The modern information space is overflowing with content from various sources. There is so much information around that it is difficult to understand what is actually the truth and what is its imitation (fake). According to a 2019 VTsIOM survey, every second Russian has encountered “fake news.” This figure is probably even higher today. So what are fakes? When did they start appearing? And how can we learn to distinguish between information that comes to us in an endless stream?
Journalist about fakes, opinions and finding sources of information
Irina Maksimova , teacher at the Department of Theory and Practice of Mass Communication, correspondent for the business newspaper “City N”, spoke about the essence of fakes, their use in the media and the search for optimal sources of information.
The expert first of all noted that in journalism, fake is understood as news that carries incorrect, unreliable information. You should also distinguish between fake and opinion, since these are different-level concepts. An opinion in a journalistic text can be presented in the form of a speaker’s comment or quote.
In a news article, for example, there may be a comment that a speaker gives to a journalist about an event. An opinion in this regard can be either part of the text that conveys real information, or part of a fake.
The journalist himself, as a rule, does not express his opinion in the text.
The speaker noted that in journalism, from the first year you are taught to check information. In science, this term is called “verification”. Moreover, according to the rules of journalists, information must be confirmed by at least two sources. But there are also so-called “unintentional fakes”. They may be the result of an insufficient number of sources or human factor. But it’s a completely different matter when fakes appear on purpose.
“But the creation of fakes in general contradicts the ethical code of journalism and the law on the media. Therefore, fakes are a phenomenon that is prohibited. If a media outlet begins to publish fake news, then it becomes a “yellow”, low-quality press,” emphasized Irina Maksimova .
In order to learn to treat information critically, according to the expert, the audience should be guided by the same rule that journalists follow: verify information using different sources. Therefore, the reader should not get hung up on reading news from any one media outlet. Then a broader picture of the world will emerge.
“We live in the 21st century, when there is a lot of information and it spreads very quickly. As the scientist Marshall McLuhan wrote, we live in a “global village.” Sometimes this redundancy of information is very difficult to understand. You can’t find one reference source that you read and everything will be covered right away. Therefore, the optimal source of information is to develop a reading culture in the reader and the ability to formulate a news agenda for themselves from different media. And at the same time, distinguish official media from personal blogs,” concluded Irina Maksimova .
Marketer about “half-truths” in commerce
Ekaterina Shapovalova , content marketer, associate professor of the Department of Theory and Practice of Mass Communication at the Institute of Physical Culture and Culture of the Southern Federal University, Ph.D., spoke about how the audience trusts various sources of information and whether companies use lies for advertising purposes.
The speaker noted: the degree of trust in different channels has changed over the past 10 years. In general, Russians continue to trust television, but the level of trust is falling. At the same time, it is growing for social networks and online media, but for print publications it remains at the same level. This is evidenced by studies of such organizations as VTsIOM, FOM, Levada Center.
During the pandemic, Telegram channels have gained great popularity, but in terms of authority they cannot yet compete with television. However, according to the marketer, messages from social circles have the highest level of trust for people.
“A long time ago, in 2011, I conducted a survey on the perception of product reviews on the Internet when I was writing my PhD thesis. Almost all respondents trusted reviews from people they knew. There was a high percentage of trust in information from bloggers on social networks. And much lower – to information from traditional advertising,” commented Ekaterina Shapovalova .
The expert emphasized that, understanding the high level of trust in many media sources, companies use fake information for advertising purposes. Usually they don’t write blatant lies in advertising, but information can be distorted. Among this kind of “half-truth,” the marketer identified two types of tricks: those related to the price of the product (a low price is indicated if certain conditions are met); about the main qualities of the product (marketers endow the product with properties that it does not possess in reality).
According to the speaker, some fakes in the texts of advertising messages can be called hoaxes. Such a text deliberately misleads people, but at the same time the audience understands perfectly well that it is dealing with fiction. Such hoaxes also include creative slogans. For example, an IKEA table lamp doesn’t “shed light on family relationships,” and buying a swivel chair doesn’t “tell you how things will turn out.”
“We pay attention to such advertising moves and rejoice at them. As well as unusual solutions to attract attention. For example, one construction company promoted the rental of apartments in new buildings with banners on which it was allegedly looking for cats to bring into the house. A similar teaser advertisement was launched in Omsk – this is how the company promoted mortgages. Are these advertisements fake? Yes, sure. After all, construction companies don’t need cats. But are they harmful to the audience? No,” concluded Ekaterina Shapovalova .
Historian about large famous fakes
Anton Ivanesko , Associate Professor of the Department of Russian History of the Middle Ages and Modern Times, Candidate of Historical Sciences, spoke about what should be classified as fakes, about great deceptions in world and Russian history, and how “fake news” influenced public life and what consequences they led to.
The expert noted that information has become an important resource since the invention of writing and increases its value within each of the communication revolutions: the invention of printing, the emergence of radio and telecommunications, and the creation of the Internet.
The speaker emphasized that in a broad sense, “fake news” can be understood as any distorted, falsely interpreted, unreliable information about an event – real or fictitious. Therefore, parody news, disinformation, artistic hoaxes, propaganda, and rumors may fall under this definition.
The expert emphasized that if we start from the first understanding, then “fake news” has existed since the emergence of so-called fixed information – that is, presented using sign systems, in particular, writing.
The speaker gave vivid examples of fake news from history. at the beginning of the 13th century. BC. The battle of the Egyptians and the Hittites took place at Kadesh, which ended in a draw, but both sides presented it in their official epigraphy as their unconditional victory. And the inhabitants of Renaissance Venice relied on “leaks” from secret state correspondence (relazioni), which, for the most part, were fabricated precisely for the purpose of widespread disinformation. Another example is from the era of print capitalism – “The Great Moon Swindle.” This is a series of newspaper publications in The New York Sun in 1835 about the fact that with the help of a powerful telescope it was possible to discern its inhabitants on the Moon, which led to a significant increase in the circulation of the publication.
Anton Ivanesko noted that there are no periods comparable to modern times in terms of the amount of dissemination of false information: the volumes of fabricated content are now incomparable with those in earlier historical eras. However, it is not only a matter of quantity, but also of the quality of information.
Anton Ivanesko also explained that at the beginning of the 21st century, with the advent of social networks, the media environment fundamentally changed. If previously public information passed through various filters on its way to the reader (professional journalists, official propagandists, censors, experts), now the creator and relay of fake news communicates with his reader directly – in the space of new media. In addition, modern digital technologies make it possible to provide a variety of formats for presenting information – photos, audio, video, streams, which makes its consumption easier and the impact effects stronger.
The speaker noted that the power of fake news is that it can cause significant social disruption. Thus, on the eve and during the February Revolution in Russia, they played a significant role in the decline of the authority of the monarchy and the royal family. There were rumors in society about Alexandra Fedorovna: allegedly, through a radio station installed in a secret room of the Winter Palace, she transmits all the military plans of the Russian command to the German General Staff. Failures on the war fronts were then explained precisely by her “intervention.” These ideas were so ingrained in society that after the October Revolution, soldiers and sailors tried to find this secret room.
“Finally, I will cite the events that established the very concept of “fake news” in public and academic discourse. During the 2016 US presidential election campaign, there was a surge in fake news activity discrediting candidates. The losing Democratic representative, H. Clinton, explained her defeat and the election of D. Trump precisely by this “coordinated Russian information attack.” However, the Russiagate investigation by the team of special prosecutor R. Mueller did not provide any serious evidence of Russian interference, so these accusations can also be sent to the graveyard of fakes,” concluded Anton Ivanesko .