MPs consider the threat posed by fake news on democracy
A cross party group of MPs has been tasked with exploring the potential threat to democracy instilled by the propagation of ‘fake news’ articles online, amid alarm at claims voters were swayed in the recent US election by articles promoting falsehoods shared on social media.
The Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee will investigate where such propaganda emanates from, how it spreads online and how it might influence real world politics.
Committee chair Damian Collins warned that the spread of fabricated news articles is "a threat to democracy and undermines confidence in the media in general".
Collins added: "Just as major tech companies have accepted they have a social responsibility to combat piracy online and the illegal sharing of content, they also need to help address the spreading of fake news on social media platforms.
"Consumers should also be given new tools to help them assess the origin and likely veracity of news stories they read online.”
One specific line of enquiry will focus on the way advertising is traded and placed online amidst claims that the existing model encourages websites to share fake news. Mooted solutions include shaking up search engine algorithms and social media share metrics to stifle flagged content.
The Commons select committee is currently taken written evidence ahead of its inquiry, focusing particularly on the following questions:
- What is 'fake news'? Where does biased but legitimate commentary shade into propaganda and lies?
- What impact has fake news on public understanding of the world, and also on the public response to traditional journalism? If all views are equally valid, does objectivity and balance lose all value?
- Is there any difference in the way people of different ages, social backgrounds, genders etc use and respond to fake news?
- Have changes in the selling and placing of advertising encouraged the growth of fake news, for example by making it profitable to use fake news to attract more hits to websites, and thus more income from advertisers?
- What responsibilities do search engines and social media platforms have, particularly those which are accessible to young people? Is it viable to use computer-generated algorithms to root out 'fake news' from genuine reporting?
- How can we educate people in how to assess and use different sources of news?
- Are there differences between the UK and other countries in the degree to which people accept 'fake news', given our tradition of public service broadcasting and newspaper readership?
- How have other governments responded to fake news?
Despite concerns a study by two US economists found that only half the people who read a false story believed it to be true and even the most widely read examples were seen by only a fraction of the population.