Page 9 - Media&Information Literacy - Good Practices

Fake news may look like news, but it contains lies and distortions or

intentionally omits facts. Unlike genuine news that aims to report the facts as
accurately and objectively as possible, fake news deliberately mixes facts with

false information or passes off outright lies as news.

Fake, or fabricated, news is disseminated for the sake of earning money from
clicks and views, and it is also used to mislead and misinform. With

astonishing speed, fake news goes viral without being confirmed. Even if such

information is eventually retracted or disproved, the damage has already been
done and the false information remains digitally archived.

Fake news is nothing new, but it is flourishing

in the age of the Internet. If you get your news from
social media, you are frequently exposed to

a considerable amount of hoaxes, rumors, conspiracy

theories and misleading news. In social media,
disinformation is more likely to go viral than

reliable information because it often seems more

spectacular than factual news and plays with
people’s emotions and fears.