How to Screen Fake News

I am currently acting as a proctor of the Essay Writing Competition of our school's Academic Days. As I was watching over them as they put to words their own thoughts and craft their original essays, I was prompted to make my one as well so I can also experience the flow of ideas related to the theme that I have presented at the start of the competition. This is open for all college students of our school. Each department were asked to send in two participants.

 And the theme for this year's Essay Writing Competition, it is #fakenews. Let's go write down my thoughts about this thing.

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Group chats is the new normal just as how GM's or group messaging was ten years ago. Conversations, video calls became very handy and even a 4- year old can do it. It has become a channel of comforts and congratulations, but it has also become a challenge for frauds and fake news too. Today, I wish to draw attention to the last two words in the sentence prior to this.

I know most of us had an encounter with such kind of news. Like, when someone told you about Mr. So and So and how he is like this and like that. Or like when you heard from a colleague that a lot of people were wrapped in plastics in hospitals nearby because they can no longer handle the many COVID victims who died recently. And you, being so frightened, you believed the news without verifying it first, only to find out that it was untrue. Or maybe you were one of those who brewed some random leaves because you saw somewhere that it was a cure to an illness that you were having, later you had diarrhea. Or maybe, you read a post that said something about turning on your inverter type air-conditioner 24/7 won't consume electricity that much, so you did the same and when you received your electric bill, you felt electrified because it’s true that it did not affect you bill that much but rather it affected it way too much. Lol. I could go on and on with so many instances like the ones above, but the bottom line of all those is that we all had these encounters because fake news is around us.

Because of the advent of technology, it has become easier for us to be exposed to a massive amount of news and information, some of which are true while some aren't. Yes, there are many benefits that we can get from the many technological advancements that we now have, but there is also a challenge, because amidst these many wise and intelligent people who wants to genuinely share what they know to the rest of the world, there are also people who are cunning in money making and would invent and create hoax for them to be noticed and be viewed and in return monetize their false contents. They flood the internet. They are everywhere. They are present in almost every social media platform, and they make their false news appear so enticing that sometimes if we don't pay much attention, they get us hooked to them. So how do we get ourselves able in discerning truth and error in every news and information that we encounter in this digital age? Let me offer some personal suggestions that might help you in fleshing out truth from the array of information.

First, know the author of the news. Is he reliable? Who is he? What kind of person is he? Does he give basis to his propositions or are they all based on lies and predictions. Does he have a good reputation? What is his purpose in making this content? When you asked these questions (you can more according to your standards) you are giving yourself a stronger ground to whether believe or decline the information before you. The answers to this question will help you determine whether the source is true to what he was saying or not, allowing you to remove those whose tongues are split up like the serpent.

Second, get the meat of the news. What is the news all about? Is it backed up by concrete data? Is it a first-hand news or had it been handed down and had been twisted and turned? When you check on the news itself, you are verifying if its right to the core of it or not. You don’t just accept it as it is, you question it and you understand what it is all about, making you more knowledgeable when someone else's ask you about it.

Third, is it important or not? With the many things that is before us we confuse what's important with what is not. Asking the question regarding the importance of the news allows us to funnel down to the essential things that needs our attention. Sometimes the news is nice but its not going to change you for good neither will it promote growth in you. And when something does not contribute to our growth and well-being it is not worth our time. Having this mindset leads us to a more peaceful and more serene online interaction. Our minds will automatically draw away from whatever it is that is not worth our time.

For me, asking these three questions helps screens away fake news. Making us lesser prone to unimportant stresses and headaches caused by it. Cunning content creators and news writers won't cease doing their job allowing the entry of more and more hoax around us. Are we going to let ourselves their medium by spreading the same falsehoods? Of course, we won't be  so let us be the kind of consumer of information who verifies before spreading, making the world a happy and more genuine place to be.

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Hope you liked my entry to the theme. You think I could have won it if I happen to be a contestant earlier? well, you be the judge! Speaking of contestant, let ,e give you a glimpse of the contestants earlier. See photo below.

Thank you for reading!