By Nkeiruka Nwode
As meta projects Nigeria to be monetized by June 2024, be mindful of fake news which content creators leverage on for gain, popularity, and what have you.
Firstly, let’s look at what fake news entails!!! #Fake #news is false information intentionally presented as authentic with an intent to mislead, destroy individual personality and social structure.
Before the emergence of social media, the spread of information was controlled by television stations and newspaper companies. But today, anyone can create a headline or post a photo with no requirement that they represent accurate information and the gullible ones who believe in gluts of information on social media, lift the information from wherever and create content for followers gain which ends up in bullying and cyberbullying.
The most perilous thing is that #fake #news spreads faster than factual news.
Researchers recently revealed that fake news stories are 100% more likely to spread than real news. Several people blame this on bots and fake social media accounts.
To me, fake news spreads much faster among real people. when l mean real people, it entails envious people even without fake nor bot accounts. It preys on one’s desire for more followers, Pull Him Down syndrome (Ph.D), sensational and provocative tales.
Affirmatively, actions are being put in place to curb the menace of fake news. I also urge the same action to be taken by owners of multifarious social media, TV stations, news companies, and social media account owners to address the viral spread of fake news. It rests on the above-mentioned to make a huge difference in stopping fake news from going viral.
ADVICE:
Any time you intercept a headline or article on social media, please take the extra time to decipher if the information is fake or real . Commence by investigating the source or by searching registered well-known sources of information to see if they posted the news and, at the same time, their submission on the news.
2. I advise that you read beyond the headline and search where the story emanated from to know its truism.
3. Make frantic effort to learn about the author of the story and know if they have published credible work before🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️.
4. The ability of you, as an individual to understand fake news and distinguish between it and real news, is essential to maintaining a well-informed society and preventing the perilous viral spread of fake news. Be sure to question your own bias to consider if you are more prone to respond to the story in a favorable way.
Finally, without equivocation, the spread of fake news, bullying and cyberbullying is made worse by the social media companies who have designed their platforms to favour content creators that their contents have more engagement and interaction by the cankerworm of #monetization thereby making our youths going haywire and becoming victims of cyber crimes.
