Fake news, satire and the culture of fact-checking

N.B. – A journalist asked me to answer four questions about fake news. I think my answers are worth sharing publicly, hence this post. By the way, if you understand the Filipino language, you may be interested to watch me being interviewed on TV about my opposition to the proposed Anti-Fake News Act of 2017.

What is your definition of fake news? How is this distinguished from satire or erroneous news stories written by mainstream media?

In their article published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives (Spring 2017) titled “Social Media and Fake News in the 2016 Election,” academics Hunt Allcott and Matthew Gentzkow define fake news as “news articles that are intentionally and verifiably false, and could mislead readers.” Taking into account the normative standards of journalism, we may also stress that fake news is synonymous with disinformation and outright lies being peddled through the mass media by certain individuals and interest groups that can gain from the resulting social division, confusion or even chaos. Analyzing the history of the press in our country, satire is very much part of Philippine journalism, as in the case of Graciano Lopez Jaena’s Fray Botod. If professionally done, satire cannot be considered as fake news as it helps in shaping public opinion by making audiences think, mainly through an exaggerated depiction of reality. On the other hand, errors in media reportage are a bit tricky because these could be misleading and journalists could be unwittingly used by their unscrupulous sources. In other words, there are honest mistakes that should not be classified as fake news but it is probable for journalists to be victims of “kuryente” that would result in misleading or deceiving the audience.

What do you think are the factors that influence news readers to distrust mainstream media and rely more on fake news websites and social media pages?

There are several factors that could explain the negativity of some audiences toward the mainstream media.

  1. Having a corporate structure presents potential conflicts of interest most especially when the owners and investors have other political and business interests, and any failure to disclose publicly would result in a negative public perception whenever such interests get positive media coverage.
  2. The editors and reporters’ lack of understanding (or worse, misunderstanding) of the professional and ethical standards of journalism results in irresponsible reportage which could cause harm, consciously or unconsciously, on the subjects and the audiences.
  3. Audiences are given a false sense of empowerment and entitlement interacting with fake news websites/social media pages as they are more able to interact with the authors and other social media users. The occasional use of foul language in such sites/pages (whether in the actual article or in the comments section) also gives some audiences a warped interpretation of freedom of expression which they can “maximize” without any fear of being called out for being ungrammatical and fallacious.
  4. The academe and concerned media organizations need to broaden their efforts in media literacy to include not just journalists and media workers but also the audiences so that media criticism could be done and the mainstream media could be effectively called out for whatever shortcomings they have.
  5. There is a dearth of in-depth, analytical journalistic outputs in many mainstream news media organizations given the post-modern thinking that content could be sacrificed in favor of form. This explains why there is a leading broadsheet that decided to reformat by putting more colorful pictures in its pages and cutting the number of words of the published news and column articles. Such a situation does not help in the shaping of public opinion as the mainstream news media organization only gives an illusion of overwhelming quantity when in fact there is questionable quality. The perception of distrust is therefore developed among audiences as they see through the short-changing of content, consciously or unconsciously. To use Filipino parlance, “nakakabitin ang balita para sa masa.”

What do you think are the basics of journalism that have been increasingly ignored by industry practitioners, resulting in greater distrust for mainstream media?

The basic question of “why am I doing this?” should be clearly answered not along the lines of commercial gains and career advancement but of a commitment to help in the shaping of public opinion. It is necessary for journalists and media workers to apply the professional standards not based on corporate dictates, but based on what their conscience says. The Filipino Journalist’s Code of Ethics, for example, provides 11 guidelines on how to perform one’s job as a journalist. In case of doubt, it is best to remember Lambeth’s five principles of journalism (truth-telling, freedom, justice, humaneness and stewardship).

How should we fight the spread of fake news? What are your reactions to measures being taken by several media organizations to fight fake news (such as NUJP’s FakeBlok application, Vera Files’ fact checking initiative, etc.)? Do you think mainstream media is making much of an impact in fighting fake news?

The culture of fact-checking is slowly but surely being promoted in various news media organizations. There are even some sections/articles dedicated to fact-checking. I think this helps fight the spread of fake news. The initiatives of NUJP and Vera Files, to cite two good examples, prove that we do not need a law to combat fake news because the solution is not legislation but self-regulation and media education. The campaign against fake news will be long and tortuous, especially considering that there are unscrupulous individuals and groups who benefit from spreading fake news. If we will try our best to strengthen the self-regulatory and self-policing mechanisms in the media like the KBP Standards Authority and the Philippine Press Council (as well as promote them to the audiences and teach them how to maximize such mechanisms), truth shall prevail.

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