Fake News in Modern Media Space

Abstract

The author attempts to provide theoretical understanding of the essence and content of the media space. It was determined that the primary task of the media space is to understand our reality, to implement effective communication and to form public opinion. The author mentions that the modern media space functions in the conditions of increasing speed of communication processes which generate “waves” of information noise. Thus, fake news appears in the media field increasingly frequently. The author found out that the content of the «fake news» concept has not been clearly defined yet and comprehensive studies of this relatively new phenomenon are not available either. There are no definite criteria for classifying news as fake. According to the author, fake news is completely or partially fictional information about certain individuals, public events and events in general, which is presented in the media as real authoritative journalistic materials. The article describes the mechanism of the origin of fake news and its distribution in the media space. The main reasons for faking include the high rate of content delivery, the “infotainment” and the relaying nature of journalism. The results of the study allow the author to define fake news as discretely existing types of news. The author also considers national cultural features and the mechanism of distribution of false news in Internet networks. Specific Russian- and English-language sites hosting fake news are analyzed, their impact on society is studied. The author concludes that systematic misinformation of the audience leads to de-professionalization, discrediting of media workers and de-institutionalization of journalism. The article presents data indicating the concern of the world community about the distribution of fake Internet content. There are examples of the creation of special government organizations and the development of legislative initiatives to combat fakes. The author gives a number of recommendations to identify fake news in the wide media space.