{"id":87829,"date":"2019-04-28T03:54:16","date_gmt":"2019-04-28T10:54:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=87829"},"modified":"2019-04-28T03:54:16","modified_gmt":"2019-04-28T10:54:16","slug":"%ef%bb%bffake-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/04\/28\/%ef%bb%bffake-news\/","title":{"rendered":"\ufeffFAKE NEWS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Priyantha Hettige<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

False\npropaganda (lies) \u2013 Fake news is a good way to destroy your competitors or even\nyour enemies. It is unbelievably effective -and its use is as old as the hills.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7       \nSpeaking\nthe truth is the mark of a good person, a reliable person; civilization is\nbuilt on such people, not on liars, cheats nor robbers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7       \nPeople\nare strongly influenced by those they respect, including the news on T.V. and\nthe newspapers, but such sources can occasionally give us stories that are\nunchecked and from unnamed sources \u2013 even false news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7       \nNormal\npeople are easily misled by believable, plausible stories \u2013 false news. This\ninnocence can be used by unscrupulous people; politicians, journalists,\nactivists, or by anyone with a grudge, to set in motion hostile forces, unleash\nthe power of the press in a war against something or someone, as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fake news\nhas recently risen to become a major matter of concern in the west,\u201d and to a\nlesser extent, all around the world.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nelection in 2016 of Donald Trump, a rich businessman, as President of the\nUnited States of America, has caused U.S politicians, bureaucrats and media to\nall take part in a tremendous campaign of lies against him, firstly, to prevent\nhim winning the presidential election and then, to get him impeached (out of\noffice), when finally elected President.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This vast\ncampaign was headed by politicians, (helped by the FBI and DOJ) who launched a\nbarrage of lies and false information in the press, on TV. and by using the\ninternet, for the purpose of taking down the President \u2013 an immoral and illegal\ncoup attempt! The use of the media and internet for spreading Fake, harmful\nnews was a great help to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nNature of the Media and the Internet<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The arrival\non the Internet of social platforms like Facebook, Buzzfeed and  Twitter\nhave opened the way for massive false information campaigns, e.g., scare\nstories about the Mayan calendar and the end of the world, the arrival of\nplanet Nibiru, never ending global warming, etc., gloom and doom spreading\nthrough vast numbers of people around the world. Great fortunes have been\namassed but on the other hand, lives ruined or even lost. In general, fake news\nis destructive and not good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consequently,\nthe general population has become misguided, misinformed or not informed at\nall. Our understanding is corrupted by this FAKE, false news. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also importantly, our trust in\nthe news and TV \u2013 especially the western media, has taken a nose dive and\njournalism as a whole has become mistrusted as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because\nof all this, there has been great activity to understand this phenomenon better\nand establish why it has become so widespread. It can be divided into: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.     \nMis-information<\/a>: false information\ndisseminated without harmful intent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Dis-information<\/a>:\n created and shared by people with harmful intent.<\/li>
  2. Mal-information: the sharing of\n “genuine” information with the intent to cause harm.[33]<\/sup><\/a><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Claire\nWardle of First Draft News<\/em> identifies\nseven types of fake news:[26]<\/sup><\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. satire or parody (“no intention\n to cause harm but has potential to fool”)<\/li>
    2. false connection (“when\n headlines, visuals or captions don’t support the content”)<\/li>
    3. misleading content (“misleading\n use of information to frame an issue\n or an individual”)<\/li>
    4. false context (“when genuine\n content is shared with false contextual information”)<\/li>
    5. impostor content (“when genuine\n sources are impersonated” with false, made-up sources)<\/li>
    6. manipulated content (“when\n genuine information or imagery is manipulated to deceive”, as with a\n “doctored” photo)<\/li>
