You may get news from several sources like newspapers, magazines, social media platforms or any other online sources. However, there is always a chance that the news you consume may not be true. These days, many different sources have evolved only with the purpose of feeding people with misinformation and fake news.
There are many organizations or sources that deliberately spread misinformation to gain importance or fulfil their vested interest. Therefore, it is always safe to read news only from trusted sources like OtherWeb, as it comes with AI powered filters to weed out fake news, propagandas, misinformation, etc. It also has a science news section.
The effects of fake news
When the fake news is repeatedly spread across different media, then people tend to start believing them despite knowing the facts. Generally, a news agency takes lots of effort to build trust so that people tend to believe the news coming from such source.
However, once such agency starts spreading misinformation then people lose trust on such news agency and it becomes difficult for them to get back people’s trust.
Particularly, if any wrong information is circulated about health-related issues or a medicine then it can be quite dangerous to the society as a whole. It can dramatically change the opinion of a particular company or their products, whom people had a lot of trust.
Fake news operates as a tool for weaponizing lies, employing propaganda and misinformation to influence opinions and inflict harm. Whether wielded by political adversaries or unethical business rivals, its capacity to undermine factions and tarnish reputation makes it a dangerous weapon in today’s landscape.
Can artificial intelligence (AI) combat the danger of fake news?
The answer is Yes. We are now slowly entering the age of AI, which is affecting our lives in many ways. AI can be effectively used for detecting fake pictures or videos too.
AI models trained on extensive datasets are employed to detect:
- Fabricated content, particularly in text-based format.
- Linguistic analysis, including grammar, word choice, punctuation
- Stylistic features like exaggeration and exclamation.
AI can therefore be effectively used as indicators to identify fake news.
Social media platforms must take proactive measures to combat spamming and fake news. WhatsApp, under Facebook’s ownership, have introduced the “Forward” label to identify forwarded messages, restricting users to forwarding a message to only five recipients. Additionally, platforms like WhatsApp, Twitter, and Facebook have taken action by banning hundreds of users, accounts, pages, and groups disseminating misinformation during crises. This has helped to a certain extent.
Nowadays, there is a great demand for fact-checkers in most of the reputed news houses and also social media sectors. They need trained professionals to detect fake content either manually or using a certain AI tool.
The automation of multiple parameters to detect fake news is a growing trend, encompassing tasks such as source identification, informant network analysis, and linguistic cue detection in text. While AI cannot fully replace manual efforts in detecting fake news, it serves as a valuable tool to enhance and expedite this process.
