World Press Review

Social media and its impacts

n this digital era, full of technology and online reviews, people mostly depend upon the news and information which they see and hear on the social platforms. Today’s generation mostly read virtual news instead of the published newspapers, and there is a huge fan following and craze for these social media platforms in today’s time. Social media is not a bad idea to follow or have an account on them but there is a huge increase in fake news on these platforms which people easily believe without crosschecking them. There are very famous social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Snapchat which are well known and three-fourth of the world’s population is having their account on these platforms. These are mostly famous for sharing your thoughts and posts with your pictures and having chats with the virtual friends worldwide. Instagram and Facebook are the mostly used social media platforms in the world. People enjoy and also make their pages for their business or online promotion of things on these platforms but in addition of all these advantages they also have a backdrop that if there is any false news is posted without verification on these platforms then it spreads with a speed of sound throughout the world as people use social media globally and it’s like involving ourselves into a cyber crime to spread any fake news or rumor into these platforms without having any knowledge about them. So if these platforms are being used only for fun, enjoyment or promotion with use of proper language and information it’s very good to spend time on these but a little mistake can make a very bad impact on people’s mindset worldwide. It isn’t just the large platforms where mass miscommunication is happening. Fake news is spread everywhere from email newsletters and forums to dating sites and free meet n fuck apps. These seem innocuous, but all online platforms have their vulnerabilities.

Coping and adapting

At first if we are reading any news or information on these platforms first we have to cross check them with any official source and should not forward that news to others without any verification because if there is a bad news or tragic news about which is fake and we and many others like us forward this without any knowledge it can last a bad impact on people’s mind across the world. Like if we are forwarding any news of a bomb blast in a country which is fake we can imagine what would be the situation of their family members and friends who are living miles away from them in a different place. Worry, tension, anxiety have some instant impact on people’s health that can affect them very badly and by forwarding these kinds of fake news and messages we all are being involved in these crimes unknowingly. Who will be responsible for the loss of their peace of mind? So if we don’t want to get involved in these kinds of cyber crimes we should first verify and then forward such news and messages further to any other platforms. As if we have to buy anything first we check the items carefully and then take it and if there is any problem regarding that we don’t take it and also warn others to not take it, so in the virtual world this is also our moral responsibility to not to accept any fake news and also warn and stop others to do that so for the well being of everybody.

Cyber crimes

After so many of such incidents there are some official laws and rules are being implemented by the government of all the countries worldwide that if there is anyone being caught to forward some fake news or false rumor that is not correct and affecting people in any manner, they can be arrested under cyber crime laws and also get punished by cyber police either by taking them into jails or imposing any fine upon them. People can also fire their complaint at cyber police stations if there is anyone bullying or using bad language against them on social platforms and they get punished for their crimes. Social media platforms like facebook and instagram have also made some strict rules and policies regarding these incidents that if there is any rumor spread which is not right or people posting news regarding any religion or community, or posting fake news of political background or rumors of any celebrities death or using any bad and abusing language they can eventually block their accounts from social media platforms and also ban them in the future so that they cannot misuse these mediums to spread rumors knowingly or unknowingly.

We can also check that if any news is fake or not by applying some easy and smart methods too. Like we have to check the domain and URL link which we are receiving is having the proper standard domain address or not? Like the reliable websites or news portals have the standard URLs like .com, .in and .edu. So first we have to check the given link address and its reliability.

Secondly we can check if the news is fake or not by checking the news on the official websites like if we are seeing any news regarding any natural calamity at a country then first check the official twitter accounts of their government leaders and news portals which are having the blue tick on their right sides. If there is the same news about that then yes it is correct but if there is any fake news or only rumors then the official account will never post any fake news without any proof related to that. So if the news is correct we can forward it and let the people know about this but if it is not true we should never forward this type of fake news and rumors.

We can also check the websites by checking about their reviews by people on Google because their reviews can tell us that the particular website from which we are receiving the news or seeing that has any reliable standard or not to believe that news. So being a responsible citizen we must follow these rules to have a better global environment for people.