Content uploaded by Danilo Araña Arao
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Danilo Araña Arao on Mar 27, 2020
Content may be subject to copyright.
Danilo A. Arao
Associate Professor of Journalism
University of the Philippines (UP)
Diliman
Associate Editor, Bulatlat
Editor, Media Asia
Discussion outline
•What is “fake news”?
•What are examples of “fake news”?
•How do you spot “fake news”?
•Why are there “fake news”?
•Who benefits from “fake news”?
•How should we analyze “fake news”
•What is to be done? (conclusion)
•Where do we go from here? (recommendation)
27 March 2020
2
D. A. Arao
What is “fake news”?
•(Compound Noun) “false, often sensational,
information disseminated under the guise of
news reporting” (Collins Dictionary; word of the
Year in 2017)
•Refers to lies, misinformation and
disinformation; also “alternative facts”
•Used since 1890 as a compound noun; before
that the term “false news” was used
•Related term used in the recent past: “zombie
facts”
27 March 2020D. A. Arao
3
What is “fake news”?
27 March 2020D. A. Arao
4
What
is
“fake
news”?
27 March 2020D. A. Arao
5
What
is
“fake
news”?
27 March 2020D. A. Arao
6
What are examples
of “fake news”?
27 March 2020D. A. Arao
7
What are examples of “fake news”?
27 March 2020D. A. Arao
8
What
are
examples
of “fake
news”?
27 March 2020D. A. Arao
9
What is “fake news”?
27 March 2020D. A. Arao
10
Allegedly real (1:40 p.m.)
@bongbongmarcos
Only BBM tested; still waiting for
results
Allegedly fake (12:52 p.m.)
@hackneyedutopia
Testing done for BBM and all staff;
results negative
What is “fake news”?
•@hackneyedutopia
▫ Name: GABBY (no surname)
▫ Profile: "New Account • Naturalist • Marcos
Loyalist •"
▫ First tweet: March 18, 10:15 p.m.
▫ 357 tweets as of March 26, 9:36 p.m.
▫ 75 following, 9 followers
•Some media organizations and socmed
“influencers” used this “dubious” account as
source in reporting the alleged statement of Liza
Marcos about her husband Bongbong.
27 March 2020D. A. Arao
11
What is “fake news”?
•Looks fake, but REAL
•Reflection of the kind of officials we have
27 March 2020D. A. Arao
12
What is “fake news”?
•Looks fake,
but REAL
(alarmist
spin)
•Reflection
of the kind
of officials
we have
27 March 2020D. A. Arao
13
REAL COVID-19 DATA
As of March 27, 2020
1:30 p.m.
Philippines World
Deaths 45 21,031
Confirmed cases 707 465,915
Case fatality rate
(deaths / cases) x 100
6.36% 4.51%
Sources of basic data: DOH, WHO
27 March 2020D. A. Arao
14
FAKE COVID-19 INFO
27 March 2020D. A. Arao
15
How do you spot “fake news”?
•Form
▫ Grammar, syntax, diction
▫ Source (i.e., institution, author, URL, handle)
▫ Graphics (i.e., logo, pictures, footage)
•Content
▫ Names, places, events, dates
▫ Verifiability of messages
▫ Sense of “urgency,” “alarm” and other subjective
feelings
▫ Eagerness to share
27 March 2020D. A. Arao
16
Why are there “fake news”?
•To silence dissent by spreading lies repeated
over and over by an army of trolls
•To discredit the critical media by branding them
as “fake news” peddlers
•To consolidate the regime’s support base by
framing an “alternative reality” based on
“alternative facts”
•To justify repressive policies and programs in
the absence of truth
27 March 2020D. A. Arao
17
Who benefits from “fake news”?
•Authoritarian governments (e.g., Hitler’s
reference to the media as the “lying press”)
•Organized online trolls who earn from engaging
in flame wars, character assassinations and
other logical fallacies
•Individuals who engage in debates without the
benefit of research
•Defenders of the status quo, no matter how
repressive it has become
27 March 2020D. A. Arao
18
How should we
analyze “fake news”?
•Fake news as an industry
•Dominant media’s corporate
structure makes it prone to
spreading “fake news”
▫e.g., Facebook’s profit-
oriented perspective
prevents filtering
27 March 2020D. A. Arao
19
How should
we analyze
“fake news”?
•Selection
of
columnists
is based on
what?
27 March 2020D. A. Arao
20
How should we
analyze
“fake news”?
•And while we’re at
it, selection of
broadcasters is
based on what?
27 March 2020D. A. Arao
21
Last case study...
27 March 2020D. A. Arao
22
What is to be done?
•Be critical
▫Don’t believe everything you read, watch or listen
to
•Don’t feed the trolls
▫Engage in constructive criticism if necessary
•Take the media to task for their weaknesses
•Don’t just depend on one source of information
▫Multi-sourcing is most important
27 March 2020D. A. Arao
23
Where do we go from here?
•Expose the government and many its supporters
(especially online) as purveyors of “fake news”
•Oppose “fake news” provision in RA 11469
•Expose baseless media accreditation for
coverage in quarantine areas
•Be critical of how national and local government
repress freedom of the press and of expression
in the guise of containing COVID-19 pandemic
27 March 2020D. A. Arao
24
Danilo A. Arao
Associate Editor, Bulatlat
27 March 2020D. A. Arao
25