Fake News and Trolling

Since we are now in the 21st century, and almost everything is about technology, social media platforms are considered a ‘thing’. Almost everyone is allowed to publish their thoughts or even share their own stories with the world. However, some social media users do not often check the credibility of the source they see online before sharing it. The trouble is, it can lead to fake news spreading quickly, or even going viral.

Solving misinformation and disinformation is not as simple as following a checklist. Getting too much invested in the checklist can even make a comeback. It is a must, however, to trace the path of online information. Critical thinking is not meant to be synonymous with doubting or debunking, and the point of research is not simply to poke holes in a story. It is to understand the story better or to get deep enough to find the truth.

Fake news is an erroneous, often sensational, story that is produced to draw publicity. Unlike misinformation, which is incorrect because the writer has mistaken reality, fake news is produced with the purpose of exploiting someone or something. Also, it can spread rapidly because it offers disinformation that is compatible with the opinion of the public, as such material is unlikely to be questioned or discounted.

It is described as causing discord on the Internet by starting quarrels or upsetting people through posting off-topic posts or uploading offensive content to an online site. Usually, this happens on websites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. When national or international events are taking place, these social media are active. Basically, a social media troll is someone who intentionally says something controversial just to get the rise of other people.

“The yo-yo was invented by ancient Filipinos” is an example of fake news that we can prove wrong. It is too easy to say that the yo-yo was invented by a Filipino. However, Estrella (2020) stated that in the 1800s, it traces its existence back to ancient Greece and arrived in Europe, long before it was trademarked and sold as a whole in America. The rumor started when Pedro Flores, Filipino bellboy, traveled to the United States and innovated a stringing method that elevated the yo-yo from being a simple toy to the type we all know. A yo-yo manufacturing company was established by Pedro and he even mass-produced his creation, but eventually sold the rights.

As stated by Coble (2020), in the Philippines, Philippine National Police (PNP) charged 32 people with disseminating false information about the COVID-19 health crisis. According to the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG), eight of those arrested reportedly spread fake news about the novel coronavirus orally around their local communities. The remaining 24 suspects are accused of using social media sites to spread falsehoods about the deadly virus.

Under Article 154 of the Revised Penal Code and with violation of Republic Act 10175 or the Anti-Cybercrime Prevention Act, police charged the suspects with the unlawful use of means of publication and unlawful utterance. These 32 suspects were from Quezon City, Eastern Visayas, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Caraga.

Hayek (2020) reported that First Lady Melania Trump called The Atlantic, alleging that an unnamed source had told them that President Donald Trump labeled fallen American soldiers “losers” and “suckers.”

Breitbart reports: “This week, The Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg published a story citing anonymous sources, claiming that Trump did not want to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery at the site of Battle of Belleau Wood in 2018. The story, citing those anonymous sources, claims Trump called the cemetery “filled with losers” and referred to fallen soldiers who died at Belleau Wood as “suckers.””

Melania Trump blasted The Atlantic, mentioning that the story is fake.

Former and current officials mentioned that Goldberg ‘s report is misleading and is an attempt by the establishment media to discredit the president. The story comes as Trump outlined a proposal to bring American troops home from Afghanistan by cutting those deployed in the area by about halfway through November. In the same way, Trump’s option for Afghanistan ‘s ambassador supports getting all American troops home from the region.

This is a great example of an opportunistic troll since this one is considered to be one of the greatest pranks of all time. To read the whole story, go to the link. It is worth it. But here’s a quick rundown of the story. Someone was selling his powerbook on eBay and got a message from an obvious scammer. By using an escrow service, a popular way to scam, he wanted to buy the Powerbook off of the site. So the seller wanted to take advantage of the situation and scam the scammer back. In the history of the web, this story led to one of the most epic stories of conning the con man.

Anonymous is a famous banner that is used to describe anyone who is trolling on the internet. It is usually mistaken as an organized group and most people tend to misunderstand what it really means. Usually, from one of the sites where there is a greater connection, such as Something Awful, most of the trolling people are teenagers. Of course, there have been some interesting examples of how individuals can come together under the name of Anonymous for a greater cause. Like the Project Chanology protests and attacks against Scientology. Anonymous can be anyone.

In 1998, an email was made of an advancement in diabetic research:

A new medicine is available which helps bring blood sugar levels under better control.

Since the information was credibly presented, readers or viewers were sent to the website where descriptions of the research and the product were available. At the end of the article, it is said that an order form was provided, and at a reasonable cost, readers could purchase a sample bottle of the latest drug. Thus, the intention of this scam was to access the credit card details requested on the order form. To be unfamiliar with the risks of sending credit card details over the Internet, the scam relied on diabetics or their families. And also eager to do something to try and change their lifestyle or that of their diabetic relatives.

For us to prove the truthfulness of information, we always need to be vigilant and consider credible sources at all times. It is important to counter check certain topics with verified sources like materials published within the last 10 years, academic databases, materials from Google Scholar, etc. You should always consider who has written the news story and their credentials. Moreover, it is a must to figure out the purpose of the news story. This is because some of the information seems as though it was written with some sort of bias attached to it. Furthermore, you should always check in with yourself. Some of the news stories might be too unusual. With that, do not hesitate to double-check if you are having a doubt about it.

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