Fake News: Digital Threat In Society

Fake news is posing a serious challenge to our society. Digital and social media are playing major roles in its proliferation. While these technological tools and platforms serve positive purposes, they are also increasingly being used for malicious intent. People spread rumours and cheat using fraudulent and fabricated fake news, for purposes of earning money, entertainment, defaming competitors and enemies, and for deceptive political purposes. According to Mark Andrejevic, a professor of Communications and Media Studies, “fake news” does not even need to be believed to work; rather, it needs to foster the spread of disbelief in the form of a generalised cynicism or "savviness that portrays all belief (at least in the realm of politics) as the province of the dupe.” In effect, fake news is generally used to disempower and create mistrust among people, not just for imparting false information.


Digital and social media have provided us with unprecedented access, resources, information, and platforms to share news and views. However, the uncritical and unexamined use of these resources leads to devastating situations, urging impulsive reactions and amplifying rapid and uncritical comments. For example, some days ago, a piece of fake news was circulated about Sompal Kami, a well-known Nepali cricketer, on social media—it was propagated that he was not offered “Tika” by Nepali pandits in a Hindu temple in Dallas, Texas. The purported claim was that the pandits were reluctant to offer “Tika” to him, for he is considered to belong to a lower caste. Due to the purported issue, the Facebook walls were full of harsh comments, scolding with filthy words, and charges against the pandits and associates. 

Looking at our past and present history and practices, lower castes have continuously been marginalised and discriminated against. However, the event at the Dallas temple with Sompal Kami was not about discrimination based on caste. It is about misinformation, disinformation, and a lack of information literacy. The reality was that Sompal Kami had already received “Tika” from the pandits, and later, when he was accompanied by his team, he just got blessings and accepted flowers from the pandits. The irony is that social media users were in a hurry to make comments without understanding reality.

Recently, another piece of fake news was disseminated about Tikaram Yatri, a reputed, dynamic, and intelligent journalist in Nepal. The news was that he was no more—that he died in a motorbike accident on the way to Dharan. It is sad that some irresponsible individuals deliberately created and shared fake news about him by misusing digital and social media. 

Listening to and using unauthentic, misleading, and malicious information can easily lead to the dissemination of fake news. The spread of misinformation is largely due to the uncritical use of digital and social media, where facts are not checked, and issues are not fully understood or studied. 

Ironically, those who can read and write are the ones involved in creating and spreading news, thereby fueling conflict and making noise on social media. Fake news is used to defame and denigrate people. It is shameful when educated individuals share fake news and stories without searching for sources and checking facts. Being educated is not only being able to read, write, and share whatever we find on digital and social media; it is much more than that —it means identifying whether the information is true or false, critiquing facts and stories, and being accountable for the issue at hand. 

When misinformation and disinformation are spread about people, it becomes a permanent taboo for them throughout their lives—the persons targeted become victims of the fake news forever. Ill-intentioned people frequently use fake news as a weapon to defame and assassinate another person's character. There are many cases of spreading fake news that amount to the character-assassination of political leaders and social figures in Nepal.

Since fake news is increasing rapidly in our society, we must think about mitigating the issue. In fact, this issue can be addressed through education, the enforcement of laws, and community initiatives.

Ways to mitigate 

One of the ways to address the issue of fake news is through mass information literacy education. In our schools, all the way from elementary to higher education, we need to incorporate information about how to use digital and social media ethically, how to identify fake news, how to stop the spread of fake news, the harm that fake news causes, punishment provisions for fake news creators, how to be critical users of the media, the role of educated people in mitigating fake news, etc.  In regard to these issues, Howard Rheingold, a critic of modern communication media, suggests that educational institutions can foster social media literacies through attention, participation, collaboration, network awareness, and critical consumption. These literacies can help students identify and reject online fake news, be critical consumers of online materials, and participate and collaborate in combating fake news in online networks. 

There are ways to know whether some shared information is real or fake. We need to educate students to identify the sources of the news (who created the content), whether individuals can reach out to the creators or not, whether the source is credible or not, and the possible motive behind creating fake news. Besides, educational leaders and institutions should research the problem, organise conferences and seminars, and write and publish articles in local media warning about the dangers of fake news. 

Second, we can mitigate the issue through law enforcement. In our country, we have laws to punish those who create and deliberately spread malicious rumours or fake news. These laws should be strictly enforced. We are in such a state of technological advancement that we can often easily trace who created such fake news, from where it was created, and when the content was created. So, the concerned authorities should investigate such issues and punish the creators. This would surely reduce the extent of the creation of fake news, discouraging individuals who are guided by ill will and evil intent from creating and sharing false news. In the present case, the creation and sharing of fake stories about Tikaram Yatri and Sompal Kami, concerned authorities and agencies must identify and punish those responsible for the fake news. 

Third, we can mitigate fake news through local community initiatives, activities, and public campaigns in the style of “#FactsMatter.” Local government bodies, local community organisations, NGOs and INGOs, and professional communities can all organise seminars and training about fake news—how to identify fake news and how to combat it. Local government bodies in rural municipalities and metropolitan cities can organise information literacy programmes for local people and mobilise local youths to educate the public in their communities. Educated youths can conduct online digital public campaigns, such as “#FactsMatter.” 

The time has come for students to be taught critical use of information and online resources, something that will be vital to them through their school years, university education, and beyond into their professional lives. I appeal to all educated Nepali youths to not run after every shred of sensational news that has been shared through social and digital media. Instead, first we always need to identify the sources of news and the purposes of the news—whether the news is true or false, fabricated news, satirical, political, rumoured, or personal attacks. Then we need to share and comment on news stories critically and responsibly, rather than being blind supporters or opponents of the latest news, true or false. I also urge educated individuals to ask themselves, “What does it mean to be educated?” If we are involved in creating and mindlessly sharing fake news, how does that show that we are educated? To be educated is to know and respect the true power of written, spoken, broadcast, and online news, and to always be ready to use that power to defend the truth.

(The author is an assistant professor at the Central Department of Education, Tribhuvan University, Nepal, and is currently pursuing his Ph.D.  at the University of Texas at El Paso, USA.)