scholarly journals IS FAKE NEWS SPREADING MORE RAPIDLY THAN COVID-19 IN INDIA?

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 208-220 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Regulatory Body ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Red Tape ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Government

Fake news is not a new phenomenon. With the mushrooming of smartphone users and the easy access to the internet, fake news is spreading at very high speed from people to people. Why do people flagrantly believe fake news? Why don‟t people fact-check before sharing information with others? etc., are still some of the questions unanswered. The panic created by fake news during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak is also not less. Hence, this study aims to focus on understanding people‟s perspectives on controlling the spread of fake news on social media. The respective study is based on quantitative data analysis of the responses of 300 social media users across India, collected online in April 2020 during a nationwide lockdown. The study arrived at a conclusion stating that self-regulation may not deliver a proper effect on controlling the spread of fake news. But, organising effective campaigns to build social media literacy can be one of the potential measures that can be implemented in order to control the spread of fake news over social media platforms. The respondents of the study also agree to bring-in a national policy and a national regulatory body control the spread of fake news over social media platforms. Hence, this particular study can support the Government of India to make decisions to roll out regulatory measures to control the spread of fake news through social media, which is still on the red tape.

Governing Fake News: The Regulation of Social Media and the Right to Freedom of Expression in the Era of Emergency

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-41
Author(s):  
Donato VESE
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Public Law ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Right ◽  
Media Censorship

Governments around the world are strictly regulating information on social media in the interests of addressing fake news. There is, however, a risk that the uncontrolled spread of information could increase the adverse effects of the COVID-19 health emergency through the influence of false and misleading news. Yet governments may well use health emergency regulation as a pretext for implementing draconian restrictions on the right to freedom of expression, as well as increasing social media censorship (ie chilling effects). This article seeks to challenge the stringent legislative and administrative measures governments have recently put in place in order to analyse their negative implications for the right to freedom of expression and to suggest different regulatory approaches in the context of public law. These controversial government policies are discussed in order to clarify why freedom of expression cannot be allowed to be jeopardised in the process of trying to manage fake news. Firstly, an analysis of the legal definition of fake news in academia is presented in order to establish the essential characteristics of the phenomenon (Section II). Secondly, the legislative and administrative measures implemented by governments at both international (Section III) and European Union (EU) levels (Section IV) are assessed, showing how they may undermine a core human right by curtailing freedom of expression. Then, starting from the premise of social media as a “watchdog” of democracy and moving on to the contention that fake news is a phenomenon of “mature” democracy, the article argues that public law already protects freedom of expression and ensures its effectiveness at the international and EU levels through some fundamental rules (Section V). There follows a discussion of the key regulatory approaches, and, as alternatives to government intervention, self-regulation and especially empowering users are proposed as strategies to effectively manage fake news by mitigating the risks of undue interference by regulators in the right to freedom of expression (Section VI). The article concludes by offering some remarks on the proposed solution and in particular by recommending the implementation of reliability ratings on social media platforms (Section VII).

scholarly journals Social Media as a Battleground for Electoral Violence among Netizens in Africa: The Case of Kenyan Youth

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 104-115
Author(s):  
Christine W Njuguna ◽  
Joyce Gikandi ◽  
Lucy Kathuri-Ogola ◽  
Joan Kabaria-Muriithi
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Internet Service ◽  
Electoral Violence ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Government ◽  
Use Of Social Media

There is a rise in unprecedented political infractions, disturbances and electoral violence in Africa with the youth playing a significant role. Thus, the study broadly investigated social media use and electoral violence among the youth in Kenya using two objectives that were to assess the use of social media platforms among the youth and to investigate the relationship between social media use and electoral violence among the youth. Guided by the Dependency Theory and the Social Responsibility Theory, the study was carried out in Mathare Constituency, Nairobi County, Kenya. Data collection involved questionnaires, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Analysis of quantitative data was by descriptive statistics and regression while qualitative data was analyzed through transcription. The study findings showed that the use of social media platforms in communication has been growing with WhatsApp becoming the most ‘preferred’ platform in Kenya. The study outcome exposed the fact that social media had an important and positive effect on electoral violence among the Kenyan youth in Mathare (R = .812). On the other hand, social media (Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram) had a strong explanatory strength on electoral violence among the Kenyan youth in Mathare (R2 = .659). This means that social media accounts for 65.9 percent of electoral violence among the Kenyan youth in Mathare Constituency, Nairobi County. The study, therefore, concluded that there is a relationship between social media and electoral violence among the Kenyan youth in Mathare. The study finally recommends that the government should embrace and enforce self-regulation mechanisms by Internet service providers to deter incitement. In addition, there should be increased efforts to educate and inform Internet users on the importance of assessing the credibility of information. Promotion of productive engagement as an effective instrument of dealing with online hatred is key.

scholarly journals The Negative Impact of Social Media during COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 495-507
Author(s):  
Astha Kumari
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Fake News ◽  
The World ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Government ◽  
World Information

