‘If it’s fake, it’s not news!’, reminds professor

Disinformation or what has become known as “fake news” is on the increase, as efforts to fight the spread of the Covid-19 virus intensify, but a media expert said the key is to counter it with consistent fact-checking by the media and denunciation by authorities.

The expert said journalists involved in disseminating disinformation must be identified and isolated.

Anton Harber, a Caxton Professor of Journalism at Wits University told The Citizen that everyone had a role to play in countering this threat.

“Journalists have to do their job of verification and correction. Government have to act against those who do it deliberately and maliciously, or who allow their platforms to carry it. Social media has to take responsibility for their content and every citizen has to be aware and alert to spot misinformation and denounce it,” Harber said.

Harber was reacting to the widespread dissemination of disinformation via social media platforms by individuals, organisations and even government officials of various countries. Some of the global media carried the fake news probably for propaganda purposes, but some in South Africa had to retract and apologise.

South African society had been flooded with video and audio recordings and text messages on social media by local individuals passing disinformation about the virus. Some warned members of the public to refuse being tested, alleging the equipment being used by government was contaminated with coronavirus.

A Cape Town man, Stephen Donald Birch, was arrested and appeared in court on Tuesday, after he distributed a video of himself making the false claim. He was charged with breaching the Disaster Management Regulations and was released on warning until 14 July.

Harber expressed appreciation of the fightback in South Africa.

“We are seeing a fightback against disinformation from the journalists and communicators who are fighting the disease. The disinformation is costing lives, making the work of real journalists – those who see it as essential to verify, select, edit, confirm and correct – more important than ever. Sadly, there are malicious individuals and hostile governments deliberately using misinformation to cause instability and harm,” he said.

“And there are international leaders and presidents who spread it – and this is incredibly dangerous. We are making progress against them, with most social media taking measures against disinformation (though not enough) as well as government action against those doing it deliberately and maliciously. In the end, it depends on citizens being aware and alert enough to identify and reject information from dubious sources.”

Harber refused to call it “fake news”, arguing that “If it is fake, it can’t be news.”

The expert said the whole purpose of disinformation was to throw out enough noise so that people would be uncertain of what was true and start to distrust any authority and media, “because it is in such situations that populism and authoritarianism can flourish and democracy is undermined”.

Asked what media should do to navigate this minefield of disinformation, Harber said fact-checking organisations like AfricaCheck were giving training, developing tools, and giving assistance to media and journalists who want to prevent the spread of disinformation.

“Journalists have to professionalise, to make sure they have the knowledge and tools to do what journalists do: select, verify, edit, check, confirm and confirm again. And we have to identify and isolate those who pretend to be journalists but spread disinformation,” he said.

ericn@citizen.co.za

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