Fake news on social media termed a major threat in ‘post-truth’ era

Fake news on social media is a major threat in the 'post-truth' era where instead of objective reality people a driven by emotions which can even lead to incidents like riots and lynching, scholars said at a moot hosted by the Mass Communication Department of the Karachi University.

Media is not free at all, they are told what to share and what should not be shared with people, the former deputy chairman Senate Saleem Mandviwalla said.

Like elsewhere in the world, media people deal with different sorts of challenges, he said at the concluding session of two-day international conference on the 'post truth era-trends in media' held at the Arts Auditorium of the University of Karachi.

The uncontrolled spread of fake and false news is one such negative aspect of the rise of social media all over the world, Mandviwalla said at the moot organised by the KU Department of Mass Commission University of Karachi in collaboration with the Sindh Higher Education Commission, Greenwich University, and the Institute of Policy Studies has organized the conference.

As technology has made it possible for us to be connected in an unprecedented way, the easy access to information and an increase in platforms that propagate information have given rise to the phenomenon known as fake news, he said.

Mandviwalla said, "we have witnessed fatal incidents that happened due to the spread of fake and abjectly false information igniting violence and mayhem."

While technological advancements have resulted in wonders in the field of mass communication, there are a few downsides too, he said.

KU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi said that implications of the post-truth era are becoming increasingly apparent in media trends latterly. Academia and professionals should counter the barrage of fake news against the country through analyses and discussions.

Earlier, the Dean Arts and Social Sciences Professor Dr Nusrat Idress shared that the post-truth era is circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.

Recommendations

On the behalf of the conference participants, the Chairperson Department of Mass Communication Dr Fouzia Naz shared the recommendations with the audience.

The scholars recommended that fake news must be countered through the use of technology, Artificial Intelligence, and media literacy. Imposition of cultural imperialism through the mass media should be denounced at all levels and media houses in the country must take steps to promote their own culture.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 17^th, 2022.