We have entered an era of untruth choosing only information one wants. The Oxford Dictionary now includes the word 'Post Truth': where objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief. Fake news deliberately manipulates facts and deceives and is widespread. What is to be done was the topic for the interview.
The professor defines fake news in this way: False information that is intentionally made and spread in the form of media reports for political or economic gain. He distinguishes this from rumors and false news. Fake news is 'intentionally' written incorrectly. We have had this long in our history.
The difference in the 21st century is fake news grows greatly on the internet. A lot of fake news is being produced and spread daily. It continues to be created for economic reasons and confirmation bias— believing only what wants to see and believe—. The professor gives as an example the young people from Macedonia who made fake news that the pope supports Trump at the time of the US presidential election in 2016. They received money for each click on the fake news. It made money.
The professor mentions the ways an American research organization identifies fake news. But this is difficult for individuals to practice; it's not easy to identify a manipulated fact and difficult to ask experts every time in doubt. That is why fact-checking organizations are needed.
The traditional press has some responsibility for the situation in which we are in.
Most importantly, traditional media, especially reporters, need to identify facts and verify them. Reporters of traditional media do make mistakes.
First, "unconfirmed speculative reporting" repeated as true. Secondly, we have the abuse of anonymity. We need to clarify the source; with anonymity, we are in doubt on where the news is coming, actual persons or made up news. Finally, the 'Fishing Title' is also a problem. The title should come from the contents of the text but in many cases, the title is purposefully seductive and fishing for readers. All three are the fallacies that make fake news grow.
Media is the backbone of democracy and developed from democracy. If journalism is damaged with a lack of trust, democracy itself is at risk. I am sure that everyone knows what the problem is: survival problems of the media are present.
The media system is changing rapidly. Most of the media is supported by advertising revenue. Consequently, we have advertising and promotional articles in order to attract the advertiser and to please them which does not conform to the principles of journalism. Whose basic principle is to represent the people in the face of power and this trust should not be shaken.
Media literacy refers to the ability of an audience to decipher media information independently and this he feels is necessary to counteract the fake news. Today, whether it is fake news or real news is a matter of 'civilization' after all. You need education to get out of fake news as if you were breaking out of illiteracy.
Still, media education has a long way to go in Korea. It is different from what is happening actively in Germany and France. There is a big difference between knowing nothing and knowing a little. We have to work with the government, related organizations, the family and so on. Media workers, including reporters, need intermediate education.
Pope Francis continues to talk about fake news. In our church, we do follow the words of the Pope, but no one talks about what to do specifically. Now, we are in a two-way communication age. Because of the strong "clergy-centeredness" of the church, communication tends to be unilateral. It is not desirable from a media communication point of view. Careful thought is necessary for the church to recognize and respond to fake news, and the concrete steps required.
