Sometimes you will be shocked by a big news, and too impatient to wait to share to let your friends know. But a terrible truth is that in China's social media reports, about 56% news are fake! Unbelievable!
Fake news is the source of global calamity. Google, Facebook and Twitter are under fire in the United States for spreading fake news and wrong information.
© Image | google
China, too, is suffering the consequences of fake news. Thanks to the huge number of internet users and information explosion, fake news is rampant. According to the China Internet Network Information Center report of January 2018, the number of mobile phone users in China reached 753 million.
If you search in google with "China fake news", there were about 55,500,000 results.
Fake news in reference to social aspects of China accounts for more than half of the total (56 percent) social media reports, says a report from People.cn. Data analysis reveal fake news involving personal security, food safety, healthcare, and social ethics account for about 75 percent of the total fake news in the social field.
Where Did It Come from
Social media is the primary source of fake news. A lot of fake news is published in "self-media" and social media, and by re-reporting it, the traditional media cause a deluge of fake news, which weakens the credibility and influence of the professional media as a whole.
A very sensational fake news about Visa published in 2017.
© Image | Jing daily
A fake news story about the introduction of a new Chinese passport went viral on Chinese social media. The debunked story claimed that the Chinese government is about to issue a new travel document, a “frequent traveler passport,” which would allow holders of the new passport to visit 141 countries on a visa-free basis. In comparison, the ordinary Chinese passport allows visa-free access to some 50 countries, putting far down in the list of the world’s best passports.
Another fake news, published recently, was about "ofo bike".
© Image | sohu
They all have a common feature-published by "self-media". Now the rise of "self-media" gives an opportunity to everyone who wants to publish their opinions and effect general public.
With more fierce competing in the "self-media", if one of them desires to get fame as soon as possible, some crooked ways, like "fake news", will be utilized.
Why So Many Fake News Appear
In fact, compared with real news, sometimes people are tended to believe fake news. An information with strong transmissibility must included features below:
Directly
High-impact
High-correlation
Controversial
Sense of identity
......
So when someone wants to produce a fake news, he can modify the fact 's details optionally to adapt to strong transmissibility.
© Image | nybookeditors
However, the primary cause will be always profit, whatever it is about money or reputation. In the big internet environment, cash is toward those who grasp net flow.
Internet Giants are Fighting
WeChat launched a mini-program called "WeChat Anti-rumor Assistant" in June 2017, which helps users to check whether an article is a rumor or not based on their reading records.
© Image | sohu
Some other Chinese internet giants are also working to counter fake news. Baidu launched its anti-rumor platform in September 2017, and announced that 372 cyber police accounts from across the country have joined it.
Baidu hopes to use innovation and cooperative sharing to create China's largest rumor and anti-rumor database through the platform. A search on Baidu will probably show you a rumor marked "fake news" in the results.
Before share to let your friends know
Check the news real or fake!
Ref | escn, Jing daily
HACOS,Business Services Solutions Master