Hi Mercy, thank you for keeping th discusions alive.
Kindly see my comments below:
(a) Why is there an increase in the prevalence of Fake News recently?
"..........................................................................................................."
I have been doing a research on why we have an increase in fake news for a few days now and what is suprisingly interesting is the fact that most "upcoming" journalist/bloggers/sociologist if I may put it lightly are fighting for recognition.
/online space. The concept of social media and sharing has made people/bloggers/sociologist/journalists be fast on clicking submit/sharing and ignore verifying the info they receive/share. These kinds of "joulalists" if i may put it lightly are very fast in to submitting unverified news/info for the sake of recognition and receiving receiving sociAl recognition as the "origin" fake and legit news. In short they do not really care the status of tehe news but to get more "likes/share"
"..........................................................................................................."
(b) What is the role of different categories of users in combating Fake News?
".............................................................................................."
IMHO I have three role of user categories.
1. The platform admins: these are admins for different account and mostly guys who should control flow of information but due due to many issues arising from the restriction of flow of information ( whether verified or unverified news) the defaults tend to be " allow all".
2. The posters: These are people who post the news. These are to me regarded the most dangerous users and in a way should be restricted or Managed by the admins.
3. The consumers
(c) Have Kenyans given up or are there good practices in combating Fake News?
"..............................................................................................................................."
Not all Kenyans have. IMHO Most Kenyans are consumers of news compared to producers of news. Most Kenyans just react to feeds they receive as compared to generating the news. Most Kenyans ( just to be subjective based on different feeds) to tend to react but initiate most news.
(d) Is Fake News a manifestation of deeper societal issues and if so, are there ways of combating it other than resolving the societal issues?
"......................................................................................................."
IMHO I view most fake news are as a deeper societal issues like where one has no idea or prefers airing their views that are not verified but to gain a social media status. This is one of the main factors of fake and unverified news.Kenyans ar now competing to "summit" but rather verify news they are sharing.
(e) We have Bloggers who are seen as influencers. Do they have a higher duty when communicating?
Good morning Listers,
I will say at that time, the impact of Fake News was not apparent. Times have since changed as we have now witnessed numerous 'Fake News' posts which go viral within minutes. Following the election results, posts on alleged instances of violence and of government action in parts of the country have dominated social media platforms. On several occasions, government officials, media houses and diligent citizens have come forward to denounce these posts as 'Fake News'. Photos that were first presented as true accounts of the situation on the ground were later discovered to be old photos of past events. At the same time, there have been instances where posts were quickly dismissed as 'Fake News' even when there was evidence later on that they were indeed factual reports. There is therefore a need for us to navigate through this issue carefully.
Just for the record, it was agreed previously that the definition we are working with is Fake News refers to disinformation which GG aptly put as: fabricated news that has no basis in fact, but is presented as being factually accurate.
With this in mind, I invite you to engage on the questions below:
(a) Why is there an increase in the prevalence of Fake News recently?
(b) What is the role of different categories of users in combating Fake News?
(c) Have Kenyans given up or are there good practices in combating Fake News?
(d) Is Fake News a manifestation of deeper societal issues and if so, are there ways of combating it other than resolving the societal issues?
(e) We have Bloggers who are seen as influencers. Do they have a higher duty when communicating?
--
kictanet mailing list
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke
https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/toilemgodwin%40gmail.com
The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.