International fake news is just as bad as United States fake news, and you can also notice when it is fake.

A few examples are checking the url, who published the article, and see if there are any contact information or real addresses. Although most people in America don’t really know what is popular news in other countries, I’m sure you can tell if a site is fake or not.

I chose this site to give an example. http://drudgereport.com

As soon as you click on the link you see a very unprofessional picture.

The site is called “drudge report” and drudge means dull work.. That should be the first thing that makes you stop reading whatever else is on that site.

However there are a lot more reliable sites you can always go to for real news like msnbc, fox, or cnn.

International Fake News

International fake news is the same thing as fake news in the United States. The thing that makes them differ is what country it comes from. Fake news could come all the way from Japan, yet find its way on your Facebook newsfeed. It still amazes me that some people will read these fake news articles and believe them despite finding truth about the source. In todays world, people believe what they see and run with it from there.

The reason behind fake news can be different. Some decide to do fake news to promote or even hurt another. We seen many articles of fake news in the latest election between Clinton and Trump. In the little country of Macedonia, there is a team of teens who made a good amount of money by creating pro-trump fake news articles. These teens are a prime example of how easy it is to make money doing fake news internationally. There are however, real journalist who go out there way to try and stop fake news from happening.

We have seen what fake news might have did to our own election. But what about other countries? This year will be France who hold election and they want to do anything in their power to stop fake news from having a decision on the outcome. Working with google, many journalist have come together to create a fact check program. This could be a big step in stopping fake news articles becoming a factor in the election this year. As of right now, theres nothing The United States could do because its to late our election has ended with a winner. But maybe in the future, there could be a fix, just maybe.

Fact in the Face of Fiction

Some of us may hold onto the belief that fake news is a relatively new concept that was created by modern journalists hoping to make a quick buck. The fact of the matter, however, is that fake news has been a staple of booming societies around the world for longer than newspapers and magazines have been published.

“The Long and Brutal History of Fake News,” published by Politico Magazine, beautifully highlights the intricacies of fake news stories throughout the world. Writer Jacob Stoll claims that, “[fake news] has been around since news became a concept 500 years ago with the invention of print – a lot longer, in fact, than verified, “objective” news, which emerged in force a little more than a century ago.”

As Mr. Stoll points out, before most local newspapers began to regularly circulate news and information to the public, there were still oral exchanges of news and gossip throughout many towns, cities, and countries.

Two extreme examples of this ever-present phenomenon we now call fake news range from extreme political tales to modern day claims by Mr. Donald Trump that former President Obama illegally wiretapped and monitored his actions during the US election of 2016. Both of these instances have caused unrest and violence throughout the societies that they spread through, promoting anti-Semitic, white-supremacy, and violent behavior.

The number of fake news stories that exist throughout history are fascination and worrying, each one having the potential to evoke anger and misunderstandings. Each story has its own twist and impact.

Living in the age of social media complicates fake news even further. Now, the impact of this fake news phenomenon has a new platform to spread and grow from. Unfiltered, anonymous, and unsourced information-sharing is at an all-time high. Countries, when manipulated by the right people, can be controlled by the uneducated masses, but the power is never truly in their hands. These people, who hear and share biased tales of misinformation only add fuel to the destructive fires set by those who seek power over them.

Jumping back onto the topic of the US Presidential election highlights the influence that fake news had on the outcome of the 2016 election. Candidate Trump, who had already established a large Twitter following, took advantage of the social elevation that Twitter offered him.

Mr. Trump’s popularity amongst extremist or uneducated voters benefited greatly from the influence and claims of “fake news” that Trump spewed during the election. This platform offered him unfiltered, widely viewed, and free advertising opportunities for his fight to become America’s 45^th president.

Donald Trump’s political platform was easily accessible to his followers, and his campaign flourished because of this accessibility.

Now, three months into Trump’s “success story,” there has been a noticeable escalation in the realm of fake news and the spread of misinformation. In some instances, there have been attempts by men like Mr. Trump who seek to high-jack the term “fake news” and twist its definition to suit their agenda. In the presence of darker forms of fake news, the picture of this new evil is slowly coming into view.

President Trump uses his position as the President to start fights, spread outright lies as truth, and create chaos wherever he chooses. And now, others like him are starting to take pages from Mr. Trump’s playbook. From North Korea, to France, to Germany, and Russia, foreign leaders are beginning to use social media, fear mongering, and manipulative tactics to assure their positions in power.

Now, fake news is spreading across the world at a break-neck speed, and the rest of the world is being swept up into the vortex of lies and confusion that follows these stories.

Poor and voiceless people are being left behind to fend for themselves. Multiple countries around the world are being molded and manipulated to suit the needs of the few at the price of peoples’ livelihood.

Since Trump’s rise to power, countries such as Germany, who will soon to be holding their own federal elections, and Italy, whose government officials use social media to share propaganda which supports their cause and invalidates or demonizes their rivals, are just two examples of the danger of unfiltered fake news.

The citizens of these countries are worried for their futures, and the escalation on fake news in America has allowed fake news on an international scale to blow up spectacularly.

