Linda Felbinger
26 February 2018
English 112
Strategies of Argumentation
Relevant or Not?
“Fake news” is something that most everyone deals with every day. “Fake news” is false information that gets shared to gain attention to a certain subject. Whether fake news is spread through social media outlets, rumors, or through false articles it can control many different outcomes. Fake news can cause chaos, fear, and it simply spreads like a wildfire. Through spreading fake news more damage is done than through telling the truth. Many people nowadays will let anything slide through their heads and that will automatically register in their heads as the truth. Telling the truth is important for these exact reasons. This in itself shows that telling the truth is the better route to have a successful career and in life.
Not only is the truth important in one’s personal life, it is very important in the news outlets. Social media along with news outlets are the most important outlets that should always be telling the truth. News outlets are viewed throughout the world. When fake news is spread throughout the internet or on television, news travels fast and could cause people to worry. For example, if a bomb threat is conveyed into a large crowd of civilians, panic will arise. This could cause the crowd to go into full overdrive of chaos causing a stampede of people to arise, hurting many people. This is one example of how fake news is spread and would cause more bad than good.
The manipulation of people is a big factor when it comes to fake news. Fake news travels quick simply because it is so easy to share any information at all. Social media does not control what people post, therefore the people can post unfiltered and false information from anywhere at any time. For example, in electoral campaigns, the candidates make empty promises and share fake news to get more votes for a good outcome. Politics is one of the biggest entities that spread fake news. For instance, as “The New Yorker” wrote in an article “Since 2015, Politifact has counted three hundred and twenty-nine public statements by Trump that it judges to be mostly or entirely false” (Coll).
Some people in the world have a hard time believing any news at all anymore simply due to the fact that a lot of news nowadays cannot be trusted. Most people find the truth to be very important, but then there are always the few people who could not care less if something is a source of viable information. A lot of people are so vulnerable that anything is believable to them. That is a huge mistake on their part. This can cause many problems within their personal lives along with problems within their work environment. The truth to these people at this point could be anything. For instance, there was a spread of misinformation about the fact that fecal matter is always present in men’s beards. This was proved to be a very false statement on through research on Snope.com.
“False news” could also be portrayed as false advertisements. This is shown in a way of targeting a certain audience in order to sell or make money off of these consumers. For instance, there are certain apps that you can download that one can classify as scams. These apps advertise that through playing a game, you will have the chance to win money or certain objects. Within the app when you “win” an object or a certain amount of money, the app requires your personal information. This can lead to fraud and an invasion of your privacy.
To conclude, fake news is a real issue that most everyone faces throughout their daily lives. The harms of fake news differ by the change of news being spread. This simply should not be one of the problems that we face every day. The truth is more important than to spread lies throughout the world. The fact that lies over-rule the truth is not something that should be accepted. The truth is what matters. The truth is what needs to be shown to as many people as possible. This is what the world deserves, not the fake news that is being spread.
Works Cited:
Coll, Steve. “Donald Trump's ‘Fake News’ Tactics.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 4 Dec. 2017, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/12/11/donald-trumps-fake-news-tactics. Accessed 28 Feb 2018.
“Fact Check: Did a Study Find Men's Beards Are Full of Fecal Matter?” Snopes.com, 14 Mar. 2017, www.snopes.com/study-find-mens-beards-filled-poop/. Accessed 28 Feb 2018.