How Fake News Grows in a Post-Fact World | Ali Velshi | TEDxQueensU

Summary

In this script, a journalist recounts the confusion and challenges of verifying news in the digital age, particularly around George Michael's death. He discusses the pervasive issue of fake news, its impact on public discourse, and the difficulties it poses for legitimate journalism. The journalist emphasizes the importance of supporting reliable news sources, fact-checking, and being cautious about spreading unverified information. He highlights the role of journalism in holding power to account and warns against the dangers of undermining credible media.

Takeaways

• 📞 The speaker, a veteran journalist, recounts the confusion caused by conflicting news about George Michael's death, highlighting the prevalence of fake news.
• 🗓️ The incident with George Michael's death points to a larger issue where basic facts are obscured, hindering necessary debates and discussions.
• 🚫 The speaker clarifies that not all non-news content is fake news, distinguishing between native advertising, satire, and honest mistakes from credible news sources.
• 👤 The real problem lies with fake news disguised as journalism, which intentionally spreads misinformation and undermines the credibility of real news.
• 📰 The speaker emphasizes the importance of traditional journalism and fact-checking in discerning truth from falsehood in the era of fake news.
• 🌐 The impact of fake news is exacerbated by social media, where accusations of 'fake news' against legitimate journalists can cause lasting damage.
• 🔍 The speaker encourages the audience to fact-check and use reliable sources to combat the spread of fake news, rather than relying solely on social media shares.
• 💡 Fake news can be financially motivated, with purveyors profiting from ad revenue generated by clicks on sensational stories, regardless of their veracity.
• 🛑 The danger of fake news is not just a time suck but also its potential to influence beliefs, politics, and societal trust in institutions.
• 🛂 The speaker suggests that supporting traditional journalism and using fact-checking sites are effective ways to avoid falling for fake news.
• 📈 The script concludes with a call to action for the audience to be discerning consumers of news, to hold power accountable, and to value the role of journalism in society.

Q & A

What was the speaker doing when they received the news about George Michael's death?

The speaker was getting ready to go to dinner with their family, including their wife, kids, and in-laws.

How did the speaker verify the news about George Michael's death?

The speaker checked their reliable sources, such as the New York Times and CNN, to confirm the news.

What was the initial reaction of the speaker's mother-in-law to the news?

The speaker's mother-in-law initially believed it was a hoax and read an article from an unfamiliar website that was dated the next day.

What is the speaker's opinion on fake news?

The speaker believes that fake news sows confusion, obscures basic facts, and prevents necessary debate by making it hard to determine the truth.

How does the speaker distinguish between different types of non-news content?

The speaker distinguishes native advertising, satire, and mistakes from fake news by noting that they have signposts or lack intent to deceive.

What example does the speaker give to illustrate a mistake in reporting?

The speaker mentions a tweet they sent in 2012 about a shooting outside the Empire State Building, where they inadvertently left out the word 'no,' causing confusion.

What does the speaker say is the effect of accusing legitimate journalists of purveying fake news?

The speaker states that it damages the journalist's reputation and undermines the role of journalism in holding power to account.

What incident does the speaker mention to highlight the danger of fake news?

The speaker mentions the 'Pizzagate' incident, where a man fired shots in a DC pizza parlor believing a fake news story about a child sex slave ring.

What does the speaker suggest as a way to combat fake news?

The speaker suggests supporting traditional journalism, using fact-checking sites, and not spreading unverified information.

How does the speaker view the role of journalism?

The speaker views journalism as having two main purposes: to bear witness to events and to hold power to account.

Outlines

00:00

📰 The Impact of Fake News on Journalism and Society

The speaker recounts the confusion caused by conflicting news about George Michael's death, highlighting the prevalence of fake news. They distinguish between real news, native advertising, satire, and honest mistakes, emphasizing that fake news is a deliberate attempt to deceive. The speaker discusses the negative effects of fake news, such as obscuring facts and preventing necessary debates, and calls for reliance on traditional journalism with rigorous fact-checking processes.

05:02

🗣️ The Challenging Role of Journalists in the Era of Fake News

The speaker addresses the backlash against journalists, who are increasingly accused of spreading fake news despite their commitment to truth. They share personal experiences of being challenged on social media and the implications of such accusations on the integrity of journalism. The speaker also touches on the influence of fake news on public opinion, as seen in the reactions to the US Army Corps of Engineers' decision on the Dakota Access Pipeline and the divisive nature of political news during the election period.

