Fake News and Misinformation: An Uncontrollable Wildfire?

Personally, I would define fake news as a malicious intent to misinform and trick readers. Fake news is spread to gain attention, get a reaction from an audience, or to harm someone or something. I wasn’t surprised to find that Anthony Adornato, author of “Mobile and Social Media Journalism: A Practical Guide for Multimedia Journalism,” defines the concept similarly to the way I do. In chapter nine, Adornato claims that fake news is the “deliberate fabrication of information with the intent to deceive,” (Adornato 300). Fake news is used to make money, promote or discredit a person, company, movement, or cause, and political gain. Much of the fake news we see nowadays can be found on social media.

As social media continues to be a hub for news, it becomes more and more complicated for users who are media illiterate to discern what’s real and what’s fake. That’s where technology companies should step in. Platforms including Facebook, Twitter and Tiktok have community guidelines that all users must abide by in order to stay on the website.

In the last few weeks, for example, Kanye West, now known as “Ye,” has once again made headlines for stirring up controversy. However, this one hit closer to home for me than his last social media meltdown when he verbally attacked and threatened Pete Davidson. He appeared on Fox News and started to spew offensive and false conspiracies about Jews, one of which – according to ADL’s “Unpacking Kanye West’s Antisemitic Remarks” – being that Jews are actually Black people, saying that when he refers to Jews he means “the 12 lost tribes of Judah, the blood of Christ, who the people known as the race Black really are [sic],” and posited that Planned Parenthood was the product of a collaboration between the KKK and Margaret Sanger “to control the Jew [i.e. Black] population.”

He then defended himself by saying that he can’t be considered antisemitic because since he is black, he is also Jewish. After the interview, he took to Twitter saying he was going “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.”

This post has since been deleted since it obviously violated the platform’s community guidelines, but that didn’t prevent the target audience from seeing it. When Ye was temporarily banned from Twitter, his fans and followers were outraged, and then proceeded to support his anti-semitic claims.

Jamie Lee Curtis, saw the impact his misinformation had on his following and publicly confronted Ye on Twitter.

Jamie Lee Curtis condemns Ye on Twitter during the Jewish High Holidays | Source: Jamie Lee Curtis via Twitter @jamieleecurtis

I believe that Jamie Lee Curtis’s Tweet is what sparked change and what caused Twitter to take down Ye’s Tweet. Curtis is doing the work of a journalist in combating the spread of fake news. Although these social media platforms acted accordingly, it was done after Curtis acknowledged it. Who knows how many people stumbled upon his Tweet and took his word for it.

On her Instagram, Curtis also reposted a photo of the consequences of Ye’s message.

It’s terrifying to see this happen in real time, and even though we have influential figures like Jamie Lee Curtis fighting the spread of misinformation, the tech companies should have done more and earlier, before his messages spread to his followers.

Jamie Lee Curtis takes to Instagram to show how powerful Kanye's spread of misinformation truly is | Source: Jamie Lee Curtis via Instagram @jamieleecurtis

Twitter never banned his account, rather, they “restricted” it. This means that although he can’t interact on the platform, his account and his content is still visible. I believe that his presence should be taken down completely, but that choice is up to the tech companies. However, with community guidelines in place, these platforms have a responsibility to maintain a safe environment for all users, and if they have the power to do whatever it takes to do so, then they should.

Those who spread fake news and those who believe it, may call the actions tech companies, popular figures and journalists take as “censorship.” However, I would call this intervention a means to protect the people. Fake news may benefit a certain person for a short period of time, but in reality it causes way more harm than it does good.

This incident reminded me of why I wanted to become a journalist in the first place: To spread truthful and meaningful stories. Ye’s message and the reaction he incited within his followers, is a prime example of how harmful fake news can truly be. Antisemitism in America is once again on the rise, and his conspiracies have only fueled the hate. Fake news created a toxic and terrifying environment, and anyone is subject to fall victim to it, whether you believe it or are harmed by those who do.

I would like for tech companies to be able to put a stop to fake news, but in all reality, there’s only so much they could do. Fake news spreads like wildfire and leaves destruction in its wake. That’s why it’s part of a journalist’s responsibility to help debunk fake news and control the spread of misinformation. Our job is to seek truth and minimize harm.