Fake news over the internet has become mainstream nowadays. Even the most sensitive topic is now rumored with misinformation over the famous social media websites. The rate of fake news during the Covid-19 pandemic has increased drastically, creating several misconceptions in people’s minds.
There are times when people read a piece of information but are unaware of whether it is authentic. Most of the time, these misleading posts are shared millions of times over different social media platforms. One can spot if any post contains fake news but first needs to know the different types of fake news, as mentioned below:
- Satire/Parody – Articles or videos solely created to mock an issue.
- Misleading content – Caused by poor journalism where an issue or a person is framed using misleading information.
- False connection – Deliberate the addition of captions or headlines to the news in order to draw people’s attention. Sometimes also caused by mistakes in journalism.
- False context – Authentic content with unauthentic information such as misattributed quotes, wrong date, etc.
- Manipulated content – Intentional alternation of genuine content to spread false news among the users.
- Imposter content – Disguising as legitimate sources to mislead the audience.
- Fabricated content – Creating unauthentic content with an intent to cause harm. For example, fake content or websites posing to be genuine new organizations.
Because of the various types of fake news and the increased spread of it on the internet, people worldwide have lost their trust in media organizations.
Infographic by: Visualcapitalist.com
