2020 has been a year with many labels thrust upon it. One such label put forward by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in addition to the obvious pandemic, was the “infodemic”, or rather, the epidemic of misinformation, both malicious and otherwise, that pervaded the topic of healthcare, as well as almost all other global topics.
Fake news has been at the tip of our tongues for some time and is by no means a new concept, most notably when we think of Donald Trump. But politics aside, for the moment, fake news is a serious problem and is one that is greatly amplified by the internet.
The most effective way to fight misinformation is through careful and consistent fact-checking. The Morning Brunch reached out to media analyst Nalaka Gunawardene on the importance of fact-checking and what we can do to fight fake news.
Gunawardene recently spoke at a webinar panel organised by the Internet Society Sri Lanka Chapter on the subject of fact-checking, sharing his views on the importance of fighting disinformation, and sharing insight with representatives from fact-checking organisations in Sri Lanka and India.
Excerpts from the interview below.
Why is it important to fact-check information before sharing?
Let us first get some clarity on terms. Disinformation and misinformation are used interchangeably but they have their own specific meanings. Disinformation is manipulated information (or total fabrications) that is created and disseminated with the deliberate intention of misleading and causing harm to a person, entity, process, or an entire nation. Misinformation is when such disinformation is received and shared by persons who do not realise it is false.
Far more people are contributing to misinformation; in comparison, only a relative few are actually originating disinformation. If all mass media consumers and social media users can fact-check (or at least ask some sceptical questions) before sharing a piece of news or current information, it will help reduce the rising volume of misinformation.
How can the public differentiate real news from fake news?
There is no single or easy test for this. Mainstream media outlets can (and do) sometimes carry false information (knowingly or unknowingly), while social media can carry verified information. So we have to probe a bit deeper.
Having a healthy sense of scepticism is always helpful. When consuming news or any new piece of information, we must always ask these questions of ourselves:
- Is this coming from a credible primary source?
- Is the source authoritative on this particular topic or issue?
- Can this information really be true? Or does it seem too good to be true?
- Is it possible that this has been exaggerated or distorted?
- How can I cross-check or verify it?
The basic skill to ask and meaningfully answer these basic questions is now becoming an essential survival skill in today’s information society.
By the way, “fake news” is no longer used in serious discussions about this topic because it does not fully capture the variety of false content in circulation (only some of which is false news). The preferred generic term now is “disinformation” (and its impact on society is known as “information disorder”).
How does fact-checking work?
I recently spoke at a webinar organised by the Internet Society Sri Lanka Chapter as part of their Health Fact-Check Project where three fact-checking entities – Fact Crescendo, Factcheck.lk, and the Sri Lanka Press Institute – explained how their respective fact-checking processes work.
Fact-checkers often monitor different social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and so on to monitor viral content, how people are reacting, and to look for signals of disinformation. Fact-checkers also conduct preliminary research to verify facts, and in many cases follow the International Fact-Checking Network’s (IFCN) Code of Principles.
The IFCN Code of Principles is for organisations that regularly publish nonpartisan reports on the accuracy of statements by public figures, major institutions, and other widely circulated claims of interest to society. These are the five principles in their code:
- Non-partisanship and fairness
- Transparency of references used while fact-checking
- Transparency in how fact-checkers themselves are funded
- Clearly explaining methodology used to select, research, write, edit, publish, and self-correct fact-checks
- Commitment to open and honest corrections in the event fact-checks themselves happen to contain any errors
What steps can the public take to minimise misinformation?
Acquiring some sort of basic digital literacy skills or media literacy skills is something I would encourage everyone to do. It’s not only digital content either. There can be misinformation in TV, radio, and newspapers as well. We need to immediately enhance the media and information literacy of our fellow citizens. Critical thinking is also important, and this is not something our schools encourage or teach. Yet, we need that, so that people will not be easily misled.
A useful analogy is to consider fact-checkers as lifeguards, who are very helpful, but can’t be everywhere. When there is no lifeguard on duty, those who take to the water are on their own, and then it is their responsibility to use common sense: Is this water safe or is it too dangerous to get into?
When we apply this analogy in relation to information, the common sense skills are to have some scepticism and critical thinking.
Another useful advice I suggest is that we now need to consider every day April Fools’ Day. On that day, we are all careful because we worry that someone might trick or fool us. With today’s disinformation problem, the reality is that everyday can turn out to be like an April Fools’ Day, and we need to be on our guard all the time!
This is easier said than done, especially when disinformation is tailored to pander to our internal biases and prejudices. It seems to me that many people suspend their critical thinking when it comes to their own race and religious faith, and there is now more and more devious disinformation that is designed to appeal to racial or religious biases and prejudices – exaggerating our own race or religion’s importance while demeaning, ridiculing, or demonising other faiths and races. It’s often not easy to discern what is correct, and all of us can fall victim to such conspiracy theories from time to time.
My biggest worry these days is this – we’re on the verge of getting vaccines to counter Covid-19 and unlike in other parts of the world, Sri Lanka has never had any anti-vaccine movements, but if someone starts locally spreading disinformation about the efficacy and safety of vaccines and our people begin to get suspicious and no longer want to take vaccines, this could seriously hamper public health responses to the pandemic. This is something we need to be very vigilant about. Health and medical professionals, in particular, need to counter disinformation of this sort.
How can the media help avoid disinformation from spreading?
During the past two decades, our media landscape has become a great deal more diverse. Today we have 24/7 SMS news services, all-news TV channels, numerous websites and, of course, millions using social media to spread information (or misinformation) instantaneously. But does more necessarily mean better? That is a highly debatable question. We seem to have too much media, but not enough journalism; at least journalism of the classical kind where facts are sacred and comment is free (yet informed).
Mass media can help reduce disinformation flows in society by doing their news reporting more professionally, i.e. by strictly adhering to the essential values of accuracy, balance, and fairness. Journalists are professionally trained to research, investigate, and analyse information. They are expected to discern fact from fiction, and be able to identify half-truths and clever fakes.
Unfortunately, media professionalism is still low in most sections of Sri Lanka’s mass media, so this verification function does not work most of the time. As a result, journalists themselves become peddlers of disinformation, knowingly or unknowingly. Sometimes some media owners or managers interfere with the newsrooms to deliberately manipulate news reporting and some disinformation originates in this manner. In such situations, professional journalists and editors should resist such pressures coming from within or outside.
For more information on fact-checking, how to fact-check, and the challenges fact-checkers face, you may view the webinar which took place on 3 January 2021, “Building Trust in Social media: Fact-Checking Experiences and Challenges”, organised by the Internet Society Sri Lanka, on their Facebook page.