Why Do We Believe Fake News?

Hello, dear friends! It’s been a while since I last wrote any articles or analyses, but today I decided to treat you to something new. This is Pavluu speaking. The motivation for writing this article came from stumbling upon another article with the same title but with absolutely terrible content—just one obvious statement after another. Basically, reading material for retirees. So here’s something that’s much closer to reality.

Today, modern people live in an era of information overload: we spend our days glued to our smartphones, scrolling through news channels, shopping and meme pages, receiving dozens of push notifications daily, hearing the radio in taxis or cars, getting spam in our email or SMS, and chatting with dozens of people in messengers every day.

We’re constantly receiving information in all sorts of forms: whether it’s targeted ads, overhearing strangers’ conversations on the subway, or a headline you catch while glancing at a newspaper promoter. Information is literally spraying at us from everywhere, trying to wedge itself into our brains.

This crazy information noise is the perfect environment for all sorts of rumors and manipulations, steering public opinion and manipulating the collective unconscious in one direction or another. It’s easy to sway the opinions of thousands of people who don’t turn on their critical thinking in time or are just “blank slates” ready to believe anything—they rarely analyze information and just go with the crowd, blindly believing any nonsense. Unfortunately, in our consumer era, there are a lot of such people, which is why fake news thrives and takes on many forms.

What Are Fake News?

Fake news are pieces of information or products where the truth is almost absent (or completely missing). This is deliberately distorted information designed to provoke certain reactions in society—usually negative ones, or simply to keep people uninformed.

Fake news today are the modern version of the old “newspaper hoaxes.” They used to be easy to spot, but now they’ve evolved and learned to disguise themselves.

Fake news is information whose credibility falls apart if you ask a few right questions or request specific evidence. It’s just plain old bullshit that becomes obvious if you think about it for at least 10 minutes.

Why Do We Fall for This Stuff?

• We lack knowledge. Often, we simply don’t understand the topic. We don’t have enough knowledge to assess the credibility of the information. So we have no choice but to trust “experts” or “specialists.” We don’t even bother to Google who they are or whether they’re actually qualified.
• We don’t fact-check. “We don’t have time for that,” or we’re just lazy. We don’t want to know for sure because we live in an era of content consumption. If the news doesn’t directly affect us, we probably won’t bother to check if it’s true.
• We just read headlines. We don’t really care.
• We follow the crowd. Often, for the reasons above, we take the easy route—adopting the popular opinion of those around us as our own, especially if we think our circle knows what they’re talking about. It’s just convenient to think that way.
• The neural networks we deserve. Technology keeps advancing, and fake news evolves with it. A good example is “deepfakes”—fake videos created using neural networks. For instance, porn videos featuring celebrities who never actually filmed such content. These kinds of fakes have already been banned in China.
• Another example is DeepNude—a program that uses neural networks to undress women in photos. It’s another amusing tool that can easily fool anyone who doesn’t know about it.
• The speed of content consumption. This number grows every year. We consume more and more content, faster and faster, every day. We read news on Telegram in the morning, scroll through Facebook, VK, or Instagram at lunch, check Twitter in the evening, and then watch a few YouTube videos. The content consumption cycle is basically endless. We only stop when we sleep—and even that’s debatable. Is it easy to slip a fake news story into this cycle? What do you think?
• Propaganda. “Propaganda works until it becomes too obvious.” Most fake news reeks of political propaganda or someone’s lobbying interests. There are plenty of victims of propaganda, and government influence is always present here.

How Not to Fall for Fake News?

• Turn on your critical thinking and question everything. Google facts, look for connections and sources. Ask yourself questions and answer them honestly.
• Ask for evidence to back up information, especially in verbal or business exchanges.
• Read news only from trusted sources. Try not to switch them up. Exclude any media that has ever tried to feed you a hoax.
• Avoid all propaganda-driven media.
• Ask for opinions only from those who are truly knowledgeable and experienced in the subject.
• Don’t read the news at all. Why not? No one’s stopping you from seeking your own peace of mind, after all.

Thank you for reading this article. We hope this simple breakdown helps you become more attentive and discerning about the news and information you consume. Have a great day, everyone!

Pavluu