Despite fake news being around for a long time, some academics argue that we have entered a post-truth era, where media creators convince readers to believe something despite evidence against it. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have been constantly bombarded with fake news. The lack of knowledge on the virus created a perfect environment for fake news and conspiracy theories to flourish, and confusion and mistrust increased. Therefore, it is no surprise that videos such as Madej's become viral and affect so many people.
Madej is an osteopath who uploaded a video on YouTube in June 2020, arguing that Covid-19 vaccines will alter the recipients' DNA. This video went viral, gaining over 300,000 views on YouTube, and was spread via other platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and WhatsApp.
Understanding fake news – What factors contribute to the rise of fake news/conspiracies?
The rise and advance of technology has undoubtedly changed the way society works and how media messages are reproduced. The decrease of traditional media networks (such as newspapers) and the simultaneous increase of social media has played a huge role in the rise of conspiracy theories.
Social media platforms such as Twitter were designed for everyone (in theory) to have a space to share and upload whatever they want (with some guidelines). And although this has led to incredible things, such as the rise of digital activism and social movements, such as #MeToo, it also created a space where misleading information can be shared by anyone at a rapid speed.
The spread of fake news via social media stems in part from the absence of fact-checking and proof-reading which other media platforms such as newspapers have to go through (although not always).
When thinking of Madej’s video, we can see that, although the biological facts that she gives are not wrong, the conclusions and links she makes have not been proven to be correct; for instance, she uses the example of genetically modified food to raise the question: “what if this can be done to humans?”.
The philosopher Lee McIntyre argues that another factor contributing to the rise of conspiracy theories is the eroding trust in science that we can see, for example, in climate change denial. However, Madej’s approach is very interesting, as she is using science to prove her point, instead of completely disregarding it. Also, taking into consideration that she is a doctor, this is particularly dangerous as it gives her credibility and persuades viewers that wouldn’t normally tend to fall for “fake news” to believe her.
Is censorship the way forward?
Social media companies such as Facebook have been very active in trying to combat misleading information. Between March and October 2020, Facebook removed more than 12 million posts containing misinformation about Covid-19. But, is censorship the best way to deal with fake news and conspiracy theories?
After Madej's video went viral, social media companies such as YouTube and Facebook deleted it from their platforms (although one can still find it when searching). While censorship can be effective in stopping the spread of such misinformation, is it OK to limit freedom of speech in this way?
Freedom of speech is a huge part of our human and civil rights, but that does not mean someone should have a right to speak freely, even if they are spreading lies.
Thinking back to Madej's video, I believe that arguing that she is just sharing simple “opinions” is dangerous. Lies and manipulation of facts have direct effects on real people. People deciding not to get the vaccine could make others ill. Thus, the line should be drawn when someone’s right to freedom of speech comes hand in hand with someone getting hurt.
On the other hand, censorship does not get to the root of the problem: the mistrust in the government and Covid-19 vaccine producers. Censorship only silences the believers of conspiracy theories and gives them more reasons to believe in them as “Why would they delete it if it wasn’t true?”.
This mistrust has been built throughout the decades, as governments have done horrible things before in the name of science such as the Tuskegee experiment. Hence, it is no surprise that people mistrust governments when it wasn’t so long ago that similar unimaginable things happened.
The journalist Peter Pomerantsev argues that the most effective way to combat misleading information in media is through political and scientific transparency from governments and the Covid-19 vaccine producers. Through this, he suggests, we can start to build back the trust that has been eroding for decades and combat the spread of misleading information around Covid-19, as fake news is often an outcome of ignorance.
Whether this is utopian or not is another debate, but it would seem that this approach may have started to bear fruit as media companies such as the BBC have created online sections that debunk conspiracy theories such as Madej's through scientific transparency.