.
4. If you want to report the actual account that is spreading fake news, go to their profile page and click on the 3 dots next to their name.
5. Click “Report...” From here, you will either have the option to report a post, message or comment that the account shared, or report the entire account.

X

1. Click on the 3 dots that appear at the top-right corner of a tweet and select "Report Tweet."
2. Select “It’s abusive or harmful” to report a post containing harmful misinformation.

LinkedIn

1. Click the dropdown menu at the top-right corner of a LinkedIn post.
2. Click "Report this post" and select "Suspicious or fake."
3. Click "Misinformation" from the list of reporting reasons (or "Fake account" if you want to report the actual account).
4. Submit to report the post.

The battle of social media fake news is ongoing and there is definitely work to be done. The problem that social media fake news presents may not be solved overnight nor completely avoided but with the power that social media has, it's wise to exercise caution and to take what we see on our feeds with a pinch of salt before hitting the retweet button.

If you want to learn more about how Meltwater's Social Listening can help fight fake news on social media, fill in the form below and we'll get in touch with you.