Page 4 - Sharing Posts: The Spread of Fake News

CHAPTER 3

Why Fake

News Matters

Ever since the start of the 2016 election season, legitimate news
sources have produced hundreds of articles and opinion pieces
on the topic of fake news. Television and radio stations, daily and
weekly newspapers, online news outlets, and political and gen-
eral interest magazines alike have dissected the phenomenon of
fake news from every conceivable angle: what motivates people
to create fake news, what encourages readers to believe it, and
much more. Chief among these articles are editorials and news
items that focus on the question of what the rise of fake news
means to society. These articles may be the opinions of a single
author, or they may quote experts on journalism, the Internet, or
politics. But they have at least one thing in common: Nearly all
express deep concern about the rise of fake news and the im-
pact fake news is having on the world. As these experts see it,
fake news matters enormously—and the prevalence of fake news
today presents modern society with compelling and pressing is-
sues that are far from resolved.

Ethical Issues
The basic reason that fake news matters is simple enough: Fake
news, at its most fundamental, is a lie. It is a deliberate attempt
to misinform and mislead readers, voters, and citizens in general.
And lying, most people would agree, is not a virtue. Most major
religions encourage their followers to say what is true rather than
what is false. “The Lord detests lying lips,” reads the book of
Proverbs in the Old Testament, “but he delights in people who

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