The Guardian & the global problem of fake news
1) What similarities do you notice between the different countries outlined in the article and their problems with fake news?
One thing in common that inhabitants who are producing fake news within each country is that they are tending to be "far right" wing with regards to their political stance. This shows that these people who are producing these stories and posting them online are quite against Trump and opposed to the results of the elections. The main problem that these countries (France, Germany, India, Italy, China, Brazil & Australia) are facing is that people are commenting about American news, spreading it globally which has also, in effect, led to Americans believing these stories as well, showing globalisation to have a negative impact on citizens.
2) Is fake news an inevitable consequence of the "culture of freedom and innovation" that the internet has brought with it? Is there a way to stop it?
In my opinion, this statement is true because the internet has posed lack of censorship issues which allow everyday citizens to express their rights to freedom of speech whether their "speech" be truthful or lies. However, I don't think that it's necessarily just the everyday citizens who partake in this false journalism as I'm sure there are "professionals" who have also cooked up many stories regarding dishonest information in order to generate revenue and profits for their own selfish desires. I don't think there is a way to prevent it, to be honest, as censorship is very difficult to undertake especially since fake stories most likely would outnumber the amount of gatekeepers there are. The only thing that can be done is to make a news story regarding fake news stories, informing readers and viewers of the fraud and suggesting that they be more aware and less susceptible to deceit produced and promoted by/on social media.
New York Times and the creation of fake news
1) Which fake news stories were particularly successful for Beqa Latsabidze, the 22-year-old student in Tbilisi, Georgia, who tried to make money from web articles on Trump?
One of the news stories that was successful was that Mexico was going to close its borders to Americans which the author, Latsabidze claimed "no one would believe" and that it was just "satire" as opposed to fake news. This, in my opinion, is just his excuse for trying to get away with it. However, it could be the case that it is just satire in which case I think there should be a clear disclaimer on his sites and pages of this matter in order that the audiences can distinguish from real, fake news and "satire".
2) How much can Facebook and Google be blamed for this global rise in fake news?
I personally don't think that any blame is on them because they are simply providing a platform for people to speak out on whatever they wish. In real life, people could protest or create posters/flyers of stories that weren't real. Therefore, I don't think they are to blame. However, I do realise that this wouldn't usually be the case on such a global basis which means that these stories wouldn't have been so widely spread but there would always have been one company at least that would have created such a platform and I don't see it fair that they are now being held accountable for other people's mischief and deception
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