Fake news is considered a significant problem facing the digital World and the artificially driven future. A considerable amount of attention has been focused on this problem, which makes it seem like a new issue. However, historically, fake news has existed for some time now and has transformed into something far more invasive due to the development of information communication technologies that allow for rapid transmission of communication. Fake news has been perceived and defined differently over time. It is linked to how the ideal role of the press was conceived within the frame of being a fourth estate to the current times that are more attuned to an instrument of influence and persuasion. Fake news has had severe impacts on society, and below are some of the ways fake news has been used to settle individual goals.
Disinformation Campaign to Undermine National Security:
It refers to the use of fake news as a medium for organized disinformation campaigns to destabilize states through the subversion of societies and democratic processes, including elections.This category is most onerous, given its impact on national security and social cohesion. In recent times, these campaigns were reportedly carried out by Russia – using technological platforms – as part of broader influence operations in areas ranging from the Baltics to Central Europe to France to the United States.
The Russian campaign’s magnitude to divide American society was scrutinized in October/November 2017 during a hearing where the Senate Intelligence Committee questioned technological companies (Facebook, Twitter, and Google).
Misinformation for Domestic Political Agenda:
These include viral rumors or false information, either shaping national opinion or affecting the resilience of a policy by actors within a state, without an external malign actor involved. It was evident in the 2016 presidential campaign in the United States (particularly on the part of the Trump campaign).
Separately, another example of this form of falsehood may be found in the Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom. The “Leave” campaign, resorted to tactics ranging from warnings about a country overrun by refugees, and asylum seekers, to exaggerated claims that a sum of £350 million a week was being sent to Brussels by the UK government – money according to the claim would be saved if the Leave vote won.
Finally, this form of falsehood has been seen in the growth of disinformation sources linked to groups from the alternative right (alt-right), with a denominator being anti-globalism and a strong distrust of the western, democratic sociopolitical model and neoliberalism.There is some suggestion, for example, that the Leave campaign in the UK may have received an impetus from Russian disinformation efforts in the lead-up to the Brexit vote
Falsehoods for Entertainment:
This category might seem on the surface to be devoid of national security implications. Notable, however, is how seemingly humorous or satirical information can sometimes serve an evil purpose. Recent research has shown, for example, that there is an emerging form of fake news with a political purpose disguised as irony or satire/parody. People might try using sarcasm to mainstream their extremist ideas or creeds by masquerading them as something else altogether.
A recent example from the United States is the so-called alt-right advancing its position using humorous and ironical facades. For this far-right movement, “irony has a strategic function. It allows people to disclaim a real commitment to far-right ideas while still espousing them … it also allows individuals to push boundaries in public, and to back away when they meet resistance.”
Falsehoods for Financial Gain:
This one entails fake stories distributed to attain revenue from advertising or swaying sentiments to manipulate the stock market. This category is perhaps the least troublesome given its non-security/non-political motivation. Still, it is nonetheless crucial due to its potential impact on social cohesion. Profit is the key motivator behind the creation of “news” in this category.
Examples would be the Macedonian fake news “boiler houses” that invented fake stories on the US presidential elections. If left unchecked, these may harm society. The creators behind The Real Singapore (TRS), a socio-political Singapore website, began creating anti-foreigner comments on their website in 2012. These were found to have netted them over half a million Singapore dollars over three years in online advertising. In the words of the public prosecutor, they were “wildly successful in their efforts to profit from the ill-will and hostility that they were peddling.” TRS’ founders were found guilty of treason and deliberately sowing discord between Singaporeans and foreigners.
Non-political Misinformation Gone Viral:
This concerns viral falsehoods of an entirely different nature – for example, those achieving widespread currency in the wake of a disaster or terror attack. This is the third onerous category, given its impact on public order and safety.
In the immediate aftermath of the 22 May 2017 Manchester terrorist attack, there was a significant circulation of fake news carried out by various groups and individuals. These ranged from the malicious (trolls) to the ignorant and misinformed. There were hoaxes of missing children (images of children pulled from the web) and several other false stories, including claims of a man with a gun outside the Royal Oldham Hospital, situated near the scene of the attack.
Separately, the immediate aftermath of the 13, April 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, saw an outbreak of viral vigilantism. Individuals (many of them well-meaning), based on available images, attempted to crowdsource information and establish an identity on online bulletin boards. These individuals, abetted by journalists chasing what seemed like a plausible
story, falsely identified a student missing from Brown University for a month. This student was later found dead in a completely unrelated suicide. But the viral online vigilantism (entirely without repercussions to those who had made the accusations or the platform that had hosted many of the allegations, Reddit) placed immense strain on
the grieving family.