Fake news: A threat to national security
ON 13 September 2021, President Alvi during his annual address to Parliament, besides other issues, also dwelled upon the issue of fake news.
President highlighted that Pakistanis needed to counter fake news as these sorts of stories were the reason behind one country going to war with another — pointing at the United States’ invasion of Iraq.
The word fake news got prominence during 2016 US presidential elections as huge number of fabricated stories to favour Donald Trump were circulated on social media platforms.
The Cambridge dictionary defines fake news as “ false stories that appear to be news, spread on the internet or using other media, usually created to influence political views or as a joke.
The fake news contains satirical articles (such as fake news briefs, interviews, and op-ed pieces), cartoons, and photos.”
Pervasiveness of information and communication technologies has increased the area of influence of media and spread of information manifolds.
Information revolution has resulted mushroom growth of TV channels besides more vibrant and ubiquitous social media.
Due to its ubiquity, the social media is more influencing and less regulated world over.
Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, etc. are primarily developed for connectivity for people living in different parts of the world.
However these platforms are also being used for spreading news and sharing views on different issues including political issues.
A study by MIT scholars found that false news spreads more rapidly on the social network platforms such as Twitter than real news does — and by a substantial margin. It is also observed that even after fake news is publicly debunked, traces of doubt often persist.
Pakistan is already facing challenges of hybrid war and systematic campaign has been launched to discredit the country.
On 9th December 2020, Brussels-based fake news watchdog EU DisinfoLab blew the lid off a systematic campaign stoking adverse views on Pakistan: a concerted program under the umbrella of the shadowy Delhi-based Srivastava Group.
EU DisinfoLab dug up startling revelations of a massive cross-continental network of hundreds of news outlets and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) — ten of them accredited with the United Nations — that debilitated Pakistan’s image and may have served as extensions and promoters of the Indian government’s foreign policy objectives.
A country like Pakistan where more than 60 % of population is under the of thirty years of age and where smart phone penetration is almost 77.7 of population.
It is imperative that all stake holders should ensure truthfulness of news especially concerning national institutions and leadership.
It is heartening that due to freedom of expression and functioning of democratic institutions Pakistan has thwarted all previous efforts of destabilization including fake news.
However, an unchecked campaign against national institutions including civil and military institutions can prove catastrophic.
In past world has witnessed the Facebook revolution in Middle East which resulted in regime change and instability in the Middle East.
There is subtle difference among false news, disinformation and misinformation. Treating every false news as fake news with mala-fide intent will bring chaos and will deprive end user of a developing story. The government should find ways and means to segregate fake news from a legitimate one.
Earlier the government had started a twitter account FakeNewsBusterMoIBto respond against fake news.
For more robust solutions technological advancements such as big data and AI can prove beneficial in this regard. Collaboration of Human and Artificial Intelligence has already impacted other domains and transparency has been ensured.
—The writer is contributing columnist.
