The threat of “fake news” is a total hoax. The kind of people who believe that 5G is causing coronavirus are going to believe that regardless. That isn’t a threat to people who wouldn’t be prone to believing it.
The reason that fake news is advertised as this big problem, with the media claiming that people are so stupid they will believe anything, is that they want to shut down real news.
In reality, the people are much more confused and bedazzled by the statements of the mainstream media and the government than they are by some stupid hoax.
Studies have suggested social media is rife with disinformation, with surveys showing a high proportion of people have been exposed to false or misleading claims about COVID-19, fueling dramatic headlines.
But our six-week diary study of news audiences between April 16 and May 27 found that the vast majority of our panel of 200 participants could easily spot fake news. They found stories such as the conspiracy theory that 5G is responsible for the spread of COVID-19 or the quack remedy that gargling with saltwater cures coronavirus immediately suspect.
So it wasn’t fake news being peddled on social media or conspiracy websites that was of most concern. When we asked them about what false or misleading information about COVID-19 they had encountered, many instead referenced examples of what they saw as government or media misinformation.
Our panel of news audiences was made up from a representative mix of the UK population. We mainly asked them questions aimed at finding out about their knowledge of the pandemic and the way it was reported by news media.
The article goes on to explain that the number one thing people were confused about was the way the media reported various plans. They also said they thought the government was lying about death tolls.
This is the same for every issue, because the government/media want the people confused. The entire reason that they spread fear about fake news is that they don’t want people like me, Alex Jones or David Icke spreading real information to combat their own hoaxes.