Internet Became Misinformation Superhighway In A Matter Of = Days

It's human nature to want to believe that what we see on the printed = page=20 actually represents reality. We've tended to accept the proposition that = what we=20 read in reputable newspapers or hear from the mass media wouldn't be = printed or=20 broadcast unless there were at least some truth in what was being = disseminated.=20

But it wasn’t until FakedNews.com appeared on the Internet this = November that=20 such a flow of misinformation and hoaxes hit the Internet. FakedNews.com = suggests to write a news story about your friend, relative etc. and make = it=20 appear as if the story were published on some of the most trustworthy = news=20 websites – CNN, The Washington Post, etc.

The URLs of the articles don’t differ from CNN’s or that = of other news=20 websites. Add to this the media's natural pattern with working interface = - and=20 the article looks perfectly inside the website.

The aim of the project’s creators was to provide people with = “high-tech=20 recreation services”, and they really did it – on the first = day over 10,000=20 visitors visited the website, and the number doubles every day (each = visitor=20 makes two news stories on average and sends them to the so-called = victims –=20 characters of the stories – then after the victims find out that = the news is a=20 joke, they come to the website and in their turn make two news stories=20 each).

However, some of Internet surfers used FakedNews in order to spread = rumors=20 about pop-stars and to seed panic notifying public about some dangerous = computer=20 viruses. Artem Orel, one of the creators of FakedNews, comments on the = fact: “We=20 expected that some people could abuse our service, but we did everything = to=20 prevent it. After reading the news, when you close the window, a = fast-loading=20 pop-up appears to tell you that the news is faked!”

BBC already reacted to the FakedNews boom: “BBC does not mind = FakedNews when=20 used for recreational purposes, but we do not want to spread some rumors = using=20 our name and therefore violating the reputation. If such cases are = detected,=20 we’ll ask FakedNews to remove our interface from their = website.”

Though it’s unknown how much of the public understands that the = news about=20 Bush’s anhtrax and Aguillera’s death are fake, these news = stories drew attention=20 of 30,000 visitors within first hours after being posted on FakedNews = and spread=20 all over the Internet. However, upon the discovery of these two and many = other=20 tricky articles, FakedNews administration decided to protect itself = against=20 scandals and deleted them from the website. “When you generate a = news story, you=20 are to sign the agreement that you will not use the service in order to = bring=20 harm to anybody,” said Dmitry Ambartsoumian, FakedNews producer. = “Yes, we are=20 for free speech, but we stand for free speech with responsibility. = Overall, the=20 agreement says that we preserve the right to delete any news story, and = we=20 sometimes have to do it for Internet’s information = safety.”

Author: Patricia Liller E-mail: patricia-liller@journalist= .com