By Nikita Geldenhuys

Across the globe, people were surprised by the outcome of the 2016 US presidential election, which prompted people to consider the role that misinformation may have played in affecting the outcome of the election.

In the run-up to the elections, a vast amount of fake news stories were distributed, smearing both candidates. This content joined the mass of other ‘news reports’ on the internet, which are based partially or solely on fabricated information.

These fabricated articles were especially popular on social media, and on Facebook in particular. Recent news articles and opinion pieces from credible sources have now called into question whether the outcome of the election would have been different had Facebook taken measures to curb the spread of fake news.

Hannah Jane Parkinson, writing for The Guardian, suggests “the influence of verifiably false content on Facebook cannot be regarded as ‘small’ when it garners millions of shares. And yes, it runs deep. The less truthful a piece is, the more it is shared.”

Writing for Wired, Issie Lapowsky thinks that while Facebook was not the only digital platform that contributed to Trump winning the election, it played a part; “To be sure, Facebook played an instrumental role in this election by allowing … fake news stories … to proliferate and by giving all of us the option of only seeing the content we ‘like’.”

Digital companies stepping up

In a post on his Facebook Page on 13 November, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg called these theories into question. He argues that of all the content on the social media platform, more than 99% of what people see, is authentic. “Only a very small amount is fake news and hoaxes,” he wrote.

Corinne Podger, digital editorial capability manager for Fairfax Media, has, however, put this number into perspective in a Twitter conversation;

@corinne_podger: @ajreid 1/2 Let's say (in the absence of elaboration) that we're talking about individual accounts. 99% authentic = 1% inauthentic.

@corinne_podger: @ajreid 2/2 1% of >1 billion = >10 million hoaxers. There aren't enough journalists in the world to tackle that.

Zuckerberg wrote another weekend post on 19 November, revealing his plans for curbing misinformation on Facebook.

The company will improve its abilities to classify misinformation. People will also be able to report fake stories more easily. Facebook is considering third party verification, exploring labelling stories as “false”, and raising the bar for quality of related articles in Newsfeed, among other things.

It will, furthermore, be using policies to keep ads from displaying on sites and apps containing illegal, misleading, or deceptive content, according to Reuters.

On 14 November, Google also reacted to the increase in inaccurate news reports showing up in its search. According to the Reuters report, Google said it would restrict websites that misrepresent content from using its AdSense advertising network, effectively cutting off a major supply of revenue for these sites.

Facebook and Google is, however, not the only digital channels being used to spread false information amongst its audiences. Twitter, and even chat apps like WhatsApp, is right up there with networks that are being abused by distributors of misleading content.

But what is it about social media networks that make them such ideal breeding grounds for the distribution of fake news?

Confirmation bias drives fake news on social media

It boils down to the right post, at the right time, landing on the right users’ Newsfeeds, explains Michael Salzwedel, co-founder and trainer at Social Weaver.

He points out viral news is often driven by confirmation bias. “Social media is a breeding ground for confirmation bias. If you see a piece of content that confirms or agrees with beliefs and ideas you already hold, you're much more likely to share that content, even if you haven't verified its authenticity.”

According to Raymond Joseph, head of the media programme at Code for South Africa, journalists are increasingly aware of fake news, false reports, and misleading images being posted on social media.

It’s the civilians on social media that are the problem though, and they too can play their part in fighting the phenomenon. Joseph uses the following method; “If I come across something that is fake, I immediately just reply to the post. Don’t pick a fight. I just say; ‘This is fake,’ and put something to show [the story] is fake.”

Are we getting ahead of fake news?

Apart from reports that Google and Facebook have started taking action, other organisations and individuals have also been hard at work to curb false information on the internet.

First Draft News, a resource platform for journalists, announced in September that it is expanding to include a new partner network of over 30 major news and technology organisations. This network will tackle issues of trust and truth in reporting information that emerges online.

Two Chrome Extensions, FiB by four US college students and Fake News Alert by Brian Feldman, have been made available to identify fake news.

Resources are also available to the public to manually verify stories. Joseph recommends using reverse image search tools like the RevEye Reverse Image Search Chrome extension to check the authenticity of images. Other verification methods are as simple as looking at the date on a YouTube video, for instance.

Fake news gets us talking about the truth

Salzwedel sees a silver lining to the fake news cloud. “People are hopefully becoming more aware that not everything they read online or on social media is true. Social media usage is way past the honeymoon phase where everyone's curiosity was piqued and we all gushed at how amazing it all was. We're now, hopefully, starting to become more critical of what we see, because we have many more reasons to be.”

With fake news and hoaxes being shared across social media, news publishers can fill a unique gap for consistently accurate news on social platforms, as Salzwedel explains; “This is an area of increasing responsibility for journalists and news organisations who publish on social media. Their key value proposition for their audience is trust.”

He points out that the media needs to be able to consistently tell its audience, “You can trust us, we have taken the time to verify what we're publishing here, this is reliable information, you can share it with confidence”.

With a revived focus on the need for truth and the significant concerns about the role misinformation played in the US election, the value of news and responsible journalism is coming to the fore again. In a time where traditional media is being side-lined and ‘everyone’ can be a publisher, these questions are a good thing – and remind us why we need The News.