Information was at a premium in the days of yonder. Regardless how trivial or important the news may be, both peasant and king were at the mercy of the messenger’s pace. Nowadays, just about anyone can take on the coveted messenger’s status by simply creating a social media account. With information flowing so freely, the threat of false information is at an all-time high – creating ill-informed conspiracy theories, biased truths and even nationwide panics – much like the recent cases of people believing the outbreak of the Coronavirus to be linked to Mexico’s Corona beer, or fears that the virus would shut down borders and disrupt the flow of essential goods to Hong Kong.
In this age of instant communication, it is everyone’s duty to keep their finger off the omnipresent “share” button and to avoid creating fake news frenzies until the information is deemed trustworthy. Join Wordsmith as we explore how to combat the tide of misinformation.
The follies of social media
With Facebook, Twitter and other popular social media platforms, we have the luxury of connecting with our friends and acquaintances around the world day or night. However, most of what we can post is unregulated – any Dick or Jane (President Trump included) can post whatever they want with little regard to its authenticity. While baseless claims on the Internet are nothing new, people have the propensity to blow things out of proportion or to take them out of context – especially when it deals with trending subjects – making fake news a prime candidate for exploiting mass paranoia.
One such example took place in the midst of the 2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition protests, where a Twitter post on June 5 depicted a series of Chinese artillery tanks allegedly passing through a Shenzhen train station – just days before the first violent clashes between protestors and the Hong Kong police force. The extradition bill would allow the Hong Kong government to extradite prisoners on a case-by-case basis to foreign countries, and at the time, the government was adamant about passing the bill. Given that several outspoken bookstore owners had been abducted by the Chinese government in the past, citizens were furious about the introduction of a bill they felt would infringe upon their rights and freedoms.
The appearance of tanks in Shenzhen caused fears that the Chinese government was mobilising its forces to intimidate and crackdown on potential protests. However, fact checkers later debunked the poster’s claims, and pointed out that the train station shown was the Longyan Railway Station – hundreds of miles away from Shenzhen and Hong Kong. It wasn’t clear whether the poster was mistaken about the location or lying intentionally, but the panic had already been caused and the post was viewed and retweeted over 800,000 and 7,000 times, respectively.
Masato Kajimoto, professor of journalism at Hong Kong University and a specialist on misinformation, told CNN that there was a simple rationale as to why fake news and panic go hand in hand together. “The political division is the very reason why many people are believing, sharing and spreading manipulated content to begin with. People believe what they want to believe, and dismiss what they don't want to believe, regardless of the evidence. This is especially true in times of crisis, when people cling to their beliefs more tightly in the face of opposition and threat.”
A video of a Chinese woman allegedly eating bat soup at a Wuhan restaurant had gone viral after the recent coronavirus outbreak. Given that bats were claimed to be the origin of the virus, netizens quickly hurled abuse (and even death threats) at the woman and Chinese culture for shamelessly pursuing exotic foods. However, what many did not know was that the video was shot in 2016 by Chinese celebrity vlogger Wang Mengyun during a visit to Palau, Micronesia, where bat soup is a local delicacy.
Fighting the fraudulent
When dealing with unchecked news on social media, it’s important to maintain a certain degree of skepticism. In the case of the “Shenzhen” video, or any dubious post for that matter, the devil is in the details. While the sight of war machines is undoubtedly terrifying, we need to be wary of the context around the tanks – this involves being on the lookout for any discernible landmarks or signs that can confirm whether the location is indeed Shenzhen (at 0:02, it clearly says Longyan Railway Station by the way). Of course, dealing in video forensics is not quite our expertise, so it’s always a good idea to hear from the fact checkers first!
For fraudulent posts that are more text-centric, they are far less demanding in terms of required skill sets. According to Facebook’s fake news spotter’s checklist, here’s what you need to be aware of:
1. Beware of stories that don’t make sense – this includes news that sound too good to be true
2. Check the name of the news site that published it – the reputation of the publication matters!
3. Beware faked website addresses – like with phishing scams, always check the authenticity of the hosting domain
4. Look out for headlines that don’t match the story – clickbait articles are big culprits that often promise without delivering
5. Check the date(s) – fake news often misuses or misquotes facts from wrong dates to appear authentic
6. Look out for spelling and grammar mistakes – no respectable source would allow simple mistakes to be published
7. Be wary of headlines that are trying to provoke anger – triggering our emotions overrules our rationality, which in turn makes us more susceptible to false messages
8. Look out for hoaxes spread by fake celebrity accounts – it wouldn’t be the Internet without impersonators, so check the poster’s profile to see if they are indeed who they claim to be
9. Google-search the images – fake news often relies on shocking images used out of context to stir up readers’ emotions, so reverse image search visuals to see if they’ve been previously used in other publications
10. If you’re unsure, double check with a source you trust – consulting an industry expert is always safer than trusting your gut
With this list in hand, let’s take a look at a Facebook post that claims oregano oil to have “curative properties” against coronaviruses (the post is a screencap of this article). Firstly, the article quotes a study from 2001 that examines the effectiveness of oregano oil on bacteria – while it appears that oregano oil can inhibit bacteria growth, the study states nothing about its effects on viruses nor coronaviruses. As viruses are vastly different from bacteria, it’s very possible the author of the article was trying to stretch the oil’s effectiveness to convince gullible readers (the kind who believes all germs are alike). Furthermore, a press release from 2003 by the Federal Trade Commission and Food and Drug Administration clearly stated such oils were falsely advertised and are ineffective against SARS (another type of coronavirus).
Looking at the hosting site, leaf.tv appears to be a lifehack website that accepts posts from contributors. As the author is not a medical professional, the credibility of the article is dubious at best. Think twice before stockpiling oregano oil!
It’s easy to be enchanted by social media posts that promise great things or unveil disheartening “facts”, but trusting fake news can come at a great cost – especially when great numbers of people are hoodwinked into believing it. Whether the poster is someone of a shady background, the Leader of the Free World or our best friend Sam, it is our responsibility to take all posts with a grain of salt until they can be verified!