Fact or Fake News

With the use of technology these days it has become more and more easier to have all you doubts answered by just one click. Does the information given need to be sited and backed up by the company that is giving out the information or is it up to the consumer to investigate and determine on its own if the article being read is a hoax…? Both consumer and company should have the responsibility to make sure the source is credible. The author should have evidence towards their stated argument. The reader also has the responsibility to make sure the source is credible.

When companies give out information without credible evidence how do we actually know if something really is authentic or not, if the whole idea was to rely on the company since the beginning about the information given. An example I would give is, if scientists found water on Mars and we want to know more about it how can we humans know there is actually water or not if we are relying on the information. Since not all humans can go to Mars and investigate for themselves. Sometimes it is hard to tell between authentic or forged news. Just like stated in the article by The Washington Post/Adapted by NewsELA Staff November 11, 2016 from an employee who worked at the News Feed Product.

Sometimes when the information given to us on the internet is so incorrect we can tell right away. Something so exaggerated that we say, “Oh this is totally fake.” What happens when the company is giving out the wrong information but we can not tell directly? Then it will be up to us to conscientiously conclude on the main idea and determine if the background of the article is evident. Just one problem, when we are in a hurry we rely on the internet way too much. When trying to prove someone wrong or figuring out a doubt you go with the first article you read and forget to do some background checks. We rely on the very first website we click on. Weather its on computer or cellular. When we are on the search across the internet we do not realize that the website that first shows up is because it has been viewed by people who asked the same question. We do not bother to look if the website is cited or some little simple mistakes that can easily be detecting that the ¨news¨ given is actually fake.

I am not saying that the company has to do all the work for us, but they do have to backup their statements letting us know that they have believable evidence.

A lot of information we do not know is made up by the companies way of making money. They sell the information or hoax it to gain some sort of money. Not knowing that the wrong information given out will be spread by other people. Not only are they aware of what they are putting out but they still benefit from the writing regardless whether it is real or fake. They will only see the perception of money wise and that is where the mistake of putting out fake news really comes from. In the article by PBS News Hour/Adapted by NewsELA Staff December 11, 2016 it was reported that a terrible disease called Ebola was circulating on Facebook back in 2014. The story had been shared a little more over 330,000 times. The company who started the information earned money by people who simply clicked on the link to the story.

Yes, it is our responsibility to make sure a source is believable, but it is also the companies responsibility to show us that the information given out is proved by hard core evidence. Nowadays we mostly rely on the internet for information around the world and as more time seems to go on we have determined to let ourselves be controlled by it and believe everything by just one read.  

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