Based on the obtained research results, a proposal for future research can be made. Using the CrowdTangle tool, you can analyze which categories of Facebook users are more likely to distribute posts with false content. Based on the specified user data, it is possible to determine the age, gender, preferences, and other information about the person who distributed the publication. In addition, in this thesis, the CrowdTangle tool was used only to obtain information on Facebook, as the most popular social network. However, CrowdTangle may also collect data from Twitter, Reddit, and Instagram, which can expand the ability to track the spread of fake news on social media.
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5 CONCLUSION
Despite all the attempts of the governments of countries and media giants, fake news continues to feel great today. Almost any significant event in our world is accompanied by the appearance of rumors and speculation, which often spread faster than real news. And although companies like Facebook, Google, and Twitter are trying to filter the information flow circulating in their space, there is still no unified tool for instant identification and fight against fake news. Future research in neural networks and machine learning may be able to train algorithms to accurately and quickly target the sources of misinformation, while now it is necessary to raise the level of public awareness of one of the most important issues of the digital age - fake news. It is extremely important to educate netizens1 about the importance of thinking critically and validating the information they want to share.
This thesis describes the main methods of information verification, as well as ways and tools for countering fake news. In addition, the thesis introduces in detail the phenomenon of fake news, classifies them, and describes their impact. This paper also describes the concept of social media as one of the platforms in the formation and dissemination of fake news. 202 fake news articles were analyzed, correlations between quantitative and qualitative characteristics were found. The thesis confirms the hypothesis that fake news is written in the most accessible way, to be understood by the widest possible audience. Moreover, the hypothesis was confirmed that fake news often does not have a source, or the source is unreliable. The thesis also provides suggestions for future research into the creation and distribution of fake news on social media.
1 Netizen- network citizen; person who is an internet user
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7 LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: The most popular social media platforms worldwide (Statista, 2020) ... 16
Figure 2: Daily time spent on social networking sites from 2012 to 2019 (Statista, 2020) .... 18
Figure 3: Average time spent on social media by platforms (FameMass, 2019) ... 18
Figure 4: Timeline of the popularity of the search query "fake news" in the world (Google Trends, 2020) ... 19
Figure 5: The most popular topics among fake news (Vosoughi, Roy & Aral, 2018) ... 21
Figure 6: Edited photo from the G20 summit (TJournal, 2017) ... 26
Figure 7: Consequences of fake news (Berdyugina et al, 2019) ... 27
Figure 8: Comparison of the number of fake news and mainstream news (Buzzfeed, 2016) .. 28
Figure 9: Top 5 Fake Elections Stories (Buzzfeed, 2016) ... 29
Figure 10: Share of adults who saw any fake news stories (Statista, 2018) ... 29
Figure 11: "Sensational photo", which captures the attack of a Ukrainian military aircraft on the Malaysian Boeing MH17 (Ukrinform, 2017) ... 32
Figure 12: Survey of residents of the United Kingdom on the frequency of fake news about the coronavirus (Statista, 2020) ... 34
Figure 13: Most trusted sources of information worldwide from 2012 to 2020 (Statista, 2020) ... 35
Figure 14: An example of messages that Twitter would identify as "harmful misinformation" (Twitter, 2020) ... 37
Figure 15: The problem of fake news in EU countries (Statista, 2020) ... 39
Figure 16: Ukrainian soldier kissing the US flag (StopFake, 2015) ... 47
Figure 17: Photo analysis using FotoForensics (FotoForensics, n.d.) ... 47
Figure 18: Example of the information displayed by the CrowdTangle plugin (source: author)... 50
Figure 19: An example of analyzing a news article by displaying user reactions on Facebook (source: author) ... 50
Figure 20: Types of reactions on Facebook (Facebook, n.d.) ... 51
Figure 21: List of sites with fake news (source: author) ... 56
Figure 22: Categorization of fake news by category (source: author) ... 57
Figure 23: The ratio of satirical articles to "real" ones (source: author) ... 58
Figure 24: The ratio of articles about famous people to ordinary people (source: author) ... 58
Figure 25: The ratio of articles with links to a source of articles without a source (source: author)... 59
Figure 26: News Publication by Average Readability (Tauberg, 2019) ... 60
Figure 27: Using reactions to posts with a link to fake news (source: author) ... 61
Figure 28: Reaction usage in top shared posts on Facebook in September 2017 (Statista, 2019) ... 62
Figure 29: Correlation between the number of user reactions and comments under news posts on Facebook (source: author) ... 62
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Figure 30: correlation between the number of user reactions and shares of posts on
Facebook (source: author) ... 63 Figure 31: Posting the same news at different times on Facebook (source: author) ... 65
79 Appendix A- The CRAAP Test Evaluation Criteria
The following text presents the main criteria for testing a source of information using the CRAAP method:
source: https://library.csuchico.edu/sites/default/files/craap-test.pdf
80 Appendix B- Part of the table with fake articles
What's the headline of the news? URL of news?