10:03

🕵️‍♂️ Identifying and Combating Fake News in the Digital Age

The speaker delves into the mechanics of how fake news is monetized through online advertising and the role of algorithms in promoting such content. They warn of the dangers of fake news beyond being a mere distraction, including its potential to influence politics and ideology. The speaker advises supporting traditional journalism and utilizing fact-checking resources to discern truth from falsehood, emphasizing the importance of not spreading unverified news and holding those who do accountable.

15:04

🛡️ The Importance of Trusting and Upholding Quality Journalism

In the final paragraph, the speaker stresses the importance of supporting journalistic organizations and using fact-checking sites to combat the spread of fake news. They highlight the role of journalism in bearing witness to events and holding power accountable, urging the audience to not lose trust in credible news sources. The speaker also encourages critical consumption of news and cross-referencing information to ensure its validity, concluding with a call to preserve the integrity of truth in journalism.

Keywords

💡Breaking News

Breaking news refers to information about an event that has happened recently and is of significant importance, typically reported by news organizations as it becomes available. In the context of the video, the speaker recounts receiving breaking news alerts about George Michael's death, which highlights the immediacy and impact of such news on the audience.

💡Fake News

Fake news is a term used to describe false information or propaganda published under the guise of being authentic news. The video discusses the issue of fake news extensively, emphasizing its negative effects on society, such as confusion, the obscuring of basic facts, and the prevention of necessary debates. The speaker provides examples of fake news and distinguishes it from satire and native advertising.

💡Journalist

A journalist is a professional who researches, writes, and reports news stories for various media platforms. The speaker identifies as a journalist with over 24 years of experience, emphasizing the importance of journalistic integrity and the rigorous checking of information before reporting it as news.

💡Hoax

A hoax is a deceptive act or a trick that is played on someone with the intention of causing confusion or to elicit a false belief. The video script mentions the confusion caused by a hoax regarding George Michael's death, where the speaker's mother-in-law initially believed it to be a hoax, leading to a discussion on the prevalence of fake news.

💡Native Advertising

Native advertising is a form of paid media where the advertisement matches the form, feel, and function of the platform on which it appears. The speaker mentions native advertising as a type of content that, while not news, is not necessarily fake news because it is usually labeled as 'sponsored content,' making its commercial intent clear.

💡Satire

Satire is a genre of literature, film, or theater that uses humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. The speaker discusses satire as a form of content that, while not always accurate, is based on some level of truth and should not be confused with fake news.

💡Mistake

A mistake is an error or misstep that occurs due to carelessness, ignorance, or oversight. In the script, the speaker recounts a personal experience where a mistake in a tweet led to the inadvertent spreading of incorrect information. This highlights the difference between a genuine mistake and the intentional spreading of fake news.

💡Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing is the practice of obtaining ideas, services, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people, particularly from the online community. The speaker mentions crowdsourcing as a method that is being used to improve the quality of journalism and to help weed out fake news.

💡Fact-Checking

Fact-checking is the act of verifying the accuracy of statements or claims made, especially in politics or journalism. The video emphasizes the importance of fact-checking in combating fake news, with the speaker encouraging the audience to use fact-checking sites to verify the information they consume.

💡Algorithm

An algorithm is a set of rules or steps used to solve a problem or perform a computation. In the context of the video, algorithms determine the ads and content that users see on the internet based on their browsing habits. The speaker explains how fake news creators exploit algorithms to generate clicks and revenue.

💡Accountability

Accountability refers to the obligation to report, explain, and be responsible for one's actions. The speaker discusses the role of journalism in holding power accountable, and how the spread of fake news and the undermining of traditional journalism can weaken this important societal function.

Highlights

On December 26th, 2016, the speaker's phone alerted them to breaking news about George Michael's death.

The speaker, an experienced journalist, trusted reliable sources like the New York Times and CNN for news.

The speaker's family initially questioned the news, with a family member finding a dubious article suggesting it was a hoax.

The confusion highlighted the issue of fake news and its impact on public perception.

Fake news obscures basic facts and hinders necessary debates by creating confusion.

Native advertising and satire are not considered fake news as they have signposts or a basis in accuracy.

Inadvertent mistakes in journalism, such as incorrect information from a bad source, do not count as fake news if there's no intent to deceive.

The speaker shared a personal example of a mistaken tweet about a terrorism connection that spread quickly but was later corrected.

Legitimate journalists are increasingly accused of purveying fake news, which undermines trust in real news.

Accusations of fake news against real journalists create a vacuum in holding power to account.

The phenomenon of fake news can lead to significant misunderstandings, as illustrated by the Pizzagate incident.

There's a growing distrust in traditional journalism, partly fueled by high-profile figures questioning its credibility.

