The Notorious P.I.B.
Introducing an Icon
What Do You Think and What Do You See?
You’re probably thinking ‘big’. You’re probably thinking ‘bad’. You’re probably thinking ‘gangster’.
Are you?
If so, I’m sorry to disappoint.
You’re probably not thinking ‘sausage’, or ‘bacon’, or ‘wraps’. And you’re definitely not thinking ‘stuffed on top of a cheesecake’.
But what you see is what get.
And what you’ve got is fake news.
Revealing The Notorious P.I.B!
‘The most controversial Pleesecake to date! This savoury cheesecake will make the perfect Christmas or Boxing day centre piece. With a cheddar cheese with thyme oatmeal base, a savoury cheesecake filling with pigs in blankets, fresh thyme and fresh sage. Topped with a caramelised onion chutney, crispy pigs in blankets and fresh sprigs of thyme and rosemary’. (Pleesecakes, 2020)
Gangster or Gorgeous?
It’s not really that bad is it? I could have revealed something far worse than a savoury cheesecake.
But that’s the problem with ‘fake news’, you never really know what you’re getting.
A pigs-in-blankets cheesecake may not be what you were expecting, but you’re open to surprises, up for a challenge. It actually looks quite appetising, far better than any ‘I’m A Celebrity’ alternative.
Not particularly gangster though, is it?
Not notably notorious. But at least it comes with a wrapper…
Only problem is, it’s the plastic kind.
Instagram says that it’s great, that it’s: ‘CONTROVERSIAL…sure. Delicious, tasty, moorish, banging & UNREAL…most certainly.’ (Instagram, 2020)
Controversial? Unreal? Maybe you should give it a chance. A cheesecake that is edgy, that looks hardcore, and is privy to a lot of swearing.
All it needs now is the other kind of ‘rap’, a bandana and a pretty cool ‘street’ name.
Something like ‘The Notorious P.I.B.’ maybe? That sounds pretty ‘gangster’ to me.
Delight or Disappointment?
That depends on whether you prefer gangsters or cheesecake. Either way, you’re not getting what you expected.
But that’s how fake news works. You don’t always see what you get, or get what you see.
What Do You Know? Fake News Facts.
You probably don’t know as much as you should. You do know that fake news is ‘false stories that appear to be news, spread on the internet or other media, usually created to influence political views or as a joke.’ (Cambridge Dictionary, 2020)
It’s not a surprise. It is all fake, after all.
If you didn’t know, there are seven players in the ‘fake news’ team (Wardle, 2012), and two positions to play in: ‘misinformation’ and ‘disinformation’.
All players are from the ‘Premiership’, and have honed their skills in their respective areas. Most of them know how to play at all levels, and many have numerous ‘caps’ for their team.
To play in ‘disinformation’, players must be at the top of their game, be experienced in the field and have mastered the fundamentals of ‘misinformation’. To be completely effective, players must also develop new skills, including wilful defending, aggressive attacking and demonstrate as much fancy footwork as possible. And if at any point they are presented with a red card, they must practise plausible denial.
Confused? You Should Be.
If you’re not already confused, you really should be. I’m deliberately not making this easy for you. Fake news doesn’t make it easy for you.
Fake news is designed to confuse us, to distort the truth for the purpose of gain. The easier it is to distort, the easier it is to gain. Who gains depends on the means and method of distortion — misinformation or disinformation. One thing’s for certain , it probably won’t be you.
To help arm you with ‘knowledge’, please note the following:
Misinformation is ‘false information that is spread, regardless of whether there is intent to mislead’. (Misinformation, 2020). Think team ‘Fake News’.
Disinformation is ‘false information, as about a country’s military strength or plans, disseminated by a government or intelligence agency in a hostile act of tactical political subversion.’ (Disinformation, 2020) Think Premiership level.
‘Disinformation’ is actually the intentional spread of ‘misinformation’ to achieve a predetermined aim. (Mis, 2020) Think Plausible Denial.
If you ever decide to write fake news, this information will come in handy.
Fake News: Making False Connections.
‘When headlines, visuals or captions do not support the content, this is an example of false connection.’ (EMAC, 2020)
This should be an easy one for you.
You haven’t forgotten the heading already have you?
‘The Notorious P.I.B: Introducing an Icon.’
It grabbed your attention just five minutes ago, filled you with anticipation. Did you realise that? Did you get what you expected when you clicked the link?
Probably not.
But then the headline was a hook, designed to prime but not to deliver. It had you ready and primed for a ‘fake’ gangster feature.
And in return, what was delivered?
What made that false connection?
‘Fake news’ and a boring blog.
And a sudden craving for some cheesecake…
Reference List
· Cambridge Dictionary. 2020 Fake News [online] Available at: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/fake-news?q=fake%2Bnews [Accessed 21/11/20]
· Dictionary.com. 2020. Disinformation [online] Available at: Available at: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/disinformation?s=t [Accessed 26/11/20]
· Dictionary.com. 2020. Misinformation [online] Available at: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/misinformation [Accessed 26/11/20]
· Dictionary.com. 2020 “Misinformation” vs. “Disinformation”: Get Informed On The Difference [online] Available at: https://www.dictionary.com/e/misinformation-vs-disinformation-get-informed-on-the-difference/ [Accessed 26/11/20
· EMAC Project. 2020 Media Disinformation [online] Available at: http://ethicalmediatraining.eu/training/activities/media-disinformation/#:~:text=site%20is%20satirical.-,False%20Connection,of%20content%20is%20clickbait%20headlines. [Accessed 26/11/20]
· Instagram. 2020 Introducing the Pigs in Blankets Cheesecake! [online]Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/CHLEbQEncAK/ [Accessed 26/11/20]
· Pleesecakes Wholesale Ltd. 2020 The Notorious P.I.B. [online] Available at: https://www.pleesecakes.com/collections/the-notorious-p-i-b/ [Accessed 25/11/20]
· Wardle, Claire. 2012 Fake News it’s Complicated [online] Available at: https://firstdraftnews.org/latest/fake-news-complicated/ [Accessed 26/11/20]
