Guest post by author Cindy L. Otis
Cindy L. Otis is a disinformation expert, former CIA officer, and a Senior non-resident Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab. She is also the author of “True or False: A CIA Analyst’s Guide to Spotting Fake News.” Follow her on Twitter at @CindyOtis_.
Russian bots, troll armies, edited pictures that go viral. Every day it seems like there’s some new story about a person, group, or government spreading false information to influence events happening around the world. It can feel sometimes like you just can’t trust anything online. That’s made worse by political leaders around the world who have been using the threat of so-called “fake news” to go after actual media outlets they don’t like and limiting press freedoms. But as a disinformation expert and former CIA officer, here are five big reasons why you shouldn’t be afraid of “fake news.”
- It’s been around a long time and we’ve made it so far!
We might be hearing a lot about “fake news” now, but the term was used pretty regularly in the United States starting in the late 1800s to describe trying to pass falsehoods off as legitimate news. And in fact, it’s been happening a lot longer than the word has been around. In my book “True or False: A CIA Analyst’s Guide to Spotting Fake News,” I key times throughout history in which leaders, companies, and people have used fake news to influence different events. Even though social media has made it easier to spread lies more so than ever before, knowing the history of fake news gives us a road map for how to combat it.
- We are more likely to fall for false information if we’re afraid.
When people have a strong emotional reaction to what they are being shown or told, they are more likely to share the information right away rather than taking the time to question or fact-check it. We share it because we want our networks to commiserate with us, to share in the fear or anger we feel from the content, and we want to warn others about potential danger we’re seeing. That’s why the people who use fake news try to make their content sensational, emotional, and politically divisive. So when you see something like that online, take a breath and consider the source of the information before sharing.
- “Fake news” pushers want us to be afraid.
The people and governments who use fake news might be financially or ideologically-motivated, or they might be trying to pull a prank, but most of them know that tapping into peoples’ fear and anger is the best way to hook us. Also, for governments like Russia, they want to make it look like they’re the world’s puppet masters who control the information space, so the more they can hype up the “fake news” threat and their power, the better for them.
We might think the simple solution is to trust nothing instead, but that’s exactly what fake news pushers want us to do. They also may want us to think that nothing is true anymore, or that the “fake news” problem is so insurmountable that it isn’t worth our effort. Don’t play into their hands.
- Fear exacerbates our biases.
When we see information, we look at it with a whole warehouse full of biases that influence how we view that information, and whether or not we will accept it or reject it. Thanks to something called negativity bias, we are more likely to click on negative stories about the world ending than ones that say the world is doing great. Our brains are trying to protect us from possible danger from zeroing in on the negatives. We’re also more likely to remember negative things than positive ones. Being afraid of “fake news” means we’re more likely to fall for it.
- There are things we can do about fake news.
Even though each of us faces a daily deluge of information thanks to social media, we’re not helpless against fake news. One of the most important things we can do to root out false information online is to adopt good habits. That means making sure that we are only sharing information we have vetted. For example, when you see a post you want to share, ask yourself things like: do I know the person behind the account or the website they are citing or can I verify any data and statistics they are citing. Taking our time to verify information before sharing is especially crucial during crisis situations, like a global pandemic when a lot of information is circulating at once.