Fake news often starts with a financial motive, using algorithms to target users based on their habits.

People should trust and support traditional journalism, which is devoted to research, fact-checking, and in-depth investigation.

Fact-checking is essential, and there are many resources available to help verify information.

Sharing fake news is harmful, and individuals should hold themselves and others accountable for verifying information before spreading it.

Journalism's main purposes are to bear witness and hold power to account, both of which are undermined by fake news.

Transcripts

so December 26th 2016 my family my wife

my kids my in-laws and I are getting

ready to go to dinner and my phone

starts going off with breaking news

alerts I only get my breaking news from

reliable sources I've been a journalist

for for 24 25 years I only get it from

sources that rigorously check their

information so when I look up and I see

this tweet that George Michael has died

I tell my family my kids look up from

their phones like some of you too young

to understand the George Michael sang

every last hopeful song at my high

school dances my wife does what she

often does she started relating those

things that George Michael is known for

sort of an impromptu obituary my

mother-in-law didn't seem to have a

reaction she was standing over by the

side working on her computer sitting

working on her computer moments later

she pipes up that it's a hoax he's not

dead

so my first thought is did the New York

Times and CNN both get tricked I mean

George Michael was pretty young it was

believable that maybe he didn't die so I

quickly walked over to her I'm looking

over her shoulder and the article she's

reading is from a website I've never

seen before and it's dated the next day

so I said I think what you're looking at

is a hoax

my wife is an analyst she pokes up pipes

up and says actually maybe it's

published in Australia where it's

already tomorrow so the fact that it's

the next day isn't relevant so now this

whole thing is thrown into confusion and

we spend a little bit of time trying to

figure out whether the New York Times

and The Wall Street Journal have have

tricked us but the fact is that it was

dead unfortunately and it sort of points

to a bigger problem and that is that

fake news shows confusion that obscures

basic facts that prevents necessary

debate while you're wasting your time

figuring out whether the news is

actually true or not you're not having

the necessary debates whether it's about

whether Michael George Michael was a

great artist or not

the fact is this is what it does and in

this troubled world in which we are in

even basic facts are now up for debate

now everything that's not news isn't

fake news I'm talking about a very

specific subset of things so for

instance we've got something called

native advertising you may be familiar

with this it's advertising it's a story

that's paid for by an advertiser placed

in a prominent place in this case it's

the Atlantic magazine and unless you can

actually see that little thing that says

sponsor content you may not be aware

that this isn't really a news story

written by a journalist so while that's

not terrific I don't raise it to the

level of fake news because there's some

signposts there that it is actually fake

and then there's this satire you

probably enjoy satire I enjoy satire

it's funny it's opinionated it's not

always accurate though the good news

though is that it has some basis in

accuracy if you get all of your news

from satire that's a bit of a problem

but if you use it for some of your news

I don't think it rises to the level of

fake news the other thing that's not

fake news is a mistake

inadvertently spreading incorrect

information a bad source something like

that if CNN had tweeted that George

Michael had died and George Michael

hadn't died it would have been corrected

very quickly they would have been an

apology and you would have moved on so

if the intent is not to deceive I don't

think that counts as fake news either

let me give you another example

some years ago 2012 I tweeted out based

on information from CNN where I worked

at the time relating to a shooting that

had happened outside the Empire State

Building in New York and this is what I

tweeted breaking law enforcement source

tells CNN there appears to be no

terrorism connection to the Empire State

Building shooting except look at that

tweet a little more carefully I forgot

the word know I learned the hard way

about the meaning of the word no that

day that tweet went out and it said

exactly what it says they're breaking

law enforcement source tells CNN there

appears to be terrorism connection to

the Empire State Building you can

imagine the effect that had that tweet

spread like wildfire

it went out there I deleted it which is

not something you're supposed to do but

in that particular case when I nedd

knowingly spread inadvertently spread

false information I thought deleting it

would be the best thing to do I

apologize I responded to everybody who

forwarded that tweet and everybody who

responded to it I said sorry to my boss

I had a big talking to and I learned the

word the meaning of the word no but what

nobody accused me of was lying or of

spreading fake news they understood that

this whole problem was about my fat

fingers it wasn't about my credibility

the real problem is that there is fake

news and it's spread by a wolf and

journalists clothing and this wolf would

have you believe that the real news is

actually fake and that's the real

problem that we're facing today on

December 4th I tweeted this out and

notice in the bottom it was retweeted

11,000 times I tweeted breaking news the

US Army Corps of Engineers halts the

Dakota access pipeline work telling the

Standing Rock reservation that the

current route for the pipeline will be

denied this is a very controversial

