When I think about why we are so susceptible to hoaxing and “fake news” the first answer that comes to my mind is… because we are HUMAN! Some of us more human than others…
“Fake news” is something that is spread via traditional media or social media. It is misinformation used to mislead or damage something or someone.
Let’s be honest, I don’t know why I believe some of the things I do. After reading this article I started to get a better understanding of that. Learning how people believe the things they do and why they believe those things is helpful when it comes to understanding why there is so much fake news in media. In this article, Psychology Today uses examples of how “fake news” plays a role in today’s politics.
Need an example? Here you go!
There are thousands upon thousands of “fake news” examples that are on the web. You’re telling me we have been duped that many times? Crazy. An example that stood out to me was the example of a Milwaukee County Sheriff, David A. Clarke being accused of being a KKK member. This story can be used as an example of an echo chamber as well. Once one person says something it can be spread and perceived as true by many others. This specific article was shared by over 449,000 people on social media. Eventually, the story was proven to be wrong. However, how do you think this affected his reputation? When 449,000 people see false truths about you, it can be damaging. Personally, I would be mortified.
How should misinformation be dealt with?
Dealing with these “fake news” or hoax situations may look different for every person, business and situation. We know I like to keep it real on here. Personally, my first reaction would be to freak out. However, I know the public relations side of me would handle the situation much more rationally. I would make sure that I did research on the misinformation. Is this source reliable? How many Twitter or Facebook followers does he/she have? Is that number enough to make a difference? These are all questions that I would evaluate before I made my decision on how to proceed. Next, I would develop a message to send to my target publics to make them aware of the misinformation. Although all of these steps seem easy, we have to take into account the fact that there are echo chambers and people do not always accept the truth once they have heard the false.
Eventually, I hope to have my own clients. In the situation that they fall victim to a viral hoax, I would advise them to take those same steps toward getting out the correct information. Research the person spreading the misinformation. Is the harmful content being viewed by just your target publics? Or even worse… a larger audience.
Stick to your mission
Even though it may be difficult when people spread misinformation or try to form an online hoax toward your organization, remember that the most important thing is stick to your mission. If you stay true to yourself and your publics, they will know who you truly are.
Addison Trojanowski 