    7. fabricated content (“new content\n is 100% false, designed to deceive and do harm”)<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Internet\nsocial media has brought social benefits: good connectivity and entertainment,\nbut it has also enhanced humanity\u2019s ability to create dissention, conflict and\ndestroy competition and even enemies – and anyone else in the way!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Social\nmedia is a boon, a gift from heaven for politicians, bureaucrats and those with\na grudge. It can be, and IS used to spread Fake news. Chief culprits in this\nflood of disinformation can be both powerful politicians and government\nbureaucratic officials who want to hold on to their power. These people lust\nfor more power, independence and lack of scrutiny \u2013 haven\u2019t you noticed?\n – and those in supporting roles like the newspapers and TV shows,\nincreasingly take sides in politician\u2019s propaganda wars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Usually,\npolitical ruling elites like to keep their citizenry in the dark on a matter,\nif possible. Having a business controlled news media, sympathetic to their\npolitics, is very helpful! This gives them a free hand to do as they please,\nwith no press watch dog to expose their mistakes and even wrong-doing. They are\nfree to issue untruthful or misleading press statements which their friends\nwill dutifully publish or use in discussions to keep the public mis-guided and\nmis-informed! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      They live\nin their own world of cocktail and dinner parties, a tight social circle: elite\nbureaucrats, remote from the ordinary man. They like to take decisions\nthemselves, and they resent supervision of their power. Old fashioned\njournalism is dead in the West.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Other,\ndoubtful, shady people are also writing this Fake News for a living, and the\nmain TV stations can slip us distortions between true items; inventions and\nplain old lies. Not on everything \u2013 but on certain sensitive, opinion making\nsubjects.  In the past, crowds have run riot and killed on just a rumor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      We do not\nknow it is nonsense until (if ever!) we are told the truth of a matter.\n                                                  When\nwe find out the truth, we are upset and even angry as we don\u2019t like to be\nmanipulated; perhaps even fooled into voting the wrong way. But yes,\nmanipulation, stirring up negative emotions, is what they are doing, as\npolitics or for profit, to sell a good story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Advertising\nRevenue<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      In\naddition to these propaganda wars in the western corporate media, must be added\nthe pressure for business revenues – income accrued from having a large number\nof followers. The fact is, manipulating public opinion – fooling us with lies,\nand\/or attractive stories, can also be profitable. It is also helping drive\nthis problem \u2013 the need to maximize financial revenues is also a factor in this\nblossoming of Fake news. Such news has become entertainment \u2013 comic stories\nthat we can enjoy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Researchers\nhave written books on how people can be manipulated by the power of marketing\nand advertising on TV.  Governments in power use it to move their\nvoters!  Yes, we can be corrupted \u2013 due to our natural biases and\/or our\nignorance of the facts!!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The TV\nnews networks are busy advertising consumer products but they do not give us\nthe accurate or useful news we really want and need. We all know about famous\nmanufactured products advertised on TV – just business! But Earthquakes and\nVolcano events are increasing around the world! What was the cause of the Great\nFlood? Scientists are figuring out the truth!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Result<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Independent\njournalists, who search out and publicize, accurate, well checked stories, or\nanyone else with a good story, cannot easily get into print. Journalists\ncritical of the Fake news lose their jobs \u2013 Out! Dismissed! Journalism and the\nmainstream media outlets are a closed shop and are failing the public hard when\nthey print false information, untruthful journalism, or by not telling us\nuseful information as it arises. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The\nestablished media in the west\u201d are being discredited and readership is\ndeclining. Good quality journalism is suffering, and wounded. People want\ntruthful news, balanced reporting, and anything less is a waste of time and\nmoney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Remedy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The\nInternet can also help here. Now, there are some new, alternative news outlets\non You Tube, which give wider, more reliable news coverage. But, as startups\nthey have less power to investigate a story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Alternative\nnews outlets, for example the hugely successful RT Cross Talk, who discuss an\nissue with a small panel of experts, The Duran, Breitbart news and \u2018Democracy\nNow,\u2019 a report on the daily news, not to forget Al Jazeera. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Some\nExplanation of this Modern Phenomena<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Educated\npeople, cultured people talk about ideas, causes and effects. But simple,\nuneducated people talk about\u2026  er\u2026  other people!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The media\nand politicians exploit the weaknesses of simple people to the full – they feed\ntheir prejudices about something or somebody, often, politically, as in the\ncase of President Donald Trump, but educated, thinking people are troubled, and\nwant the whole truth!