The Modern Plague: Fake News

Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

Ranging from disappearances, killings, and even tortures of thousands of Filipinos, Ferdinand Marcos Sr. — the ‘ex-Dictator’ of the Philippines — continues to be a frightening figure in the Philippine history. However, despite the widely documented cases — from court proceedings to independent organizations to even international documents — there are still plenty of people that believe in his innocence. This is heavily attributed to the rise of a specific modern phenomenon of creating outright lies through the use of the internet. More seriously, it leads people to wrongful decisions and even their behaviors can be controlled more easily.

An invisible virus that has plagued countless individuals at the height of the modern era:* *fake news.

But how?

It is natural for a person to get an information that they like stuck in their head, and then reject the other information, even if both sides are equally credible. This is called confirmation bias, and this further leads to wrongful judgements and perspectives. It is a highly prevalent psychological phenomenon that affects ordinary citizens on a day-to-day basis, globally. It is hard to fight because people tend to resist change, even if they are warned or presented with the opposing credible information. This proves that the pervasiveness of fake news is only made worse mainly because of the pairing of an internal ‘flaw.’ It is hard to convince people who hold strong yet biased beliefs, but it is harder when you yourself cannot acknowledge that you are also falling into the same pit.

However, this is only made worse — again — through the birth of social media. According to a recent statistical data, more than two hundred million individuals are addicted to social media, with around 80% of Gen-Z adults admitting their dependency on numerous, famous social media platforms. Additionally, another article aggravates the situation further: the algorithms of these said platforms make sure that they feed the user with what they want to see. This is through the engagement of the person (clicks, reacts, shares, etc.) and it does not matter if the information is true or not. While this can be interpreted as beneficial — as it keeps the users engaged — it does, however, also keep them locked within a controlled perspective. Because of the over-reliance of people on social media and the algorithms pushing more and more biased content, the modern plague has, never the more, spread more rapidly than it ever has in any other era.

And it whispers unto you… ‘believe me, for otherwise: what, then, is worthy of your mere mind?’

Overthinking

The sanity and capability of a person is another problem that plenty of people face. While others fail to think as critically as what is necessary, others instead think too much, thereby turning themselves into skeptics — one who finds it hard to believe in something. It quietly begs the question: what, then, is truly the truth?

The modern plague is fake news because it is invisible yet dangerous, spreading quickly. It can easily infect anyone, through the psychological phenomenon called ‘confirmation bias,’ paired with the rising dependency-level on social media, as well as the constant monitoring of algorithms. Skepticism might also follow after you become aware of the issues, as what could easily happen after much overthinking. This leads to the antidote-question: how, then, can you fight the modern plague?

Socrates had once explained that he knew only one thing, and it is that he did not know anything. He taught about humility, recognizing the incompleteness of your knowledge, and that the first step is to acknowledge your normal, human flaws. You can take in information but make sure to always double-check it. You should be objective, unbiased, but still have an aim and a purpose. In the end, while the modern plague is invisible, the true antidote is still in plain sight: you.