When it began, it is doubtful that anyone could have plotted out the actual impact that the election of Donald Trump would have on the rest of the world. And the US Presidential election is just the tip of the iceberg.

Crackdown on International Fake News

International fake news is just as a big problem as it is in the United States. The only difference is that countries like Germany and Indonesia have government programs that monitor online content that may be fake. Indonesian government will start to evaluate websites and social media accounts for fake news and Germany is trying to pass a law that would fine Facebook if there is a story online that is labeled as fake news, according to an article in the Epoch Times. 

 Josua Philipp, the author of a article in Epoch Times,  stated that fake news have been around for years but it did not become controversial until the 2016 elections. The news were saying that Russian propaganda helped Donald Trump win the election. There was a ton of news coverage on this, some may have been fake and some may have been straight up facts. According to the article, The controversy about the topic isn’t around actual fake news, but rather the fact that “fake news” lists have often bundled together. fake news websites with right-leaning news websites.  In Europe, some may take a very strong position against the government when it comes to their policies so some news that are label "fake" can actually be someones very strong opinion.

In order for this to stop and the people to not get confused between "fake" and opinion related news is by understanding where their information is coming from. There are many news stations that are biased such as Fox News but it is not considering "fake news". Its mostly the anchors of the station giving their opinions. Also there are social media websites such as Facebook that post fake news worldwide but people still end up believing them without really considering where the information came form. United States is not the only country that is part of this, other countries are just as fault as the U.S.

Internationally Corrupt

It's obvious that fake news is the subject of many conversations in the United States currently. However, the United States of America is not the ONLY country with the presence of fake news. As a matter of fact, pretty much every single country in the world has some form of fake news.

The thing about fake news is that its all universally the same. You avoid it the same way, you spread it the same way, etc. In every country, someone or something is being talked about without good reason, and someone is trying to tackle it. The only difference is, the stories are different. Instead of the story being based in the United States, which is what we are familiar with, its based in a whole other country and we are forced to see that the world is bigger than just us and that other countries have some of the same issues as we do.

The Japan Times has written many articles on fake news and what is happening with it in the United States as well as what is circulating in Japan. This is just one example of international fake news.

And so with this knowledge that the news we go to, see and hear is internationally corrupt, what do we do? Well, we do what exactly as we have been: try to stay was from it and fact check before spreading.

International Fake News

Fake news websites are created to do one thing- publish propaganda and hoaxes. They often use social media to bring in web traffic often for some type of profit. Each country has their problems with fake news, especially as democracy becomes a bigger topic each day. For example, in 2015 there were accounts of false information about immigration and terrorism spread on the day to day basis in Sweden. According to Mikael Tofvesson of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, negative “rumors” about Sweden was spread daily by Russians. The Russian propaganda was in hopes to spread pro-Russian messages and to also create splits in society.

Facebook and Google have more recently started making efforts to end fake news by focusing on the advertisements that give these writers so much money. By decreasing, or completely blocking advertisements on these webpages, it gives these malicious writers less of an incentive to post false news for the world to see. In the 2016 presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, accounts on Facebook were blamed for swaying some of those voters by misinforming them. For example, the viral post that claimed Donald Trump was endorsed by the pope. Another popular post claims Denzel Washington is a Trump supporter, and celebrity endorsement is known to  swindle voters often at times.

These fake news sites are usually registered under a domain name that is VERY similar to ones of famous news outlets to trick people into thinking that the information is legitimate and the source is reputable. Though there are debunkers who are professionals at avoiding fake news being published and staying published, the amount of fake news writers on websites such as Facebook (where it is easier to post articles about fake news and broadcast it to many people at once) may overpower them. Banning ad revenue from fraudulent websites may not be enough to end fake news.

International Fake News

International Fake News is basically false news that is posted on the internet. Some fake websites often use media from other websites such as ABC or CNN and change it to make it look like it happened even though it didn't. Sometimes they seem to mislead rather than entertain readers, usually for social or political gain. Other times, they may tell the reader that it actually happened in real time. Many of these sites originate, or are promoted from, the United States, Russia and Romania.

The best way to avoid International Fake News is to not read it at all. Here are some ways to spot fake news that I found on http://guides.lib.utexas.edu/c.php?g=630169&p=4402542: (1)" Consider The Source- Click away from the story to investigate the site, its mission and its contact info."; (2) " Check The Author- Do a quick search on the author. Are they credible? Are they real?"; (3) " Check The Date- Re-posting old news stories doesn't mean they're relevant to current events."; (4) " Check Your Biases- Consider if your own beliefs could affect your judgement."; (5) " Read Beyond- Headlines can be too outrageous in an effort to get clicks. What's the whole story?"; (6) " Supporting Sources?- Click on those links. Determine if the info given actually supports the story."; (7) " Is It A Joke?- If it is too outlandish, it might be satire. Research the site and author to be sure."; and (8) " Ask The Experts- Ask a librarian, or consult a fact-checking site." These notes might just help you avoid International Fake News.