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      It\nresults in ignoring the real evidence and falsely, taking sides on a matter, by\nhaving a campaign on, or against soemthing or someone. This attracts\nadvertising revenues from businessmen who agree with and support the same\npolitical parties or issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Some\nleading newspapers, made famous for their quality reporting of the news and facts\nin the past, such as The Times of London, The New York Times, or The Washington\nPost, and TV stations, like CNN, (all members of the Corporate Media) have now\nbecome willing mouthpieces for a particular narrative \u2013  a particular bias\nin reporting on a story!  But this has cost them dear in terms of\ncredibility. Fake news journalists will never publish something to the\nopposition\u2019s advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      This\ndivide between fair reporting and bias can be purely political: socialism\nversus capitalism, but now, more likely, it is the ruling classes, the ruling\nelite – overblown in terms of power and regulations, versus the citizenry as a\nwhole, along with all the many other issues that divide public debate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Sanjana\nHattotuwa, writing in the Sunday Island of April 14th<\/sup> 2019, exposes\nfalse information and manipulation. He writes: \u201dThe lie is revealed. No summons\nserved\u201d end quote. (on Gotabaya for certain allegations.)  He writes:\nnews that GR was being sued in the US is false and incorrect.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Hiding\nNews and Information<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Some\nimportant information is ignored entirely by the press as they pursue their own\nagendas of Fake news. (E.g., Russia is developing hypersonic weapons; China is\ndeveloping Electro-Magnetic Pulse bombs to blackout our cities; food\nshortages.) There is much information to know about. But: We don\u2019t know what\nwe don\u2019t know but should know,\u201d – we are in the dark on so many things!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      There are\nsome important news to be had. There is an awesome responsibility to convey it.\nThe North and South poles of our planet may soon exchange positions! Scientists\nare watching with great interest! The sun may stand still for a day! The oceans\nmay surge forward as they have done many times before\u2026 but this important news\nis absent! And it has consequences. We should prepare! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The\nBuddha said : <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Ignorance is the longest night.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Venerable\nPiyadassi, in his book Buddhist Meditation\u201d said: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Ignorance is the highest corruption.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Fake news has arisen, mainly in\nthe \u201dwest,\u201d even before the arrival of President Trump on the scene, but it has\nballooned and got a lot more vicious since he took power. And it has reached\nhere in some newspaper centre-page articles. These are journalists who have\nswallowed the bait of a \u2018good\u2019 fake news story, hook line and sinker!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The Discipline\nof Good Journalism<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Many\njournalists, just sit in their offices at computers to write their stories, but\nthe best journalists go out searching for truth. They wear out their shoes\nsearching for truth by visiting places and checking with those people involved\nfor information on what really happened. They quote real sources for their\nstories, not claim it was from unnamed sources. They do not use the misguiding\nstories put out by those in authority. Good journalism!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Also,\neverything we read and learn about, has to be written or spoken by someone; a\njournalist or someone in government. People write from ideas arising due to\ntheir personal thoughts, memory and emotional style about a topic. It results\nin news stories or information having a level of descriptive language matching\nthe writer\u2019s own feelings and powers of self-expression. It is quite difficult\nto write without personal bias or extra colour, but the best journalists\nare trained to do it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      However,\nit is always tempting to follow a political position, or make a story more\ninteresting or shocking, in order to have more impact on the reader or listener\n\u2013 a form of creative writing. Unhappily for those in search of truth, such\nundisciplined writers are praised and well-paid for attractive stories! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Fake News\n– mostly in the West\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Throughout\nthe ages, people have distorted and made up stories to hurt someone else. But\nnow, with the power of the big media and social media companies, it has become\na crisis. However, by going to the Internet, people can search and find\nalternative media websites and documents for more accurate news about what they\nshould know about this world, past, present and future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Priyantha Hettige False propaganda (lies) \u2013 Fake news is a good way to destroy your competitors or even your enemies. It is unbelievably effective -and its use is as old as the hills. \u00b7        Speaking the truth is the mark of a good person, a reliable person; civilization is built on such people, not on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-forum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87829\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}