Fake news and the gender perspective
By Raúl Martínez Corcuera – Universitat de Vic (UVIC) and Anaitze Agirre Larreta – SOS Racismo Gipuzkoa
The Audiovisual Council of Catalonia (CAC) has presented a report analyzing the impact of fake news on the Internet about gender news. The study reviews 12 viral false news on social networks and video sharing platforms.
The study refers to three fake news construction formulas.
- Invent lies and create false information
The government of Iceland will pay the equivalent of 1,800 euros a month to men who marry an Icelandic woman.
The government had to deny this info. The news had been reproduced in 16 videos. The most widespread, with a million views and the second has 233,000.
- Modify the meaning of an event. Distorting it, hiding part of the reality or establishing a general category from a singular fact.
The University of Oxford will give women 15 more minutes of time to take the exams.
Reality? The university had decided to increase exam time for all students, not just for women.
- Disseminate as news a satirical web content such as El Mundo Today, World News Daily Report or 12 minutos.com.
The City Council of Oviedo will prohibit looking and addressing women on the street.
Conclusions
The construction of many fake news considers women inferior to men. In many cases, gender policies are questioned. For example, it is stated that 80% of complaints about sexist violence are false. But, the Attorney General of the State, speaks of only one false report of every 1,000.
Stresses the tendency to create closed systems of people with similar thinking (echo chambers). They look for equals with the same ideas to repeat and reiterate messages. The objective is to strengthen your own thoughts. The phenomenon of fake news contributes to the creation of digital ghettos created around a thought.
EduCAC program
To fight against fake news, the CAC has developed a practical training guide to detect fake news. It includes a glossary of concepts: alternative facts, post truth, click baiting, hoaxes, spamming, filter bubbles or algorithms.
The program includes a section aimed at communicators with analysis of figures such as the fact-checker, data journalism or specialized websites to warn of false content in the information.
Audiovisual Council of Catalonia
Echo chambers
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180416-the-myth-of-the-online-echo-chamber
Practical training guide to detect fake news.
http://www.educac.cat/families/fake-news-com-les-podem-detectar