제 4 호 Why Fake News Become an Issue?
Kicker: OPINION (SOCIETY)
Why Fake News Become an Issue?
: What is Real?
By Eugene Ha, Reporter
Today, with the development of online media, people can easily meet and communicate with various people, understand their culture, and even get to know their latest news. However, as technology advances not only in Internet technology but also in human society, the truth naturally loses place to stand in a society which is full of lies. So it has become difficult for people to find it and tell if the news and information they heard were true or not as they approached various mass media. We are living in a society where false information is perceived as right thing and easily leaked to others. The Oxford Dictionary has selected the word 'post-truth' as a feature of the current global era. In this age of ‘post-truth’, fake news has become social and cultural issues. So what is fake news?
What is fake news?
Fake news is false news, which takes the form of news, but is not true. It is intended to wrap false information as if it were true, or to spread what never happened as a real in the form of a press article. With the development of the internet and rapid spread of social networking services, fake news has become a social problem as individuals, not media companies, often make false news. From media misinformation to internet rumors, fake news’ definition and scope are being used in confusion within a wide spectrum. This fake news is not really a recent problem in fact. The history of fake news is as long as that of human communication. The history of mankind is no different from the history of the struggle against fake news. Even if you look at history a little, you can find countless cases of fake news.
What is the latest fake news?
On Sept. 28, a candlelight vigil for prosecution reform was held in front of the prosecution building in Seocho-dong, Seoul. The organizers announced that 2 million people gathered. As the news spread, the Internet users expressed various suspicions, saying that they exaggerated the number of participants in the rally.With press releases and articles coming up, it was concluded that the number of participants was at least 50,000 using the police's method of estimating the number of protesters. Representative Park Sung-joong of the Korea Party, whose district is the location of the candlelight vigil, said, "I know every corner of the Seocho area more than anyone else, but the number of protesters between 1 million and 2 million is an exaggeration due to ignorance." He also presented a photo of a crowd of 100,000 people in Pyongyang, North Korea, and a Big Bang music concert held in Japan, which gathered 55,000 people, and said "Even if we gather 600,000, we can't get a million” adding, "No matter how much the press quoted, we should be careful." Some people even said “Let’s not call it the media,” which reports 1 million, 2 million informed by left wing groups.
In addition to these false reports, many types of false information are being made every day. The reason why fake information and fake news are so scary is that the media of various platforms are introduced so that the false stories can be passed on easily and faster through SNS. This widespread misinformation can lead to misunderstanding among people and, furthermore, there would be national relations problems too. One piece of fake news creates tens of thousands of fake news stories. So anti-fake news laws and penalties should be stronger and we should not accept information as it is, but be active consumers who are able to think on our own, and accept only accurate information.
Sources:
http://www.ohmynews.com/NWS_Web/View/at_pg.aspx?CNTN_CD=A0002574401&CMPT_CD=P0010&utm_source=naver&utm_medium=newsearch&utm_campaign=naver_news
https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=3581205&cid=59088&categoryId=59096
http://news.kmib.co.kr/article/view.asp?arcid=0013765951&code=61111111&cp=nv
https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=3566539&cid=43667&categoryId=43667