It has been observed that social media platforms have had both a positive and negative effect on how India has dealt with the COVID 19 pandemic. As the coronavirus took over the world, many took to social media to learn about how the virus spreads and what it is. Although this helped inform everyone on how to take precautions against this deadly virus, a lot of the information that users were reading was not verified or fact-checked and labeled as "fake news". In the modern world, information is spread very quickly through a variety of social media platforms. Because of this, there was widespread panic even before the COVID-19 virus had even reached India. Many citizens bought an excessive surplus of supplies such as masks, hand sanitizers, and food, which ultimately led to a shortage of these supplies for the 1.3 billion people in this country. The shortage of supplies along with the lockdown process which severely impacted the economy has led to an increase in price to the majority of essential products such as food, hand sanitizers, masks, etc. The most affected were the average day workers. Social media has caused widespread panic and hogging of essential supplies along with false facts of the virus itself, however, there are some things that we have benefited from due to social media. For example, social media has shown us the importance of social distancing and activities that we can do to keep our mental health in check while under lockdown. In short, I believe social media should be regulated and kept under watch by the government in certain aspects when it comes to spreading information about pandemics like covid19. If regulated properly we can avoid mass panic and anarchy and will be able to survive this pandemic as one.

scholarly journals Moroccan Social Media Platforms and COVID-19 Misinformation

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 123-134
Author(s):  
Hanane Aboulghazi
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Government ◽  
Crisis Situations

COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by a massive ‘infodemic’ and an over-abundance of disinformation that makes it hard for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance when they need it. Young Moroccan internet users resort to social media for their news, and easily fall prey to the misinformation and fake news they encounter online. When it concerns public health, disinformation can turn into a lethal weapon. This is further exacerbated at the time of COVID-19 pandemic. To tackle this, the present research paper answers the research questions using a qualitative method, particularly semi-structured interviews preferable  in exploratory  research where the purpose is to gain an understanding of spreading online misinformation in the age of COVID-19. Semi-structured Interviews are conducted via “Google Meet” and “Zoom” using video-conferencing among 12 young Moroccan social media activists and professionals. The main research findings have shown that young Moroccan social media users have been consuming fake news about the Coronavirus, which has been especially prevalent on the most popular platforms, Facebook, Whats App and YouTube. Other results have shown that the mainstream media failed to debunk misinformation by subjecting them to rigorous fact checking experiments, lack of Media Information Literacy research in the form of crisis audits and crisis planning, Moroccan social media are ill prepared for crisis manual and conducting crisis training. These ensure that media regulators are not better equipped to handle any  misinformation in health crisis situations. Therefore, media literacy is not only about how to use the computer and do an internet search, it also involves helping young Moroccan people to deal with disinformation in crisis situations, and realize that anyone anywhere can put up a very official-looking websites. These websites masquerade as high-credibility sources that have been spreading misinformation about COVID-19. Therefore, the government needs.

Facade of media and social media during COVID-19: A review

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽  
pp. 142-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kumar Chandan Srivastava ◽  
Deepti Shrivastava ◽  
Kumar Gaurav Chhabra ◽  
Waqar Naqvi ◽  
Arti Sahu
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Rapid Spread ◽  
Public Health Authorities ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Government ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Fear And Anxiety

A novel coronavirus (COVID-19) arose in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Soon it spread to other countries worldwide to become a pandemic. Globally, governments enforced quarantine and social distancing measures to prevent the spread of the infection. Mass media and social media platforms played a crucial role in providing information regarding the Coronavirus. Since little is known about COVID-19, various fake news, misinformation and rumours spread across the digital media that panicked people into making panic decisions. The rapid spread of misinformation and stories via social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube became a vital concern of the government and public health authorities. Medical misinformation and unverifiable content about the COVID-19 pandemic are spreading on social media at an unprecedented pace. Mitigating the advent of rumours and misinformation during the COVID-19 epidemic is crucial, since misinformation and fake news creates panic, fear and anxiety among people, predisposing them to various mental health conditions. Instead of considering social media as a secondary medium, it should be utilised to convey important information. Besides, it allows citizens to address their queries directly. Several governments across the world have taken actions to contain the pandemic of misinformation, yet measures are required to prevent such communication complications.

scholarly journals Pengaruh Hoax di Media Sosial Terhadap Preferensi Sosial Politik Remaja di Surabaya

MEDIAKITA ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dinda Marta Almas Zakirah
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Deterrent Effect ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Fake News ◽  
The Government ◽  
Share Information

Easy access to social media has several impacts that can harm others. Irresponsible people are now abusing the freedom of expression, for example, the spread of fake news or hoaxes. Even though the government has made regulations and threats, it does not provide a deterrent effect for the perpetrators. This hoax news is intentionally created to influence or change the perception of readers. Surabaya is one of the cities where the majority of the population has access to social media, especially for today's youth. This study focuses on how hoax news on social media affects the mindset of adolescents in Surabaya and how adolescents respond to hoax news in social media. This study uses a qualitative method with Habermas's public space theory approach. The results showed that the emergence of hoax news can influence the views of Surabaya teenagers regarding the object being reported, then when spreading fake news or hoaxes, they do not do editing first, and there are several factors that influence teenagers to spread fake news, namely, for fun, share information and think that the news obtained is important news for other readers.Keywords: hoax, social media, public space, preferences

scholarly journals STUDY OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF FAKE NEWS (HOAX) THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA RELATED TO THE COVID-19 VACCINE AND PREVENTION EFFORTS TO SUPPORT MASS EXECUTION VACCINE IN INDONESIA

