The Impact of Fake News on Informational Climate (Essay Sample)

The Impact of Fake News on Informational Climate
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The Impact of Fake News on Informational Climate
The pervasiveness of fake news propagated by media has received considerable attention in recent years. The discussion was triggered by the realization that false information influenced electoral behavior in the 2016 US presidential elections (Waisbord, 2018). Notably, devious journalists and content creators used social media platforms to disseminate false information under the disguise of factual news to cause mass deception by promoting political propaganda. The prevalence of fake news has elicited skepticism among news consumers, undermining the trust accorded to journalists as custodians of information.
Fake news has significantly strained current informational climate. The three most damaging effects of such news include increased distrust and ambivalence among the public, limitations in detection of bias, and a profound crisis in the cultural authority of knowledge (Boczkowski, 2016). Individuals have become more doubtful of the veracity of the majority of news reports published by established media institutions (Boczkowski, 2016). For instance, during the 2016 US presidential elections, fake media outlets churned political propaganda and deceptive information to disparage the mainstream media outlets that attempted to publish legitimate information and to exploit the gullibility of the electorate (Boczkowski, 2016). News consumers have since then become more hesitant towards traditional media institutions since the validity of the information they air is not guaranteed (Boczkowski, 2016). Concerns of ambivalence and difficulties in detecting bias have contributed to the predicament of cultural knowledge authority in education, science, and medicine, evident in the debate about the role of vaccines in instigating autism.
Pablo Boczkowski is largely pessimistic about the near future of journalism. He argues that the veracity and quality of information from journalists is likely to deteriorate due to the spread of socially destabilizing, unrealistic, and dangerous ideas (Boczkowski, 2016). Consequently, on balance, the changes designed to minimize the spread of misinformation online will not improve the information environment. The reason is that humans mostly shape advances in technology to their advantage and individuals with depraved motives will frustrate efforts by experts to resolve the problem. Boczkowski (2016) also predicts that manipulative actors will adopt new digital tools to exploit human’s ingrained preference for convenience and comfort in consuming fake news.
Fake news can impact American society by competing with factual news. According to Boczkowski (2016), the top fake news stories about the 2016 American presidential election received more public attention and engagement than top stories from the mainstream media outlets. Additionally, fake news can potentially undermine trust in media coverage among American citizens by casting doubt on legitimate news (Tandoc Jr et al., 2019).