For an online digital learner, it is ethically unacceptable to spread fake news. Fake news is the spreading of information that is incorrect and inaccurate but is presented as being factually accurate. It can often be unintended but does cause conflict. Fake news is spread most commonly through social media, causing disputes with a click of a button. Others would state that fake news is just a freedom of speech, where others challenge that it is undesirable and unacceptable. Decision making and opinions can be altered by false information. A lot of fake news comes from attention seeking story tellers or from people who do not like the truth, therefore making up stories that suits their thoughts better.

How do you tell the difference between fake news and real news? It is harder these days to tell the difference as there are too many misinformed people repeating and believing the fake news that is getting spread. The only way to really know is if there is evidence. You have got to see it to believe it, but even then, are you really seeing the truth? It is too easy to convince people online as there are many tools that can be used such as photo shop and editing. Even your average Joe can convince you to believe fake news by editing a photo. For example, if someone was trying to convince you that they were pregnant through social media, they can simply find a picture from the internet of an ultrasound, or photoshop themselves with a baby bump. There you have it, you’ve got your convincing story and ‘evidence’. David A. Graham (2019) believes that “More than making people believe false things, the rise of fake news is making it harder for people to see the truth.” (para. 2).

The term “fake news” has become a popular phrase as “President Donald Trump began labelling news coverage that was unfavourable to him [as] ‘fake news’” (Graham, 2019, para. 3). This however is just an attempt to make himself look better to the media and avoiding answering risky questions. This is exactly what every other digital fake news spreader is doing. If the truth is not in their favour, they adapt the truth to suit themselves and their beliefs or deny it and convince the people that it is fake news when nevertheless, it is a fact.

Facebook is used as one of the main platforms for spreading fake news as it is a popular site the public can express themselves and their opinions. Hannah Murphy (2020) found that Facebook investigated one of the biggest telecom providers from south- east Asia, Viettel, discovering that they created a number of fake accounts posing as their customers, criticising rival companies and spreading “fake news of alleged business failures and market exits”. (para. 11).  Fake news can also lead to scams to get your personal information from Facebook. They may be advertising how to win money including fake articles about how people have won by doing what they tell you to do such as, clicking onto a link they have provided and asking you to provide your personal details.

Fake news can impact majorly in the world. Scott Shane explained that Russian hackers, falsely identifying as an Americans on twitter and Facebook, had spread fake news about Hillary Clinton to influence the election in 2016. Facebook officials unveiled these Russian hackers, believed to be linked to the Kremlin, and shutdown hundreds of these accounts in the attempt to stop these false rumours (2017, Para. 6). These false accusations potentially persuaded the citizens of America to vote in Donald Trump’s favour, giving him the win. The fake news articles that flooded America’s Facebook and Twitter demonstrates how fake news can impact not only American citizens but the whole world as America is a dominating country.

Spreading fake news as a digital learner is unethical, intolerable and wrong. Between social media and other online interactions, fake news is a key threat to online participants creating conflict and lies. It is not responsible or appropriate behaviour to abuse your power when using technology. Attention seeking storytellers can abuse their power on social media platforms, this power can alter the outlook on certain things from something small like lying on their Facebook page about something personal, to something critical like the presidential election. It is hard to tell the difference between fake news and real news. This makes it hard for digital learners and social networkers to separate the both. Through the use of lies and creating fake articles, it can also be disruptive to the digital world as they trick people into giving out personal information after feeding them fake news of people winning on their sites. All in all, spreading fake news is unethical and not wanted in the digital world, especially for an online digital learner.

Hannah Murphy, (2020, May 11) The new AI tools spreading fake news in politics and Business. Financial Times.https://www.ft.com/content/55a39e92-8357-11ea-b872-8db45d5f6714

David A. Graham, (2019, June 7) Some Real News About Fake News. The Atlantic.https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/06/fake-news-republicans-democrats/591211/

 Scott Shane, (2017, September 7) The Fake Americans Russia Created to Influence the Election. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/07/us/politics/russia-facebook-twitter-election.html