Erin Daena V.

Garcia November 27, 2018

HIST1-W2 Sir Jeffrey Ligero

“FAKE NEWS DURING ELECTIONS”

We all know that election is coming soon and that people will vote for who they want

regardless of the agenda of the person who is running for a position. I think that the talk was made

so that they can educate us about who the right person to vote for and to be careful on believing

certain news that is posted online because most of them are fake. The politicians are targeting the

youth because they know that we don’t have that much information when it comes to them and to

voting. They think that we are so vulnerable and easy to fool because we are young but they are

wrong. There are teachers and parents who educate us so that we can prevent being fooled by posts

on facebook and the fake news that is spreading through social media. The speaker pointed out so

many things that are important and the one thing that I can’t forget is that disinformation is an

industry and it is not only political but it is also economic. We are dealing with so many things

that leads us to a different path. A path where people and youth are being fooled because of the

wrong information that is being fed to them by social media. When the speaker asked us whether

we read the news from our phones or from the newspaper many of us said that we read it from our

phones. It is quite sad because the value of knowing what is true is slowly coming to an end because

social media is a very powerful platform that promotes misleading news. Votes today are being

sold by politicians and they are targeting the poor because they know that the poor people can be

easily blinded by their money. They are finding the weak links of the chains and when they do

they are going to get it and use it for their own advantage. There are also examples from social

media wherein people use fake accounts so that they can mislead other people and maybe change
their opinions about the person that they are going to vote. Social media is not separable from the

problem of fake news. Social media is the necessary distribution mechanism for viral deception

and massive disinformation. When you post something that is wrong in social media and does not

go viral well it’s kind of okay because only a few people will be able to see your post and maybe

criticize it. When your post goes viral and the content of your post is really wrong and it is a kind

of disinformation then it all goes wrong. It is going to cause chaos for people because it is like

playing their minds and they don’t know whether to believe in it or not. As a new voter the talk

was very informative and it helped me know what other people can do just so they can mislead

you. There are also challenges to new voters because they are treated like a delicate and fragile

thing that can be easily manipulated by others. Other people are telling us fake news but they don’t

even know that it is fake. There is a huge difference between being genuinely mistaken and lying.

People who are being fooled by others can be genuinely mistaken when it comes to spreading news

but people who intended to lie are the ones who is really spreading this fake news so that they can

change the minds of the majority of the people. They are using the social media as a platform for

their fake news because they know that it can spread like wild fire and the effects can be pretty

bad. The point here is to be educated on how to prevent being fooled by other people and to take

a stand on your own beliefs and opinions. You know who to vote for and you don’t need the

comments of people on facebook just so you know that your decision is right. If a person wants a

reliable source, then they should buy a newspaper where all the facts that you need to know are

there. We became so dependent on our phones and our social media that we forget that we have

the truth standing right in front of us. We are just one newspaper away from reality and we don’t

even see that because we are so focused on believing in what the social media has to offer.