TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Fake news has become a prominent part of society.
“I am only against the fake news media or press,” President Donald Trump said recently. “Fake. Fake.”
The concept was thrust into the spotlight during the 2016 Presidential campaign.
Now, media experts and teachers all over the country are working to educate teenagers about what’s real news and what’s not.
“Well my friends, they believe everything they read,” said high school student Jasmine Allonce. “And I have to tell them that’s not true.”
Making matters worse: there are websites that allow users to create fake news stories and post them online for the world to see.
Teens, who spent sometimes hours a day online, tend to be most confused by fake news, generally articles or blogs that contain no factual information.
“I could get really paranoid about something and it’s not even real,” Allonce said.
Alexios Mantzarlis is a media studies expert at Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg. He warns teens to be cautious.
“A general application of taking a moment and verifying things is healthy,” he said.
He explained if an online article looks funny or had too many ads, it may be fake.
“What we should be aiming to do is “A” equip—especially students—with the necessary tolls to spot them and “B” ensure our major platforms and channels of distribution of information are not built in such a way that fake news can proliferate,” Mantzarlis said.
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