Fake News Online
Types of Fake News Clickbait ● Unreliable sources ● Misleading Information ● Satire/ Parody ● Biased News ●
Clickbait Headline trying to attract attention and make readers click to find out more ● Creates a “cliffhanger” that makes you want to click to find out more. ● Widespread due to its ability to generate clicks/ ad revenue ● Some people only read headlines ●
Why Doesn’t America Read Anymore https://www.npr.org/2014/04/01/297690717/why-doesnt-america-read-anymore
Social Media Source-agnostic ● People are more likely to accept news endorsed by friends ● Popularity can be manipulated online by bots ●
Fake News Websites Easy to create ● Domain ○ Website ○ Steal and modify content ● Advertisements ● Easy to add using advertisement companies online ○ Spread over social media ● Use fake accounts and bots to promote stories and get clicks ○
How to avoid fake new online Check source ● Don’t share fake articles online ●
Ethics Analysis Journalist wants to write an article but his source is not reliable. ● What can he do? ● Wait for a more reliable source. ○ Possibility of missing out on a scoop. ■ Information could still be correct ■ Use the information he has to write the story. ○ Possibility of publishing incorrect information ■ Misleading readers ■
Kantian Ethics Analysis By writing a fake news article you are using people’s gullibility or biases to gain views on your site. By Kantian’s second formulation using people as a means to an end is unethical. Thus this is unethical according to Kant
Act Utilitarian Analysis Writing possibly false information: Waiting for a reliable source: +1 publishes article before anyone else -1 someone else publishes their article first -2 misleads people if information turns out to +0 doesn’t mislead anyone be false +2 gains credibility by publishing factual -1 loses credibility information Total: -2 Total: +1
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