issue I had this news earlier than most

people did which is why it spread so

many times because people wanted to

distribute this information but one of

the first responses I got to this tweet

was what's your source now come on I'm

not a journalism student I'm a veteran

journalist in my 24th year of this

business if I spread breaking news that

is false or wrong I am going to at the

very least get disciplined and I could

actually get fired but increasingly I am

getting pushed back on social media from

people who accuse me of purveying fake

news there will my if you if you put in

my name on you know my handle and fake

news hashtag fake news you'll see things

show up and when you accuse legitimate

journalists of being purveyors of fake

news of lying it's a little bit like

asking somebody when he stopped beating

his wife some of the damage is done in

the accusation alone and when you deal

Ajith amis journalism and when you deal

Agito my's facts and when you do that

you create a vacuum in one of the most

important checks in civil economic and

political

discourse because who then is going to

be there to hold power to account is the

crowd going to do it I get paid to do it

others get paid to read information this

is one of the major dangers of accusing

real news providers of fake news let's

talk about a crowd that's a crowd of 17

different US intelligence agencies all

of which concluded that Russia had

hacked the u.s. presidential election

with the aim towards supporting Donald

Trump but the president the new newly

elected president of the United States

didn't believe it and 80% of his

followers didn't believe it either but

of the rumor that Hillary Clinton was

running a child sex slave ring out of

the basement of this suburban DC pizza

parlor 50% of his supporters believe

that it could have been true including

one who went there armed and fired three

bullets he didn't kill anyone

he didn't injure anybody he didn't even

hit anybody and he seemed honestly

surprised that not only was there no

child sex slave ring but there wasn't

even a basement many of Donald Trump's

followers believe this new claim he's

made that millions of people voted

illegally in this election except that

there's no evidence there's no proof

there's no nothing it's just out there

approximately half of Donald Trump

supporters according to the latest poll

latest poll believe that Donald that

Barack Obama is a Kenyan born Muslim now

the irony of all of this is that I

actually am a Kenyan born Muslim and he

wasn't at any of the meetings

so this is part of the problem that that

there's stuff out there that that just

doesn't work it would be bad enough if

the President of the United States

wasn't going out of his way to actually

promote some of this stuff I thought we

were going into this election we would

be covering really important things like

how to rebuild America's crumbling

infrastructure and how to increase wages

for a workers in America but instead we

are debating discussing and reporting on

absolute nonsense and part of that is

because people don't really think that

we're doing the right thing that we in

journalism are doing what we're supposed

to be doing this is fed by a concept the

traditional media which is what I'm

referring to the places I've worked the

CNN's the CTV's the Al Jazeera is the

MSNBC s and NBC's the traditional media

perpetrates this elite consensus that

questions some assumptions more than it

questions other assumptions that somehow

what we do is removed from the reality

of people's lives that we do our work in

an ivory tower while news actually

happens where people live people in my

industry say that their goal is to hold

power to account and yet on the Friday

of inauguration I was watching

newscasters on national news dressed to

attend the inaugural balls of the

President of the United States the same

thing happens on the night of the White

House Correspondents Dinner where we

cover the fact that we're all at these

events

why don't you list try so hard to get

themselves invited into the corridors of

power and when we're there why are we

there not representing the people but

rather there as invited guests eating

the catered food I get it traditional

journalism is flawed I get it we have

some things to fix but I'm worried that

what we're doing and what fake news is

helping us do is throw the baby out with

the bathwater and that's dangerous

because we are uniquely equipped and

resourced to hold power to account even

if you don't believe we do it all the

time on the first Sunday after the

inauguration on Meet the Press I don't

know if how many of you ever watch Meet

the Press but it's on NBC my colleague

Chuck

it hosts it and Kellyanne Conway went up

you may have seen this clip she went up

there and told Chuck that there are

alternative facts we'd never really

heard that term before and Chuck very

quickly responded that alternative facts

are not facts but part of the problem is

that when the President of the United

States is encouraging his supporters to

believe that the media is not just out

of touch or somewhat ineffective but

it's actually lying it causes the

problem and that's just one in a range

of problems that are caused by this fake

news phenomenon at its lowest level it's

a time suck it confuses you it causes

you to spend your time trying to discern

between fake news and real news and I

think over time it can blunt your

ability to actually do so I'll give you

an example a BuzzFeed study said that in

2016 of the top 20 fake news stories on

fake Facebook they had 8.7 million

shares comments reactions of the top 20

real news stories by major news

organizations they had 1.7 million fewer

so fake news is crowding out real news

it means that journalists like me

instead of following other stories and

giving you new journalism and telling

you stories about new things we're busy

