Social media feeds fake news to mainstream media

ISLAMABAD: Nawaz Sharif had agreed to live in exile in Saudi Arabia, Imran Khan is getting married for the third time, elected assemblies are being dissolved and China is backing off from economic corridor projects, all of these “news stories” have been sold during last few weeks and months by various Pakistani media outlets but none of them could turn out to be true. During last few days, at least four such fake news stories made it from social media to mainstream media only to be proven wrong yet neither any action has been taken against people involved in reporting them nor any apology rendered by any media group spreading them.

In the absence of accountability culture at media organisations, business of fake news is booming in Pakistan misguiding millions of news consumers and further eroding credibility of media in the eyes of public. Recently Chinese diplomats and officials have also expressed concern over spread of fake stories related to China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The trend is not peculiar to Pakistan. After 2016 US elections, Fake News has become a serious global issue which is being considered to be a threat to democracy everywhere. In a survey conducted by Dawn.com this year, 57.5 per cent of 1,705 respondents felt fake news was a major problem in Pakistan. Social media is a major culprit in promoting fake news but unfortunately Pakistan’s mainstream media is not immune to the problem either.

During last few days, it was reported that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif are being interrogated in Saudi Arabia “for their alleged corruption”. Those spreading the story insulted the intelligence of their audience by ignoring the fact that the two leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz were travelling on special planes sent by Saudi Royal family. One wonders why would an accused happily rush towards a special plane that is taking him for interrogation? But the story like every other fake story went viral.

Second story by a Pakistani journalist even made it to a supposedly respected British newspaper The Times. The story claimed that Nawaz is ready to live in exile under a deal brokered by rulers in Riyadh. Even when the news of former prime minister’s return to Pakistan on Tuesday was flashing on TV, the said reporter was still claiming his story was correct. No apology was offered for the fake/incorrect news.

Third story being spread did also revolved around Sharif’s mysterious dash to Saudi Arabia. The story claimed that the two PML-N leaders are about to sign an NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance), a notorious deal sign between the than dictator, Pervez Musharraf and the leadership of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) to quash corruption cases against the later.

Fourth fake story played by a media group was about death of two policemen who were run over by a speeding car in Defence area of Lahore on the eve of New Year. Initially, ARY News reported that the car belonged to the son of Mian Munir, who happens to be a relative (samdhi) of Maryam Nawaz Sharif, daughter of PML-N chief. However it turned out that the Maryum’s relative had nothing to do with the car. Again no apology or clarification was offered by the TV channel.

This is not the first time fake news was spread through mainstream media. A TV channel claimed a couple of months ago that Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has decided to dissolve the assemblies and the decision will be announced within a couple of day. Till today the channel is yet to apologise for the fake story.

The story about Imran’s third marriage was also run by a TV channel many months ago. But no apology or clarification was issued by the channel for the fake story.

The story about National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq’s attempt to file a complaint against Justice Asif Saeed Khosa in the Supreme Judicial Council also turned out to be fake.

Some TV anchor spread fake news almost daily in their shows but rarely, we see any apology from them for the stories that turn out wrong. Some of them even play fake videos and doctored pictures in their programmes as legitimate evidence against their targets.

Fake news has become a global phenomenon during last two years after President Trump’s shocking victory. But there is one critical difference between Pakistan and the rest of the world.

Mainstream media organisations world over are trying to counter fake news through effective mechanism. Mainstream US media organisation like The New York Times, the Washington Post and CNN have not only trained their journalists to be on guard against fake news but also devised mechanism to make sure fake news is filtered out from their news stream.

Social media giants Facebook, Twitter and Google are developing algorithms to detect and discourage fake news. Fact checking websites and Truth-o-meters have been developed to verify claims and differentiate between truth and falsehood. The US universities and media training organisations are investing in research projects to deal with the menace of fake news.

Experts believe Pakistani news organisations also need to follow the example of the developed world’s media. “Pakistan media must train journalists to verify facts from multiple sources before reporting stories,” said Dr Rauf Arif, a former Pakistani journalist who is now teaching modern journalism at Texas Tech University, the United States. He also called for including fake news in curriculum of Pakistani journalism schools. “Credibility is critical for media and fake news is the greatest threat to credibility in this era. News organisation need to realise this as soon as possible,” Dr Arif said, adding that fake news can also hurt economy and stability of a country like Pakistan where foreign investors are reluctant to make financial commitment in the environment of uncertainty.