Why Fake News thrive On-line by Judith Donath Essay Example

new emerged stating that the FBI agent who had noticed the Hillary glitch was found dead in a murder-suicide scenario. This was a false statement which if not accurately disseminated would have shaped the said elections in favor of Donald Trump.

In the use of pathos and evidence, the author stipulates that fabricating and circulating false news is no easy task. But this has further been simplified by the fact that fake news consumers tend to look down on contemporary media and news. Most of them treat such news as deceptive, partisan and corporate controlled. In addition, it has become a common phenomenon that such fake news consumers are influenced by conspiracy theories. According to the author, it is of undeniable importance that the logic and reason behind the circulation of such news has become so fashionable. In further elaborating the effectiveness that the author has used in putting her points across, she puts down personal beliefs determines whether one will believe either of the two types of news. It is these beliefs that determine whether to treat news as partisan or not. Based on these beliefs, it seems that fake news travel faster than the latter.

Relevant to the same is the aspect of group identity. The feeling of belonging to a certain group or community in the society persuades people to have certain beliefs and thus the tendency to believe in fake news. The author notes that legitimate stories can also serve this purpose though fake news does it up to whole a different level (Donath, 2016). According to the author, though the news may be legitimate, group identity and beliefs may result into group

outsiders disagreeing with such legitimate news. The same case applies to fake news whereby such posting of fake news usually cause dislike from the legitimate news group. According to the author, inter-group conflicts, in turn, prompt the strong ties within the groups in contention. In so doing, the status of the party who first posted such news is uplifted.

It is evident that the author has used literal strategies effectively throughout this article. From “Don't feed the trolls." If someone posts a fake story, and you think they have simply been duped, certainly it is useful to point out the error with a more reliable source. Please do graciously. No one likes to be publicly humiliated. Sometimes a private message is better. But if you think the posting is really about proclaiming identity, ignore it. Don't amplify its value by arguing (Donath, 2016). And if you must say something, here a private message is really better -- you can convey your disapproval without providing the public display of discord that just strengthens their signal. It shows that Judith is emotional in her convincing her audience to refrain from believing and circulating false news. This is also a combination of clear language and evidence. This brings out the strength of the author in her writing process.
The author is successful in establishing and communicating her ideas. It is only logical to assess the contentious debate of false news. Besides, it has become hard to differentiate between false and legitimate news at this global age whereby news are originating from all global corners.

One weakness of the author’s piece of work is the failure to explicitly define what false news

are. It is important to consider that major news agencies also rely on freelance journalists and social media information in their crafting of “legitimate” news. It is thus very difficult to determine what false news are because, unless all news are accompanied by reliable evidence, then all news may as well be treated as legitimate.