The Norcross Progressive Development Committee invited me recently to talk about fake news. This group of residents and business leaders meet every Wednesday morning at 45 South coffee shop in downtown Norcross. Each week a guest speaker is invited to discuss topics of interest to citizens.
Despite concerns I might be facing a potentially hostile audience (the media has been a bit unpopular to some of late), I did my research and joined the discussion to talk about one of the things making it hard for me to enjoy Facebook lately.
Fake news stories are made to look like real ones.
These fictional stories look genuine by mimicking the same typeface or by creating knockoff logos similar to legitimate news sources. The perpetrators create fake websites that at a quick glance appear authentic. But abcnews.com.co is not abcnews.com.
At times aggregate news sources pick up an erroneous story and share it on their own websites and social media. From there the fake news spreads.
We all have well-meaning friends and family who clutter their social media with story after story in efforts to educate those with opposing viewpoints. Nothing at all wrong with passion for a cause, or a thoughtful debate.
The danger occurs when fake news is shared countless times misleading others along the way.
My recommendation to the citizens of Norcross is to use discernment. If a news story seems unbelievable, if you haven’t seen it reported in the AJC or on other national news, there is a reasonable chance it might be fake news.
The AJC’s Truth-o-Meter employs Politifact.com to regularly fact check statements. Other credible fact checking sources include FactCheck.org, APFactCheck and the Washington Post fact checker.
Social media sites like Facebook are working to manage and control the spread of fake news. A recent article originated on the website: Times.com.mx (not the legitimate Time.com) stated Trump’s executive order led to the capture of an ISIS leader. Picked up and shared by other sites, the story quickly found it’s way to social media. About a week later, Facebook flagged the site as “disputed by the Associated Press.” A link takes you to the clearly outlined reasons the story is false.
One of the more interesting and telling questions I was asked at the Norcross PDC is what direction or slant I’m encouraged to take when reporting news for the AJC. Some seemed surprised to learn the only direction I’m given is to report accurate and unbiased information. As I mentioned, this past November, as the County-by-County reporters were preparing to work ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, my editor Arlinda Broady implored us to maintain this standard and noted, “I’d rather burn the turkey than run a correction.”
It is our job to provide the best news coverage possible and it is important for the public to have news sources they can trust. That doesn’t mean you’ll always like what you read, and just because you don’t like a story doesn’t make it fake news.
I encourage all readers to seek out credible news sources and to fact check stories that seem too good or bad to believe. It’s also good with me if Facebook becomes a little less political and back to sharing lighter news about family, friends, puppies and babies.
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