Introduction
The release and sharing of news on the internet have become a recent trend globally. This has been aided by the technological revolution that has seen the increased use of the internet. The news released on the internet is unreliable, and there is a need to control this due to the minimal credibility associated with such a release of reports. The lack of credibility is correlated with the freedom, access, and influence the internet confers to individuals.
Background of the Subject
The release of fake news has been on the rise in the last few years, with people posting different ideas on the internet. The internet sites include social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Other people have created their websites, owing to the increased ease, and share their reports there. Fake news has recently included death reports of people who are alive and well (Moravec et al., 2018). Other people have shared news of famous personalities being involved in accidents, while others have released fake reports of certain people visiting some places. Such fake news has sparked conversation and massive misinformation across the areas involved and the people concerned. The use of the internet as a source of news has been on the rise with the increased reach of the internet. The scope is partly facilitated by the low cost of internet access and the acquisition of internet devices (Narwal, 2018). The shift to reliance on the internet for news can also be explained by the amount of time spent on the web and how quickly news arrives on these sites.
Main Arguments
One of the main reasons why news from the internet is unreliable is due to the tendency of individuals and organizations to seek publicity. Hosts of online reports post news that is either false or provides a catchy caption that is meant to capture the attention of the audience and have fans talk about the report (Osatuyi & Hughes, 2018). This tendency to provide controversial headlines while the actual data is different enables personal online reporters to gain engagement. Some people do not seek the full report and are inadequately informed by the headlines. This means that such audiences are massively misinformed on essential topics. The purpose of internet news reporting, in this case, is not to inform people but to seek popularity. The popularity permits these sites to gain many followers and increase their financial capacity. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this was an outstanding feature of online news sources (Adharsh & Goswami, 2020). They published false reports by providing catchy and unverified headlines to ensure that people were thrilled.
A second reason why news from the internet is mainly unreliable is due to the minimal effort incurred in verifying the reports published. Many online sites are usually in a competition to break the news on a particular topic first (Torres et al., 2018). This enables outlets to publicize their brand and gain a competitive advantage over other sites. The news published by online reporting sites is usually based on mere hearsay or copied reports from other unreliable publications. This lack of effort from these sites to correctly publish information is responsible for the massive misinformation in crucial topics, especially health and politics. The influential individuals in multiple pages or organizations with immense followings usually treat these sites like personal entities without adequate regulation (Torres et al., 2018). The lack of control of various individuals and sites concerned with news on the internet is accompanied by non-existent responsibility for their actions. Traditional mainstream news outlets are controlled by government legislation and bound to provide accurate reports, failure to which they are liable to punishment.
The last point on why the release of fake news on the internet is widespread is the image of democratization inherent in digital media. The general public perceives social media and other internet sources as less controlled entities compared to traditional media (Mason et al., 2018). The general public is obliged to consume updates from internet sources as uncensored information. News released by traditional media sources is usually regarded as reports edited to achieve certain objectives. Politicians and other renowned leaders ordinarily have a stake in peddling certain narratives to the general public. This includes painting a particular leader as the perfect one while demonizing others. Additionally, traditional media news is allegedly associated with promoting specific goods that establish good connections with media management while demoting other brands (Mason et al., 2018). The culture of defiance from the norm and traditional means of operations related to the 21st century is a cause for this reliance and trust in digital media sources. The highlight of the 21st century has been massive distrust in conventional and popular ways of living, including traditional media and the embrace of the digital revolution.
Refutation
Despite the misinformation associated with internet sources, there are positive aspects of digital media reporting. These include the timely manner of release of the news the moment they occur (King, 2020). Traditional media sources such as television and radio are usually late as they wait for the next bulletin to report the news that occurred earlier in the day. Social media sources provide reports about an incident instantaneously, enabling audiences to remain adequately informed. The timeliness of internet sources is also due to their availability in handheld devices, including mobile phones. Reports indicate that the use of smart devices, such as smartphones, has been on the rise globally, with nearly a quarter of the day being spent on the phone (King, 2020). This means that as soon as reports are availed, various smartphone users can access them immediately hence adequate information of populations. The internet sources ensure that people can become part of vital conversations immediately they are generated, hence better participation.
Internet sources are also efficient providers of information whenever the information they provide is accurate. This means that the internet sites provide reliable information in their raw form and allow audiences to make uninfluenced reactions to the reports (Foust, 2017). The customary media sources have a massive bureaucracy in their ranks that involves the manipulation of information to achieve various agendas. Traditional news outlets usually put their news through vigorous processes such as editing to ensure the released reports appease various sectors. These media houses are apprehensive of how the government will perceive their reports and whether they might face legal repercussions from the news. The media houses are cautious to ensure they do not offend their various financiers whose support ensures they run efficiently (Foust, 2017). These sources are also wary of the impact various reports may have on certain products and whether the manufacturers may initiate legal proceedings against them. By the time traditional news outlets have released their reports, the information has been distorted and the agenda shaped in a manner that sparks a specific conversation.
News on the internet is also on all topics, and the audiences have the power of choice. This is in comparison with traditional media houses whose reports are based on favoritism and the business culture. Some audiences are usually interested in unpopular topics such as astrology that are not afforded adequate attention in the traditional outlets (Fan et al., 2021). This is because such topics are not popular and do not sell adequately compared to profitable politics. The alienation of such news by these conventional outlets coerces the audiences interested in such reports to rely on the internet. There are some internet pages and sources dedicated to such reports and ensure that their audiences are reliably and regularly informed on such topics (Fan et al., 2021). The ability to choose what kind of reports to interact with emanating from the ability to subscribe to certain pages enables audiences to achieve satisfaction.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the development of internet sites as reliable sources of news has been rampant and has been essential in determining the course of lives. The biggest disadvantage associated with internet pages is the misinformation that stems from inadequate regulation of these activities. The owners of various pages and sites are capable of publishing their reports without proper monitoring or repercussions. The popularity of these sources is associated with mistrust in traditional media sources and the censorship accompanying them. Internet sources are unpopular due to the race amongst different outlets to seek publicity at the expense of accuracy. Each site seeks to break the news first and acquire maximum engagement with its audiences. Despite the negative aspect of inaccuracy, positive aspects of the internet include its ability to provide variety, remain uninfluenced, and quickly release the news. The use of internet sources of news should be paused until appropriate measures of minimizing inaccuracy are developed.
References
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