You may have learned about those metered strikes that never happen. Or the fact some islands on earth can only exist for 10 years roughly before being submerged by global warming, nevertheless they still exist half of a century later. While global warming can be a threat, are we getting fake survival warnings to organize ourselves if you find still time?
All major issues concerning individual nations like the 2016 Presidential election in US and the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom or those problems that are of concern to the world like the issue of global warming and climate change are threatened by fake news which can lead to catastrophic results. While the main topic of fake news has gained a broader audience after the 2016 US election, fake news has still had a worrisome effect on us.
Fake news is not a recent phenomenon and has existed for a long time but its impact has be more widespread with the spread of the internet and social media. The fake news phenomenon has been aided by the rapid expansion of the digital medium and its capacity to supply any message across the planet at lightening fast speed. It results in a situation where such fake news can’t be checked, verified or challenged before it is made available worldwide.
Scientists grapple with fake news. Scientists studying climate change are grappling with this specific phenomenon of fake news which can sow the seeds of confusion in the minds of both most people whose support is necessary to implement changes to save the surroundings as well as your decision makers who have the responsibility of creating decisions which even if painful are necessary to avoid further environmental damage.
In this scenario it is necessary that scientists intensify their efforts for wider dissemination of correct and factual data so that folks be more science literate and can appreciate facts as they are and aren’t swayed by misinformation campaigns and deliberately leaked fake news. World bodies like the United Nations believes that the 2030 sustainable development goals could be met as long as scientific literature and discoveries obtain a wider audience.
The misinformation campaigns and deliberately leaked fake news and controversies have resulted in a situation where polls both in the US and UK reveal that even though a sizable majority of scientists accept the fact climate change phenomenon of the modern era is essentially fueled by human activities, the overall populace is not alert to such unanimity on the issue while many believe that it’s still an unsettled issue. This kind of large scale denial of climate change and its causes is due to of the failure of the scientific community to effectively challenge fake news in regards to the issue.
An alteration of habits is needed. Within their quest of wider dissemination of correct and factual data, scientists must change their long ingrained habit of sharing Newsonline information one of the scientific community as their prime objective and instead must develop the habit of sharing their information not merely with the scientific community but with most people also.
Within their pursuit of disseminating scientific information scientists must use the help of latest technological tools so that they have the ability to develop effective way of two-way communication with the overall public. The new interdisciplinary field of translational ecology might help scientists work towards changing environmental research into public policy.
Turning the existing scenario into one where society understands and appreciates their perspective and can ascertain and understand the factual statements about climate change is vital if environmental issues are to receive widespread support throughout the world. Among the ways through which we could support the growth of scientific temper is to know what fake news is and trying to avoid it from spreading.
What’s fake news? From the time ancient times, rulers have indulged in slanting and planting news to serve their interests. But giving a slant to a news to accommodate one’s beliefs or ideology can’t be called fake news. Fake news could be called a totally fabricated story without the basis that’s been floated by vested interests to serve their own purpose.
We are also at fault! Today with the advent of the internet everyone from a person to media to government have a share in the spread of fake news even though their motives to take action may vary from increasing political clout, to achieving financial goals or any personal agenda. But how to know whether the news is genuine or fake?
In sifting for fake news, go through the origins of the news. If it is carried by the best source of news odds are so it won’t be fake but when it has descends from sources you have not heard about or are known to be of dubious nature then you definitely must take such news with a touch of salt and verify it from the known authentic source prior to starting believing it. Probably the most obvious solution for checking the spread of fake news is human intervention. Technology by itself cannot sift and segregate fake news. Realizing this dimension Facebook has started this type of practice and has enlisted International Fact Checking Network to appear into that news that users have flagged as deliberate fakes.
Stopping the spread of fake news, you yourself must begin to take responsibility of that which you share. Do not share anything on the social media without starting the detail of the story or the photograph. Check the source of the story or the photo you desire to circulate and as long as they come from some reputable sources in case you share them.
