Fake News on Social Media
We all probably know it and most of us use it more than once a day. Indeed, I am talking about the great social network Facebook. But is this media platform really as great as anyone thinks? Not for everyone. Especially, not for the 19 years-old Syrian refugee Anas Modamani.
It all began on 10th September, 2015, with a selfie he took of himself and Angela Merkel while the chancellor was visiting a refugee shelter in Berlin-Spandau. This selfie immediately spread through the media as well as the social networks and became the symbol for Angela Merkel’s refugee policy. But, unfortunately for Anas Modamani, this picture marked his destiny. After the terror attacks in Brussels right-wing propaganda websites accused the young refugee to be the perpetrator. Rapidly, Modamani’s image was shared on Facebook on a series of anonymous accounts alongside posts claiming he was responsible for attacks and murder, etc. The best example of this shows a post that falsely linked Modamani to an incident in Berlin when a group of refugees set fire to a sleeping homeless man on a train station platform. Unfortunately, this post was shared 500 times and was likely to have been seen by at least 25,000 people.
Nowadays, the social network platform Facebook is no longer what it was in 2004. Swearing and racist comments increase on Facebook. Insults, hate speeches, Nazi quotations, and sometimes even murder threats — all of this can be found on Facebook and Twitter as well as in comment and editoral columns of news sites daily. Therefore, the question unfolds as to how can we protect ourselves from such contents and comments? Anas Modamani, in this case, sued Facebook for spreading fake news. For instance, the post about Modamani setting fire to a sleeping homeless man being shared 500 times via Facebook is not regarded as a series of violations of the “Community-Standards”. Therefore, Facebook is refusing to delete the defamatory material since they are not violating German Rights. But social media platforms don’t understand how such accusations can change someone’s life.
So what can we do to stop false accusations? First, report it to the platform operators. For instance, on Facebook, you find a separate button under each comment or video that offers you this option. In addition to that you can report false contents giving relevant details. Afterwards the user is able to contact the commentator, block him, or deliver the case to Facebook. Secondly, report it to the local police.
