The term hoax or fake news is now increasingly widely heard in cyberspace. The ease in spreading messages through social media makes it easy for hoaxes to develop quickly. Within minutes it could be said to have been shared hundreds of times by social media users or so-called netizens. In effect, people who don’t find out the truth are easily provoked and if left unchecked can cause riots. As a smart netizen, not all news that is spread around is swallowed raw just like that. If you don’t want to be involved with fake news, you must follow the following five ways to handle hoax news:
- Beware of Provocative News Titles
Generally hoax news is given a sensational and provocative title, for example it directly points to certain parties. The contents of the news can also be taken from the official media news, but there have been some info that has been changed to make the thought according to the creator of the hoax. So before you get consumed with the title and digest the info in the news, you should explore first by searching for similar news from the official media. Then compare the contents of both, whether the same or the opposite. If the answer is contrary, we can be sure it is fake news.
- Check the Facts
How to deal with hoax news is to check the facts of the news that is spread. Check the source, whether it is from an official institution or not. If the information comes from mass organizations, observers, or political figures, don’t be quick to believe it. Also pay attention to the balance of the news source by looking for other sources so you can compare the whole picture and the authenticity of the info in it.
After that, look at the type of news that you read, based on facts or opinions. Facts are events that occur with testimony and evidence, while opinions are opinions of news writers so they can tend to be subjective.
- Examine the Authenticity of Photos
News content is not only in the form of text, but also includes photographs and even videos to support the news content. But thanks to the sophistication of digital technology, now photos and videos can be edited to influence readers. Here you have to research the authenticity of the media using the Google search engine. The trick is to do a drag-and-drop into the Google Images search field. Then you will get search results that present similar images on the internet for you to compare.
- Search for a Site Address
Some news even dared to include the site address or link so that it seemed authentic. But don’t believe right away. You are obliged to search the site’s address whether it has been verified as an official press institution or not. Usually sites that use a blog domain can not be recognized the truth. In a Press Council note, there are around 43,000 sites in Indonesia that claim to be news portals, but only 300 sites have been verified as official news sites. That means there are tens of thousands of sites that have the potential to spread fake news on the internet that you need to be aware of.
- Join the Anti-Hoax Group
How to deal with the latest hoax news you can do is to join an anti-hoax group that is now widely available on the internet. For example, on Facebook there are several anti-hoax fanpage and discussion groups, such as the Anti-Defamation, Hasut and Hoax (FAFHH) Forum, Lifeboat Group, Indonesian Hoax Buster Fanpage & Group, and Indonesian Hoaxes Fanpage. In these groups, you can read the clarifications that have been given by others or ask whether an information that you read is a hoax or not.
How to Report Hoax News
If you find any hoax news, especially those that have entered a dangerous stage, it never hurts to report it to the social media where the news is spread. Usually each social media already has a Report feature for content or comments that are known to violate. As with Facebook, there is a Report Status feature and in it there is a choice of violation type categories. If there are many complaints from users, Facebook will delete the status.
The Google search engine also has a feedback feature to report sites from search results when they contain false information. Then on Twitter there is the Report Tweet feature to report negative tweets. Likewise on Instagram, there is a Report feature as spam or inappropriate content.
