It’s getting harder to separate real from fake news- BBC report

The report, “Duty, Identity, Credibility: Fake news and the ordinary citizen in Kenya and Nigeria – a comparative study, “explored discussions around fake news in Nigeria and Kenya asking questions about what makes ordinary citizen spread fake news without verification and why misinformation spreads on private and public networks.

The study authored by Santanu Chakrabarti, Head of Audiences, BBC World Service, found that most ordinary citizens in Nigeria and Kenya are concerned that fake news might be swamping legitimate news.

“Misleading headlines from the mainstream media, or taking short-cuts for verification when rushing to publish, are further blurring the lines between legitimate journalism and out and out misinformation,” the report said.

The study also found that while most people in both Nigeria and Kenya are checking the source and the sender of news content, assessing their credibility or not and actively verifying news using various signals to help assess if content is fake or not, this according to the report “is consequently also leading to people overestimating their ability to spot fake news.”

“Citizens are trying to verify through their own social networks instead of looking up legitimate news outlets leading to the unwitting spread of fake news,” the report added.

“At the moment there are some positive signs in behaviours and attitudes of citizens with respect to fake news. But some of the tactics they are adopting to separate fake from fact are liable to crack under the strain of heightened tensions or pressures during politically intense periods, say elections.”