BY: Kory Hobbs
Half-truths, embellished headlines, and absurd angles to news stories were nothing new when the 2016 nominees kicked off their presidential campaigns. However, America saw an increase in fake news stories across major social platforms during that time. Fake news is a problem because it creates a risk of misinformation that has the potential to spread like wildfire. Most of us are busy day in and day out- we visit the sites online that we feel comfortable going to and watch news channels that fit our taste. We do it unintentionally most of the time and fail to check the information we gather in our quick attempt to see what is going on in the world around us. We gather our news in sound bites.
No matter which side you are on, this misinformation can go unnoticed and eventually be perceived as fact. If you are on Facebook, you know it is not uncommon to see that one friend shared an article showing someone in a positive light, only to scroll down on your timeline to see another friend shared an article with the opposite take. With the 2020 election approaching, it is important that voters conduct independent research of stories that they are reading about candidates.
The sharing of fake news is associated with ideology and age according to a research article by Science Advances. The researchers used a wide range of data from various Facebook users. Concerning age, 65-year olds were nearly seven times more likely to share news articles from fake news domains compared to the youngest age group, 18-29. The number of fake news articles that were shared increased each time you advanced into an older age bracket. Users identifying as Republican shared more articles from fake domains than their counterparts. However, those claiming to be independent shared almost the same amount as Republicans. Regardless of who is sharing the fake news articles, we all must do a better job at helping each other identify fake news when it is discovered to be such.
President Trump is going to face a wide range of challenges from the Democrats in the 2020 race for the presidency. Challengers like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are well known on the national scene. However, rising stars within the democratic party, Beto O’Rourke, Pete Buttigieg, and many others are somewhat new to this large of a stage and the potential for fake news is going to be very high in the coming months and into the 2020 election. Millennials are set to become the largest age group of voters sometime this year, and we can all lend a hand to help others identify fake news.