Research Paper about Fake News and Alternative Facts

People have been using misinformation, or lies to fulfill their own agenda, since the rise of civilization. In modern times, technology and social media has allowed the world to communicate with each other in the matter of seconds. People can connect and share their stories, which has brought about great social change. Consequently, this ability to communicate instantaneously has allowed misinformation to spread faster than ever. During the Trump presidency, two famous terms emerged as ways of classifying misinformation. There’s the well-known “fake news” catchphrase, but there’s also the lesser known, yet still infamous term, “alternative facts”. Both terms carry with them widespread misconceptions. While they are similarly used as ways of deceiving and persuading individuals, they present themselves in distinctly separate ways. In order to prevent the current spread of misinformation, there must be a clear understanding as to what alternative facts and fake news are, and how they regularly used to manipulate groups of people.

Senior Counselor to the Trump Administration, Kellyanne Conway, famously coined the term, “alternative facts” as a way of defending Sean Spicer’s false statistics regarding the size of Trump’s 2016 inauguration. Spicer had made many verifiably false claims but presented them as facts. Kellyanne Conway went as far as going on NBC’s Meet The Press, to back his statements. She stated that Spicer’s claims were not false, but instead “alternative facts”. The host Chuck Todd quickly rebutted saying “alternative facts are not facts. They’re falsehoods.” (Chuck Todd, Meet The Press). What Todd said is completely true. There is no alternative to a fact because facts are undeniable. Yet, alternative facts are very real and have deceived the majority of the public without even realizing it. Kellyanne Conway did not invent “alternative facts”, she simply put a name to the concept. A very fitting name as well, considering the deeper meaning can be found within the name itself. Alternative facts are lies told by people, usually trustworthy, who use fancy words and phrasing to make their claims appear to be true. Just like the name itself, “alternative facts” which is a clever way of describing a lie, or a falsehood. Politicians, CEO’s, influencers, or anyone who appears to be trustworthy, use this technique to persuade individuals into believing them. Often times these people will use complex phrasing, unrelated statistics, and even flat-out lies as a way of deceiving their audience. If someone sounds convincing enough, most people won’t think twice about it, especially if an individual is being told something they already want to be true, commonly known as a “confirmation bias”. It’s important to realize this since it happens all the time. Maybe a boss is telling their employees that if they don’t come in on a Saturday, they could face serious repercussions. Take the time to double check that claim, because it’s possible the company cannot force their employees to do that. The public needs to understand that people who appear to be trustworthy, may not actually be truthful and instead using their noteworthy status to feed us lies. 

Another famous term that emerged during the Trump Presidency, is “Fake News”. Just like alternative facts, fake news is not a new concept and it’s been affecting cultures for centuries. Jacob Soll, writer for Politico Magazine, points out in his article “The Long and Brutal History of Fake News”, that newspapers in the late 1800s, started to use a technique known as “yellow journalism” as a way of manipulating the public. Soll states, “yellow journalism flourished, using fake interviews, false experts and bogus stories to spark sympathy and rage as desired” (Soll, The Long and Brutal History of Fake News). In recent times, “fake news” has taken on several different meanings. Donald Trump used the term to write off articles, journalists, or media outlets that he didn’t like, or agree with. It became somewhat of a cultural catchphrase. Some people took that definition seriously and began to distrust credible media sources. Others used it ironically, to poke fun at Trump and his supporters. This all caused misconceptions about what the word really meant.  Fake news describes news stories from websites, or social media accounts who use clickbait headlines and misleading information as a way of deceiving their audience. They strategically use URL’s which appear to be a credible source, but add slight variations, so that an unsuspecting reader won’t notice the difference. For example, a company pretending to be CNN might use the URL “cnn.com.co”. At first glance it appears to be CNN, but the “.co” at the end will lead to a fake site that provides false information with the intent to influence people. The general misconceptions around fake news has caused serious consequences. When Trump began to use the term, many of his supporters turned to unreliable sources, as a way of getting news since many felt that established media outlets were corrupt. People started to rely on Facebook and TikTok accounts to stay up to date with current events, instead of The Washington Post, or the New York Times. While media outlets can be biased, they have strict regulations that journalists must follow in order to maintain their credibility. Those same regulations don’t apply to social media accounts, or other fake news outlets. Fake news accounts are allowed to spread misinformation without facing serious consequences. Recently platforms have started to remove accounts or posts that include harmful misinformation. Twitter went as far as to ban Trump after the January 6th riots, which some felt he incited. This caused many to argue that these companies were violating the 1st amendment right for freedom of speech. Though it is important to remove harmful accounts that are spreading misinformation, it’s even more important that the public is educated about the truth of fake news. Fake news is not news that comes from credible sources who have a bias towards a certain topic, or belief. Fake news is falsified stories published by unreliable sources, who use deceptive techniques and misinformation to convince individuals for their own personal, social, or economic gain. 

The public needs to be aware of these terms and how they differentiate from each other. Alternative facts, represents a technique used by trustworthy people to deceive individuals. Fake news describes falsified news stories, published by unreliable sources with the intent to deceive individuals. Both are similar in that their main goal is to deceive. Though, they take very different approaches. When it comes to alternative facts, look out for influential people who appear to be relying on emotional appeals instead of facts to build their argument. If someone is making bold claims but not supplying the proper evidence, or maybe trying to change the subject, they could be using alternative facts as their strategy. In the case of fake news, look out for articles spread on social media with crazy headlines. Even if it has the name of a well-known media outlet because it could still be a hoax. Be aware of personal biases as well. They could lead to irrational judgment. The most important piece of advice is to fact-check everything. If it’s an article, check to see who posted it, when it was posted, and what sources the author used. If it’s an individual making claims, listen to what they are saying and how they are saying it. Pay attention to the evidence they provide and fact-check them. In both cases, consider the possible motive for individuals using alternative facts and fake news.