Trump has made a lot of things buzzworthy, but perhaps none more than fake news.
Everyone has strong opinions about who is at fault for spreading lies in the press.
Its the medias fault.
Before Trump, it was theNational Enquirersfault.
You name a source, and theyve probably been blamed.
Or Ill say it more nicely… itsourfault.
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Youve probably heard the phrase vote with your dollar applied to things like purchasing fair trade items.
But you’ve got the option to, and do, vote with your clicks, too.
Why is this happening?
News outlets are businesses, and they have owners who care about profits, like any business.
Now that people consume news online, people are buying way fewer papers.
Now its about getting clicks and ad revenue, and that is done on a per-story basis.
Each story needs to be clickable, or its worth nothing to the news outlet.
Furthermore, news outlets are under intense pressure to get stories out as quickly as possible.
Getting traffic is about speed.
And since no one is punished for this, the practice continues.
But there is a a way to fight it.
Youcan punish them by not clicking on totally ridiculous headlines.Youcan punish them by not sharing unverified reports.
Share substantiated stories from reliable sources and direct traffic their way.
Reports: This tactic is used by many mainstream media outlets to post stories they cannot verify.
But I dont know if its true.
Disclaimer or not, it still spreads the news just the same.
Denials:Outlets can spread a story they cannot verify by spreading a denial instead.
For example, lets say a reporter hears that Godzilla has risen from the sea.
But that reporter cant find any evidence that this is the case.
Misleading headlines:Exaggerations or half-truths in headlines are a constant, almost accepted occurrence.
If it sounds too one-sided, it probably is.
If it sounds totally absurd, it probably is.
If you feel youre about to open click-bait, you probably are.
You are voting for that content.
People stopped buying cassette tapes, so they dont make them any more.
The only way to stop the production of fake news is to stop buying it.
Media should consider utilizing new technology to vet their contributors and sources.
Blockchain tech can authenticate identities in ways that werent possible until now.
Blockchain can also verify immutable location and timestamps, making it harder to forge reports.
Facebook recently launched a web series about how theyre using fact-checkers and AI to catch fake news and misinformation.
And are they even obligated to referee the news if theyre not providing it?
Do people have a right to spread falsehoods if there are no damages?
For the sake of this discussion, it doesnt matter.
Dont choose the crazy stories you see.
If you know its fake but think its funny, youre still paying with your click.
Story byStefan Neagu
Stefan Neagu is co-founder of Persona, the decentralized solution for identity management.
