Fake it till you make it: The role, impact and consequences of fake news

Abstract

This chapter deals with the emergence and proliferation of fake news. The phenomenon of fake news, albeit far from new, can hardly have escaped anyone. In the last year, fake news has been seen to have influenced the US elections and the British Brexit vote, and locally in South Africa Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, newspaper editors and journalists have become targets for fake news peddlers. In other instances breaking news on social media has turned out to be false and based on hoaxes and hearsay. This chapter addresses questions concerning the manifestations of fake news (globally as well as nationally), who drives these supposed news stories, what purpose or agendas some of the examples of fake news serve and what the grey zones are between the real and the fake, facts and perception. And, importantly, the chapter asks what can be done about the phenomenon.