"Fake news" was not a term
many people used 18 months ago, but it is now seen as one of the greatest
threats to democracy, free debate and the Western order. It has been named the
word of the year, raised tensions between nations, and may lead to regulation
of social media. And yet, nobody can agree on what it is, how much of a problem
it is, and what to do about it.
Governments and powerful individuals
have used information as a weapon for millennia, to boost their support. From a
campaign of disinformation to aid victory in the final war of the Roman
Republic to the 20th century, different forms of communication have been by
governments. Added to that, as populations became more used to mass
communication, they could more easily see through it.
Before the internet, it was much
more expensive to distribute information, building up trust took years, and
there were much simpler definitions of what constituted news and media, making
regulation or self-regulation easier. But the rise of social media has broken
down many of the boundaries that prevented fake news from spreading in
democracies. In particular it has allowed anyone to create and
disseminate information.
Facebook and Twitter allowed people
to exchange information on a much greater scale than ever before, while
publishing platforms like WordPress allowed anyone to create a dynamic website
with ease. In short, the barriers to creating fake news have been undone.
After widespread criticism that the
companies are failing to deal with fake news, Twitter, Facebook and Google have
all announced measures to crack down on misinformation online. Facebook, which
has faced the most scrutiny, says it is enlisting fact checkers to flag
stories, cutting off advertising to fake news sites, and better reviewing
adverts on the site. Twitter says it has become better at dealing with bots,
and Google has promised better algorithms to police YouTube.
However, critics continue to argue
that not enough is being done, and that the tech companies are reluctant to
take action, for fear of being seen as biased.
Spotting fake news isn't easy: a
Stanford study last year found that students were shockingly bad at
distinguishing between different types of material online, whether paid for,
fake or legitimate. Facebook has a useful list of ways to spot fake news, which
include checking other sources and a site's URL.
Adapted from The Telegraph
Question
1: [2 POINTS] Indicate whether the following statements are true or false and
write down which part of the text justifies your answer.
a) There is already a legislation on fake news on social
media.
b) Internet has made the delivery of information cheaper.
c) It is very easy to create a website thanks to Facebook
or Twitter.
d) Young people are the best at spotting fake news.
Question
3: [1,5 POINTS] Find words or phrases in the text that correspond to the words
and definitions given.
a) to discern (par.2)
b) limit (par.3)
c) extensive (par.5)
d) close examination (par.5)
e) influenced (par.6)
Question
5: [3 POINTS] Write a short essay (about 120-150 words) on the following topic:
How can the use of social
media affect our daily life?
KEY
Question
1: [2 POINTS] Indicate whether the following statements are true or false and
write down which part of the text justifies your answer.
a) FALSE “ may lead to regulation of social media”
b) TRUE “Before the internet, it was much more expensive
to distribute information,”
c) FALSE “ publishing platforms like WordPress allowed
anyone to create a dynamic website with ease”
d) FALSE “ students were shockingly bad at distinguishing
between different types of material online, whether paid for, fake or
legitimate”
Question
3: [1,5 POINTS] Find words or phrases in the text that correspond to the words
and definitions given.
a) see through
b) boundary/boundaries
c) widespread
d) scrutiny
e) biased
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