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Fake news

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False news, also known as fake news, is the distribution of incorrect or completely deceptive information, which is framed as genuine news. This phrase gained widespread recognition in 2017 and is frequently utilized for political or financial advantages. False news encompasses a range of misleading content, including hoaxes, alternative facts, and misinformation, but is not confined to these. While satirical sites may self-identify as sources of fake news, it can also be encountered on news aggregators and political websites. The proliferation of false news can erode faith in authentic news outlets and skew public perception of significant matters. Measures to counter false news can include self-regulation, legal regulation, individual intervention, and the application of technologies such as artificial intelligence[1]. Identifying false news requires vigilance for indicators like clickbait, propaganda, and media bias. Resources such as fact-checking[2] websites and media literacy programs can assist individuals in distinguishing between genuine and false news.

Terms definitions
1. artificial intelligence. The discipline of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a subset of computer science dedicated to developing systems capable of executing tasks usually requiring human intellect, such as reasoning, learning, planning, perception, and language comprehension. Drawing upon diverse fields such as psychology, linguistics, philosophy, and neuroscience, AI is instrumental in the creation of machine learning models and natural language processing systems. It also significantly contributes to the development of virtual assistants and affective computing systems. AI finds applications in numerous sectors like healthcare, industry, government, and education. However, it also brings up ethical and societal issues, thus requiring regulatory policies. With the advent of sophisticated techniques like deep learning and generative AI, the field continues to expand, opening up new avenues in various sectors.
2. Fact-checking ( fact-checking ) Fact-checking, a vital procedure in the realm of journalism and information sharing, serves to confirm the truthfulness of statements, allegations, and news reports. Its roots can be traced back to the 1850s as a countermeasure to sensationalist journalism, with its evolution significantly shaped by entities such as the Associated Press, Ralph Pulitzer, Henry Luce, and The New Yorker. Fact-checking can occur either before (ante hoc) or after (post hoc) the publication of information, with numerous dedicated organizations and media platforms undertaking this task. In the political arena, fact-checking plays a crucial role, discouraging politicians from disseminating false information and influencing the public's perception and trust in political statements. Beyond formal settings, fact-checking also permeates informal environments, with individuals and technology aiding in the validation of news and detection of fraudulent news. However, the power of fact-checking alone may not be sufficient to fully tackle misinformation, highlighting the need for its integration into educational syllabuses.
Fake news (Wikipedia)

Fake news or information disorder is false or misleading information (misinformation, including disinformation, propaganda, and hoaxes) presented as news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person or entity, or making money through advertising revenue. Although false news has always been spread throughout history, the term fake news was first used in the 1890s when sensational reports in newspapers were common. Nevertheless, the term does not have a fixed definition and has been applied broadly to any type of false information presented as news. It has also been used by high-profile people to apply to any news unfavorable to them. Further, disinformation involves spreading false information with harmful intent and is sometimes generated and propagated by hostile foreign actors, particularly during elections. In some definitions, fake news includes satirical articles misinterpreted as genuine, and articles that employ sensationalist or clickbait headlines that are not supported in the text. Because of this diversity of types of false news, researchers are beginning to favour information disorder as a more neutral and informative term.

Three running men carrying papers with the labels "Humbug News", "Fake News", and "Cheap Sensation".
Reporters with various forms of "fake news" from an 1894 illustration by Frederick Burr Opper

The prevalence of fake news has increased with the recent rise of social media, especially the Facebook News Feed, and this misinformation is gradually seeping into the mainstream media. Several factors have been implicated in the spread of fake news, such as political polarization, post-truth politics, motivated reasoning, confirmation bias, and social media algorithms.

Fake news can reduce the impact of real news by competing with it. For example, a BuzzFeed News analysis found that the top fake news stories about the 2016 U.S. presidential election received more engagement on Facebook than top stories from major media outlets. It also particularly has the potential to undermine trust in serious media coverage. The term has at times been used to cast doubt upon credible news, and former U.S. president Donald Trump has been credited with popularizing the term by using it to describe any negative press coverage of himself. It has been increasingly criticized, due in part to Trump's misuse, with the British government deciding to avoid the term, as it is "poorly-defined" and "conflates a variety of false information, from genuine error through to foreign interference".

Multiple strategies for fighting fake news are currently being actively researched, for various types of fake news. Politicians in certain autocratic and democratic countries have demanded effective self-regulation and legally-enforced regulation in varying forms, of social media and web search engines.

On an individual scale, the ability to actively confront false narratives, as well as taking care when sharing information can reduce the prevalence of falsified information. However, it has been noted that this is vulnerable to the effects of confirmation bias, motivated reasoning and other cognitive biases that can seriously distort reasoning, particularly in dysfunctional and polarised societies. Inoculation theory has been proposed as a method to render individuals resistant to undesirable narratives. Because new misinformation pops up all the time, it is much better timewise to inoculate the population against accepting fake news in general (a process termed prebunking), instead of continually debunking the same repeated lies.

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