Flesch Kincaid
LOTTERY WINNER ARRESTED FOR DUMPING $200,000 OF MANURE ON
EX-BOSS’ LAWN
WOMAN SUES SAMSUNG FOR $1.8M AFTER CELL PHONE GETS STUCK
INSIDE HER VAGINA
Florida Man Arrested For Tranquilizing And Raping Alligators In Everglades
Two altar boys were arrested for putting weed in the censer-burner
Man Eats Girlfriends Booty For The First Time Dies From E. Coli PROUDLY BREAKS WORLD RECORD BY
GETTING HER 27TH ABORTION
New mosquito species discovered that can get you pregnant with a single bite
https://thereisnews.com/new- mosquito-species-discovered-can-make-you-pregnant/
66,40 Health No
Gives birth to a black child and blames the coffee her husband drinks
https://thereisnews.com/birth-black-child-blames-coffe/ 79,80 Health No
Female Legislators Unveil ‘Male Ejaculation Bill’ Forbidding The Disposal Of Unused Semen
https://www.burrardstreetjournal.
com/female-legislators-unveil-male-ejaculation-bill/
58,70 Health No
North Korea Says H-Bomb Can Obliterate Whole Of U.S.
https://newspunch.com/north- korea-says-h-bomb-can-obliterate-whole-of-u-s/
66,60 Politics Yes
British Citizens Told to Brace For Another 9 Million Muslims
https://newspunch.com/british-citizens-9-million-muslims/ 60,80 Politics Yes
FLORIDA: BABYSITTER TIED CRYING ONE-MONTH-OLD BABY TO CEILING FAN
FOR 26 HOURS
Florida Man Accidentally Burns Home Down After Lighting Nike Shoes On Fire In Protest Of
Nike’s Colin Kaepernick Ad
81
Beloved Actor And Back To The Future Star Michael J. Fox has died at the age of 57
Anthony Bourdain Found Dead, Death Ruled Suicide
https://neonnettle.com/news/4269
-anthony-bourdain-found-dead-death-ruled-suicide
64,70 Crime/Violence Yes
Viral Sensation "Lil Tay" Has Been Picked Up By Los Angeles Child Protection Services
https://www.huzlers.com/viral- sensation-lil-tay-has-been-
picked-up-by-los-angeles-child-protection-services/
69,00 Crime/Violence No
CANADIAN TRAPPER SURVIVES BRUTAL SEXUAL ASSAULT BY 200-POUND
BEAVER
Al Franken Sexiest Politician Alive https://en.mediamass.net/people/
al-franken/sexiest-alive.html 73,80 Politics Yes
Federal Judge “Shocked” That Obama State Dept Lied to Cover for Hillary Clinton
https://www.truthandaction.org/f ederal-judge-shocked-that-
obama-state-dept-lied-to-cover-for-hillary-clinton/
54,50 Politics Yes
11 Year Old Boy Arrested For Yodeling In A Walmart Store
https://www.huzlers.com/11- year-old-boy-arrested-for-yodeling-in-a-walmart-store/
64,50 Crime/Violence No
Old Man Remembers When Things Cost Roughly The Same As Now After Adjusting For
Inflation
Ireland celebrates abortion becoming legal by aborting Mrs Brown’s Boys
Report: Deep State to Pull the Plug on the Market
https://www.truthandaction.org/r
eport-deep-state-to-pull-the-plug-on-the-market/
64,50 Politics Yes
President Obama Confirms He Will Refuse To
President Obama Confirms He Will Refuse To