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (24) ◽  
pp. 18-29
Author(s):  
Gideon Satria Putra Sugiyanto ◽  
Annisa Sabrina Nur Arrasy ◽  
Sweeta Melanie
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
The Public ◽  
Counter Narrative ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Government ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Media Channels ◽  
Depth Interviews

The COVID-19 pandemic has been going on in Indonesia for more than a year since the beginning of 2020. This pandemic has certainly had many negative impacts, both macro, and micro. The Indonesian government has made a lot of efforts to tackle this pandemic both operationally and in socialization to reduce the further spread of vaccine efforts throughout Indonesia. But unfortunately, there is the challenge of spreading fake news related to the COVID-19 vaccine that is troubling the public. The spread of fake news happened quite quickly with digital communication using social media. Research using qualitative methods examines the condition of socialization communication related to the COVID-19 vaccine, fake news, and efforts to overcome it through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The results of the study show that there has been a lot of communication and socialization carried out by the government regarding the COVID-19 vaccine but it has not been structured in one source and there is still minimal anticipation of fake news. As a result, a lot of fake news has spread widely in the community regarding COVID-19, starting from issues related to health and beyond health or safety. Efforts that can be made to minimize the spread of fake news and its dangers include collaboration with various stakeholders, mass and periodic socialization and education on various social media channels, strict penalties for spreading fake news, providing social media platforms or channels to file complaints, create educational content and creative counter-narrative.

scholarly journals Intelligent Detection of False Information in Arabic Tweets Utilizing Hybrid Harris Hawks Based Feature Selection and Machine Learning Models

Symmetry ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 556
Author(s):  
Thaer Thaher ◽  
Mahmoud Saheb ◽  
Hamza Turabieh ◽  
Hamouda Chantar
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Feature Selection ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
User Profile ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Classification Model ◽  
Fake News ◽  
False Information ◽  
Social Media Platforms

Fake or false information on social media platforms is a significant challenge that leads to deliberately misleading users due to the inclusion of rumors, propaganda, or deceptive information about a person, organization, or service. Twitter is one of the most widely used social media platforms, especially in the Arab region, where the number of users is steadily increasing, accompanied by an increase in the rate of fake news. This drew the attention of researchers to provide a safe online environment free of misleading information. This paper aims to propose a smart classification model for the early detection of fake news in Arabic tweets utilizing Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques, Machine Learning (ML) models, and Harris Hawks Optimizer (HHO) as a wrapper-based feature selection approach. Arabic Twitter corpus composed of 1862 previously annotated tweets was utilized by this research to assess the efficiency of the proposed model. The Bag of Words (BoW) model is utilized using different term-weighting schemes for feature extraction. Eight well-known learning algorithms are investigated with varying combinations of features, including user-profile, content-based, and words-features. Reported results showed that the Logistic Regression (LR) with Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF) model scores the best rank. Moreover, feature selection based on the binary HHO algorithm plays a vital role in reducing dimensionality, thereby enhancing the learning model’s performance for fake news detection. Interestingly, the proposed BHHO-LR model can yield a better enhancement of 5% compared with previous works on the same dataset.

scholarly journals Social Media in an Emergency: Use of Social Media in Rescuing Abducted School Girls in Nigeria

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 67-75
Author(s):  
Muhammad Abdullahi Maigari ◽  
Uthman Abdullahi Abdul-Qadir
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
The Social ◽  
Security Challenges ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
School Girls ◽  
The Government ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Domestic Assistance

This paper examines the abduction of the schoolgirls in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State, Nigeria in 2014. The paper examined how the abduction of the schoolgirls generated responses and support for the rescue of the abducted girls from people and organization from different parts of the globe. The Islamists terrorist organization operating in Borno State has attracted the attention of the world since 2009 when they started attacking government establishments and security installations northeast which later escalated to major cities in Northern Nigeria. Methodologically, the paper utilized secondary sources of data to analyze the phenomenon studied. The paper revealed that the development and innovations in information and communication technology which dismantled traditional and colonial boundaries enabled people to express support, solidarity and assist victims of conflict who resides millions of Kilometers away. This shows that Internet-based communications technology has reduced the distance of time and space that characterised traditional mass media. The campaign for the release of the schoolgirls on the social media platforms particularly Twitter and Facebook has tremendously contributed to the release of some of them. Furthermore, the girls freed from abduction have received proper attention: education and reintegration programmes which enable them to start post-abduction life. In this regard, social media has become a tool for supporting the government in moments of security challenges which the Bring Back Our Girls campaign attracted foreign and domestic assistance to Nigeria in the search of the abducted girls and the fight against the Islamist insurgents.

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