debunking myths and that's part of the

problem that we've got and it's it's

it's about money initially it started to

be about money and advertising and let

me tell you how it used to work in the

world of money and advertising in the

old days a newspaper ad department

person would meet with a real person at

an advertising agency who was working on

behalf of a advertiser a company that

wanted to be associated one of their

brand associated with the the news

outlets brand but none of this happens

anymore

now algorithms determine the ads you see

on the internet based on your surfing

habits or your shopping habits and based

on the cookies that are on the sites

that you use so you get information they

where you surf and if you start

consuming fake news you'll actually end

up with more of it let me explain to you

how these people make money let's say

that you saw a story show up somewhere

in your feed that Justin Bieber is

moving to Kingston doesn't really matter

whether you like Justin Bieber or you

don't if he's moving to Kingston you're

going to you're going to check the story

you're gonna click on the story and they

count on the fact that you do so you're

going to go to this absolutely made-up

story and but there'll be an ad near it

and as a result the advertiser pays the

owner of that website a certain amount

of money a fraction of a cent and they

do this lots of times then let's say

this this purveyor of fake news takes

that story and changes Kingston to one

of any of 100 different or fully 100

different towns around the country so

now everybody's clicking on this story

and that they change the name of Justin

Bieber to one of a hundred different

other celebrities this is how it happens

everybody clicks on these things

this is how they end up making money and

it's dangerous and what if it's not

actually about making money it's really

not harmful that you read a story about

Justin Bieber moving to Kingston if

Justin Bieber's not actually moving to

Kingston again it's a time suck but

doesn't really matter but what if it's

about religion or it's about ideology or

it's there to influence politics that's

the danger so my first piece of advice

to you is that if you wish to avoid the

purveyors of fake news who live in dark

alleys stay out of the dark alleys trust

and support traditional journalism which

is devoted to research and fact-checking

an in-depth investigation of issues the

very journalism that is under attack

right now it's under attack because it

doesn't do everything you wanted it to

do but it's still there and you should

actually try and rely on it you want a

fact check and fact-checking is becoming

easier and easier now because these

fact-checking sites abound but how do

you actually fight this kind of nonsense

how do you fight the journalism that's

out there well you start by by

supporting these journalistic

organizations and you start by using

these fact-checking sites if the New

York Times and CNN tell you they've

take checking deaths out very seriously

and they both do it independently if

they tell you George Michael's dead

George Michael is probably actually dead

if Donald Trump says his inauguration

crowds were bigger than Barack Obama's

inauguration crowds check the

methodology that he's citing and check

the methodology of those who are saying

otherwise it's actually relatively easy

to do sometimes it's just your eyeballs

that you need but the fact is there are

fact-checking sites out there and

remember that fake news purveyors count

on the fact that you are abject ly lazy

and you are much more likely to repost

salacious news than to actually check

the veracity of real news check it it's

not hard to do you can get out there and

and and find out what's going on I'm not

saying that you have to trust everything

that mainstream media tells you but I

would give it more weight than I would

give to an unverified source the other

thing you should do is don't spread fake

news fake news grows exponentially

because you share it either because it

validates your beliefs or because you

don't know it's fake news so check it

don't spread it hold those of your

friends who do spread it to account make

sure they don't do that there's some

salacious fantastic stuff on the

internet and as much as you'd like to

believe it if it turns out not to be

true it's on you and in a world where

your reputation is determined on social

media in many cases if you become known

as someone who like your crazy uncle who

forwards these email strings that make

no sense

people will stop trusting you they just

won't trust the information it's a it

becomes the boy who cried wolf

look journalism is a serious business

you have to understand how to consume it

you have to cross-reference it but you

have to trust certain things everywhere

I have worked has had a methodology for

for checking otherwise uncorroborated

information it varies from organization

to organization but typically you need

two independent sources who can tell you

the same thing or at least one source

that is very highly placed and if you

don't do that if you don't do it that

way you could get fired is the source

that you're reading as rigorous as that

look journalism

is getting better crowdsourcing is out

there Facebook is using on member

reporters using member reporting as well

as algorithms to try and wake weed out

fake news Wikipedia is getting better by

the day and the hunger is out there for

good quality journalism remember what

journalism is meant to do it has two

purposes the first one is to bear

witness to simply be there to say that

something is happening but the second

one is more important it's to hold power

to account and together let's not go

down a road where we end up in a world

where not only are we not speaking truth

to power but we're not even able to

discern the truth thank you

[Applause]

you