"Fake news is the ‘enemy of the people’." Former U.S. President Donald Trump has been living with "fake news" since the 2016 presidential election and throughout his tenure. His remarks without hesitation are absurd to hear. Isn't he the one who considers news newspaper articles or broadcast reports unfavorable to him as fake news? Fake news is 'false information' made up in the form of news articles in order to spread untrue content. In particular, it is a tool of propaganda used by politicians to refute their opponents.
Not
only politicians, but also celebrities are becoming major targets of
fake news. Fake news that stimulates people's interest and instinct has
spread on social media since the 2010s. The Internet media and YouTube
are the main hotbeds for fake news that appear with “fishing titles”.
YouTube's revenue structure, where income increases according to the
number of views, played a part. The prevalence of fake news is, after
all, a product of the post-truth era. Modern people do not try to
confirm the truth, but have a strong tendency to believe blindly and
only believe what they want to believe as truth.
The
reason the writer talks about fake news is because it is in close
contact with the theme of the ‘2022 Seoul Signis World Congress’, ‘Peace
in the Digital World’. The first World Congress held in Korea came to
an end on the 18th of last month.
The
participants of this general meeting were 300 people, including nearly
100 foreigners and Koreans from 30 countries around the world.
Participants from overseas, including India and South America, were
amazed at the progress of the General Assembly and did not forget to
give thanks for the hospitality.
Signis
is an organization accredited by the Holy See, an international
gathering of Catholic communicators, and the General Assembly is held
every four years.
The
organizing committee, has been preparing for the big event for nearly
five years and had to fight various variables
under great pressure. Due to the spread, calming, and re-spreading of
the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation has been somewhat reversed.
The
general assembly was held in an on-offline hybrid method, and the
metaverse platform was also introduced. However, despite its
effectiveness, the metaverse operation, which was first introduced, was
insufficient to attract attention. In addition, the narrow position and
low participation of print media workers such as newspapers and
publishing houses in SIGNIS was also the fly in the ointment. Journalism
and communication are not separate, they must work together.
"Digital
media, especially social media, is a powerful means of fostering
fellowship and dialogue among the human family, but it also raises a
number of serious ethical issues." In the message to the General
Assembly, Pope Francis paid attention to the positive and dysfunctional
functions of the media and urged the good use of the media. In other
words, the media can become a tool for hate, biased remarks, and fake
news. This is a point that journalists and communicators wrestling with
the news in the midst of the digital world should keep in mind.
"Excessive
connectivity in the digital world has resulted in socio-economic,
cultural, spiritual and ecological disconnections. They also became more
aware of the destructive impact of fake news. With this new insight, we
want to take the lead in bridging the ‘digital divide’ and share the
fruits of the digital revolution." As seen in the closing statement of
the General Assembly, the calling of Catholic journalists and
communicators is clear. We must and pledge to become apostles of peace
in the digital world through the renewing power of the Holy Spirit.
