By Harshita Singh and Dhruv Goyal
“Don’t believe in everything you read on the Internet just because it has a picture and quote next to it.”
If you have ever read news in your entire life, there is a high chance that you have come across a lot of fake and propaganda based news. When I say “a lot” I really mean it… Nowadays people are blindly trusting anything they see or read on social media. The credit of spreading the fake news mostly goes to Whatsapp uncles and aunties.
They play a major role in sharing any kind of news that seems interesting to them. They don’t even bother to fact check the information from google. Sometimes it can be really difficult to identify fake news and propaganda. There is no need to be embarrassed of it because my friend we all are on the same boat.
If you can already identify fake news then believe me you are a winner. For those who can’t, don’t worry we will together learn how to spot fake news like a pro!
For distinguishing between propaganda and legitimate news we need to read news in all its forms and we will gradually learn. If you don’t have this much time, I have a couple of tricks or you can say nuskha that might just help you in this problem.
Examine The Headline And Byline
The byline on a newspaper or magazine article gives the name of the writer of the article. Bylines are commonly placed between the headline and the text of the article, although some magazines (notably Reader’s Digest) place bylines at the bottom of the page to leave more room for graphical elements around the headline.
Let’s do one thing I will give you a news headline and you are required to examine it carefully and tell me whether it’s fake or legitimate news.
The Taliban has been heavily criticised for its curbs on women’s rights. Be it in education, sports or public life, there have been severe restrictions on women in Afghanistan. So much so that they are not even allowed to move freely or dress according to their will under the new regime.
Because of all these reasons there is a high chance you will believe this news is true but no, it’s not! It’s fake news!
And moreover no news headlines have such kind of grammatical errors. So anytime you believe the news at just one go, read it again.
If What You Read Aligns With Your Beliefs, Think Again!
Sometimes you read a piece of news which is not hurting your sentiments… but think again it might be affecting the beliefs of many… Let’s get to know by this news
Islamist-sympathiser CJ Werleman, who has a notorious history of peddling fake news on social media platforms, yet again took to Twitter to put out an undated video to claim that a Muslim man was assaulted by a mob of Hindu extremists in the national capital Delhi on Wednesday.
This news is one of the news which would have many different and contradictory reactions… For a some people this will be fine to beat a Muslim guy as they don’t treat the people of another caste as same as they do to their caste… But for some people this would be heartbreaking as without any reason a person of their religion was beaten by people of other caste.
This contradiction not only hurts the sentiments of people but also causes disputes among them…So when you read a news before making a review think how that news will be affecting others beliefs.
If What You Are Reading Feels Too Simple, Be Wary
Sometimes news headlines and are simple and we are unable to identify whether it is fake or not at that time. So, to avoid that if, you should go through multiple sites so you can get to know whether that news is fake or not. This will help you and also many others who are unable to find about fake news.
Verify What You Hear
Sometimes, you get to know news in talks often from friends and relatives.. have you ever tried what actually happened when you get to know that… most of the answers would be ‘NO’. after hearing that we instantly believe that and tell others without thinking about the causes that particular piece of fake news can cause…. so when you get any news in talks before telling any other make it sure that it is fake or not.
In conclusion, fake news is false or misleading information presented as news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person or entity, or making money through advertising revenue. As a responsible citizen of our country it’s our responsibility to make sure that we don’t share any kind of fake news.
Because we never know what kind of impact it can have on someone. I know it’s not so easy to identify fake news or propaganda but all we need to do is to look at news more carefully!