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The art and science of making up fake stories has a long and fascinating history. Throughout the centuries, fake news has changed the course of Ancient Rome (with Octavian and Mark Antony), partially caused the Enlightenment (because the Catholic Church lied about an earthquake), stirred anti-Semitic fervor (through Nazi propaganda), and helped cement the place of the United States as a global power (following the Spanish-American war, which was fuelled by yellow journalism). At one point, a newspaper even tricked thousands into thinking that there was an entire civilization on the moon.
More recently, fake news has shaped elections and impeded pandemic response across the globe. Today, even the label of fake news has become a weapon on its own. It’s used to try and discredit legitimate news stories or individuals that people in power (like former U.S. President Donald Trump) or regular Facebook users (like your terminally online uncle) aren’t particularly in favor of.
So even though the words “fake news” form a relatively modern buzzword, the phenomenon itself is as old as civilization. Since the time of Octavian, it has only grown more globalized, industrialized, and dangerous.
In response, researchers and journalists, in partnership with platforms and governments, have been hard at work developing a body of knowledge on misinformation and disinformation, with the goal of figuring out how to fight lies.
Fact From Fiction is a biweekly column that explores these developments, including what platforms and governments are doing (or not doing), who the different actors that shape the disinformation industry are, how the different parts of the disinformation industry work, and how the problem of fake news might influence or be influenced by other social issues.
Drawing out the truth from an industry built on manufacturing and distributing lies is a challenge, but it’s one that must be undertaken.
Featured image by Freepik.
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