Reality check

Have you heard that the Covid-19 vaccine will rewrite your DNA? If not, don't worry. It is fake news. What is true, however, is that debate about misinformation online reached a fever pitch this year.

From politicians calling for fake news to be banned, to others suggesting they should "weaponise" it, the public's ability to tell fact from fiction is increasingly contested.

Here are seven stories that show how fake news shaped this year.

First casualty. In January, Iran launched missiles at Iraqi airbases hosting US troops in retaliationCounter-attack. for the American assassination of general Qasem Soleimani. Many feared war. Iranian state TV announced that 80 "American terrorists" had been killed. The USA said it experienced no casualtiesIt was later admitted that 110 soldiers suffered from "traumatic brain injuries" as a result of the attack.. Some argued that "fake news" allowed both sides to save face and avoid conflict.

Covid-5G. By far the biggest subject for fake news this year was Covid-19. The stories were numerous and varied, but one popular one was that Covid-19 was caused by 5GFifth generation mobile broadband. This is the latest broadband technology for mobile phones, and is estimated to be many times faster than the current 4G. radiation. In Britain, 5G masts were attacked, and blame was often pointed at Bill Gates in what became an increasingly ByzantineExtremely complex. The term comes from a description of the Byzantine empire's bureaucracy, which was often thought to be excessively large and complicated. conspiracy theory.

Dolphins of Venice. When Coronavirus lockdowns began, social media was abuzz with animal news. Nature was healing. Venice, no longer clogged with tourists, now had clean canals down which Dolphins cruised. Sadly, the heartening video was actually from a different region of Italy.

Viral veganism. In India, a false story that that no-one who eschewedRefused or avoided. all animal products had contracted Covid-19 went viral. While this might not seem too harmful, the resulting drop in sales of meat and eggs hit farmers and butchers hard. Some saw the story as part of the promotion of HindutvaHindu nationalism. India's ruling BJP party is often accused of being Hindu nationalism and of discrimination against other religions. The role of vegetarianism in Hinduism is much debated, but it is sometimes used by nationalists as a way of drawing a dividing line between Hindus and non-Hindus. in India.

Constantine cancelled. The death of George Floyd at the hands of US police, kicked off a summer of protest against racism. IconoclastsPeople who want to destroy images. The term is now often used to refer to anyone who rejects established ways of thinking. tore down statues of historical figures they saw as racist. Rumours abounded about who was next to fall. Perhaps the oddest story was that York Minster planned to remove a statue of the Roman emperor Constantine because of his support for slaveryConstantine, who was the Roman Emperor and the founder of the Byzantine empire, like all Roman emperors, permitted the practice of slavery.. The Church of England was forced to state that they had no such plans.

Rigged election. A daring raid on a CIA server in Germany revealed the plot to rig the US election against Donald Trump... or so the fake story went. Its popularity is evidence of a stark epistemicPertaining to knowledge. An epistemic constraint is a limit on what you can know. divide among Americans. It is just one of many casting President Trump's loss this November as the result of fraud. The president has yet to concede officially, but some of his statements have been censored by social media companies, already treating him as yesterday's fake news.

Trained Triceratops. A video of a dinosaur being unloaded from a truck went viral this month in Indonesia. Many shared it in the belief that it was real. It turned out to be a robot filmed to promote a theme park. While some fake news stories are all about lies and Russian spies, others are simply about people seeing what they want to see.

How should we deal with fake news?

Regulate! say some. Social media companies should be responsible for information shared on their platforms. If they do not take action to stop lies being spread, then we will see ever more anger and division. Algorithms showing people what they want to read will combine with fake news to reinforce false beliefs. The lack of an objective standard of truth online could become dangerous.

Educate! say others. There have always been lies, mistakes and misrepresentations in the media. Allowing either the government or large companies to decide what is true or false is a recipe for disaster. What is to stop them from censoring their own critics? What is needed is the ability to discern reliable sources for oneself. And the best way to do that is to teach people about fake news.