Learn what you need to know to avoid sharing fake news to your friends and family
According to the Iceberg Digital study developed by the cybersecurity company, Kaspersky showed that 62% of Brazilians cannot recognize fake news. The same study also showed that most people seek information through social networks such as Whatsapp and Facebook. First, Fake News became a problem in Brazilian society.
Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, because misinformation through false news made many people victims of this problem, due to the sharing of lying news that collaborated so that people did not respect the distancing measures, or even stop vaccinating.
What are Fake News?
The term Fake-News is of English origin, and means fake news. They are produced with the aim of spreading panic and chaos in the people who consume them, generating a distorted perception of reality. They are shared on social networks, or even in traditional press vehicles.
What is the punishment for those who share fake news?
Likewise, because it is a recent phenomenon in Brazil, there is still no specific legislation that can punish those who share false news. However, Bill 2630 of 2020 is currently being discussed in the Senate, which institutes the creation of legislation that institutes measures to prevent the spread of false news, creating rules for providers and companies to be able to curb the creation of false accounts that are responsible for spread this type of content.
How to avoid fake news?
According to a study released by the University of New York revealed that the elderly over 65 years old are more likely to spread false content than young people between 18 and 29 years old. To avoid this follow five steps listed below to not share fake news.
- Check the origin of the news
- Be wary of absurd news that appears to be published by traditional vehicles, but which are actually imitations of pages from these traditional mass communication vehicles.
- Search the internet for information on search providers such as Google and Bing
- Check if the journalist who wrote it really exists
- Check the publication date of the article
Don’t just read the news headline, be wary of absurd titles and stories that have no basis in reality. For often they can be stories of matters that have already occurred in the past.
5- Report on the platforms
- If you receive any false content, try to report the content on the platforms where it was published. Companies like Facebook, Whatsapp and Twitter have serious moderation controls against fake news.
That way, by reporting fake news on these platforms, you prevent more people from having access to this dubious content, and thus prevent them from making wrong decisions based on this type of dubious information.
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