时间:2024-11-24 12:15:47 来源:网络整理编辑:探索
I remember the halcyon days when April Fools' Day was a bit of harmless fun. We'd read fake stories
I remember the halcyon days when April Fools' Day was a bit of harmless fun. We'd read fake stories from the newspaper over our cornflakes and have a good chuckle. Fake news was just something that happened once a year. But, those days are gone.We are now living in the age of fake news; where mistruths are presented as truths, and believed at face value. Fake news is no longer a once-yearly event, it's a 365-days-a-year news cycle. And, that's why April Fools' Day needs to die.
SEE ALSO:Stop dropping April Fools' jokes a day early. Now."April's Fool Day is a day when you have to constantly engage the critical and sceptical part of the brain so you don't get duped," says Claire Wardle, Director of Research and Strategy of First Draft News. "Now that we are increasingly encountering information that has been fabricated, manipulated or is downright misleading, we need to be engaging those same parts of our brains every day and questioning what we're seeing in our social feeds."
This year, April Fools' Day inconveniently falls on a Saturday, leading brands to start their pranks early in order to counter any potential dip in exposure. It has resulted in a week-long run-up to this godforsaken event.
For journalists, it has meant days of wading through a deluge of press releases about fake stories, most of which don't contain a helpful April Fools' Day disclaimer.
Krispy Kreme's not-so-funny April Fools' prank.Credit: krispy kremeOn Thursday, several major news outlets in the UK fell foul to a prank by Krispy Kreme. The doughnut brand claimed it would be changing its name to "Krispy Cream" because Brits didn't know how to pronounce the word "Kreme". "Krispy Kreme UK is getting a more 'English-friendly' name so people stop mispronouncing it," declared a headline. "Krispy Kreme is changing its name here in the UK to stop people misspelling it," said another. Oh dear.Publishing prank stories to an unsuspecting audience on any day of the year, even April 1, just isn't funny anymore. It's no longer acceptable because fake stories are already in circulation on a daily basis with serious implications.
In some instances, fake stories are outperforming real news. In the three months before the presidential election, viral fake election news stories had such high engagement they actually outperformed real news on Facebook. During the most critical time of the election campaign, the 20 top-performing fake election stories generated 8.7 million engagements on Facebook -- far outstripping the 7.3 million engagement garnered by mainstream news. Among the top-performing stories were headlines like "Hillary sold weapons to ISIS" and "FBI Agent Suspected in Hillary Email Leaks Found Dead".
Since then, "fake news" has become ubiquitous and POTUS Donald Trump has appropriated the term to criticise media outlets:
Tweet may have been deleted
By definition, fake news is false information masquerading as traditional news. It's similar to propaganda because it distorts the truth for emotional persuasion. But the motivation behind fake news in the run-up to the US election wasn't just political. Many creators of spoof stories were trying to make a quick buck from advertising on distributed content that was designed to gain a large audience. So, are brands using the excuse of April Fools' Day to do the same thing?
"The same motivations drive the creators of fabricated stories and news sites. The unfortunate reality is that some people are using these same techniques on a daily basis to make money or to manipulate public opinion," says Claire Wardle of First Draft News. "As consumers of information online we have to remain as alert on May, June and July 1 as we will be April 1."
Tweet may have been deleted
Some countries are taking a stand against April Fools' Day because of fake news. Swedish and Norwegian newspapers announced Friday they wouldn't be publishing April Fools' jokes because they feared it would spread fake news. "We work with real news. Even on April 1st," said Magnus Karlsson, editor-in-chief of Swedish newspaper Smålandsposten, adding that he did not want the newspaper to "be spread with a potentially viral and erroneous story".Other news outlets should take note. Thanks to the fake news phenomenon, April Fools' jokes should be a thing of the past. Don't add to the problem.
TopicsPolitics
This app is giving streaming TV news a second try2024-11-24 11:54
英媒:C羅吃驚於曼聯水平下降 球員質疑索帥能力2024-11-24 11:52
德媒評納帥開局順利原因:與高層關係密切勝前任2024-11-24 11:46
武磊與球隊會合將參加合練 比賽時間氣溫對球隊影響有限2024-11-24 11:33
Despite IOC ban, Rio crowds get their political messages across2024-11-24 11:28
瓜帥將出席哈維上任發布會 巴薩兩代大腦完成傳承2024-11-24 11:17
南都:今冬中國足球穩為先 泰山海港上演雙線爭霸2024-11-24 11:12
迷你羅代表曼聯U12比賽 喬治娜帶孩子們現場助威2024-11-24 09:59
Singapore gets world's first driverless taxis2024-11-24 09:57
萬眾矚目!馬爾蒂尼馬洛塔看台鬥法 皮爾洛卡佩羅觀戰2024-11-24 09:49
What brands need to know about virtual reality2024-11-24 12:14
拉基蒂奇 :登貝萊水準與內馬爾相似 祈禱他不再受傷2024-11-24 11:57
文筱婷:集團出現資金斷層 欠球員的錢肯定會補上2024-11-24 11:47
曝伍德沃德卸任後或留在曼聯 將擔任顧問提供幫助2024-11-24 11:16
Balloon fanatic Tim Kaine is also, of course, very good at harmonica2024-11-24 11:11
克裏斯:目前隻是短期的工作 主教練是最終決策者2024-11-24 11:03
海港爆紅小將 :在隊裏我不是最小的 要向武磊看齊2024-11-24 10:46
英媒 :C羅吃驚於曼聯水平下降 球員質疑索帥能力2024-11-24 10:36
U.S. pole vaulter skids to a halt for national anthem2024-11-24 09:55
曝羅傑斯願意執教曼聯 但希望等到下賽季開始帶隊2024-11-24 09:48