Category Archives: Fake News

Conspiracy theories and fake news the disinformation kids read online, impacts children, as well as adults, and new research shows young people are more exposed and vulnerable than ever.Report by Dr Nerelie Freeman.

Globally, it is estimated that one child in three is an internet user, and it wont surprise any parent to know that mobile phones are the most popular go-to device.

More children are spending more time online than ever and the age at which children start using the internet is far younger, and yet our kids are highly susceptible to the impact of fake news.

Only 2 per cent of children aged up to 15 years have the critical thinking required to consistently distinguish fact from fiction online.

Online disinformation refers to sharing false information on websites, social media and social networking sites, including Instagram and TikTok.

Disinformation is often used to promote a particular political or moral cause. It can include conspiracy theories, fake news and other content intended to cause harm.

In the time of COVID-19, children are particularly vulnerable to exposure to disinformation and have been targeted with fake news, especially about vaccinations.

What do children do with fake news and disinformation? And what can we do to help them identify it?

A UNICEF survey of 14,733 children aged 917 across ten countries found that up to 75% (three-quarters) of children were unable to judge whether the information they read online was true. This was especially true for the youngest age group in the survey, aged 911.

Children also say they find it harder to tell between real and fake news on social media compared to other mediums. This makes social media sites the most common platforms where kids are exposed to disinformation.

Some young people are known to share disinformation with their peers or friends without any thought for the consequences motivated by a sense of fun or the attention they receive from others.

Helping children understand fake news can help stop the impact of disinformation. So what can we do to help kids think critically about online content?

First and foremost we need to make our children aware of different types of disinformation.

In the classroom, teachers can use simple graphics to define different types of disinformation and ask students to rate them from least to most harmful.

This initiates a conversation around the different levels of intent in deceptive online content. Teachers can also explore reasons with students about why this content is being created. For example, is it to make fun of others or to recruit other people to a cause?

Linking disinformation with familiar concepts also helps our kids to better identify whats fake and whats real, for example, one kind of disinformation is imposter content. Lots of primary and secondary school students are familiar with the popular online gameAmong Us: the aim being to identify the imposter. Using imagery of the imposter character from the game in conversations can help extend what children know about imposters in the game to imposter content online.Parents and teachers should also know the platforms kids use. Some teachers have limited knowledge or engagement with online platforms, especially Tik Tok or Instagram, likewise for parents. Its hard to keep up with kids these days and especially the ever-changing platforms they use, but its important to be aware.

Increasing your own knowledge of these platforms will make you more confident to have these conversations with your students;esafetyis one organisation offering professional learning for teachers and great resources for parents too.

One of the key ways to help kids identify fake news is to encourage their critical thinking. Spend time searching online for topics that interest children. Talk with them about the source of the information and who is publishing it. Does the author appear legitimate? How can we tell if an information source is real and reputable? Do they think that the information is fact or opinion? Its also important to maintain childrens awareness of disinformation. Schools can hold an eventon disinformation (For example, during your schools annual Wellness Week or on Global Wellness Day, June 11th). This should be layered with communication to parents, via the school newsletter or classroom so parents are aware that this is being discussed at school and they can continue the conversation at home.

Studies tell us that fake news on social media spreads up to six times faster than true news, and fake news is 70% more likely to get retweeted than truth. Every day our children are exposed to an ocean of disinformation, so its vital that parents and teachers work together to help our kids wade through the waves.

Dr Nerelie Freeman is a Psychologist and researcher at the School of Educational Psychology and Counselling, Monash University.

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Fake News! How To Help Kids Identify When Online Information Is Fake - Women Love Tech

Arlington, TX For those that follow the 2022 Houston Astros, you could be forgiven for thinking that things are not quite going to plan. It is early in the season (the calendar hasnt turned to May), but the defending AL champions find themselves stumbling. Coming into the second game of the Rangers series, the team stood at 7-9. That in and of it itself could be off-putting for fans used to seeing Houston dominate. Yet, it is how the Astros are on the field in addition to their record that is unusual. They rank in the bottom half of the AL in just about any and all offensive categories, from hitting to runs scored towell, it might be useful to say what they arent bottom feeders in (home runs: 3rd in the AL). Their pitching has seen some moments (welcome back Justin Verlander), but overall, they dont rate much higher than fair to middling. Their run differential is in negative numbers and they currently sit 4th in the division.

When asked about this, most Astros players had this to say:

Others didnt bother trying to answer the questions, as they either hung up, called security, or tried to bash our reporters in with baseball bats, old gloves and a couple of extra trash cans.

We did get a chance to talk with a few Astros staffers, who indicated the usual cliches in April:

Eventually, after extensive persistence, the promise of significant financial compensation, and the promise to buy a metric ****ton of Dusty Bakers latest vineyard offerings, we did get to speak to a few leading Astros figures.

Yeah, we havent quite gotten off to the start that most expected. What do I care about April? Do you know how many World Series I won in April as a manager? None! You dont win the World Series in April!!! It is all about fall baseball! October! The Fall Classic! That is when you win! exclaimed a slightly annoyed Dusty Baker.

How many World Series have you won in October as a manager? our intrepid reporter asked.

Baker did not immediately answer. We hoped for a follow-up, but when he rounded on our people with a broken wine bottle with the sharper edges facing us and a maniacal look in his eyes, wwwweeee figured it was best to just move along.

We found the conversation with James Click a little more civil:

What you fail to see here is that we are looking at 2022 as the chance to learn from our past short-comings. In particular, our last two World Series ended in very, very disappointing fashion. So, like any other organization, we took stock of what happened, and is often the case, we looked at who bested us, and how they did it. Which means we would have to adjust our thinking and models to try to change our future performance.

In particular, you had to look at the actions of the 2019 Washington Nationals and the 2021 Atlanta Braves. Well, having done that, we think that we are already off to a good start.

How so? we inquired, especially as we were looking over the latest box scores. To which Click replied:

Well, as you may recall, both Washington and Atlanta got off to rather slow starts. At one point in 2019, Washington was 19-31. Coming into August last season, Atlanta was three games under .500. Based on our current projections, we are on pace to meet those marks.

Additionally, youll note that those teams had suffered the loss of major stars either the season prior or due to season-ending injury. For Washington, who honestly thought they were going to do anything when they let Bryce Harper walk? Did anyone think that Atlanta had a chance to be even decent when they lost Ronald Acuna Jr.? Well, look at us? We up and let Correa walk for nothing. While we havent lost anyone for the season yet, we figured that it would be best for McCullers to just go ahead and miss the 1st half of the season. Atlanta played over half a season with Acunas loss, so we are matching action for action.

Just to make sure, Dusty and I talked some over his latest Riesling, which is quite good, by the way. You still plan to buy those 6 cases, with me getting that 75% cutback, right? Anyway, we chatted in mid-November. So, I told him to just up and treat the first month or so like extended Spring Training. Give guys the random days off where they dont make a ton of sense. Also, I wanted him to put our-not-quite-best-foot-forward for pitching. So, we are getting Odorizzi and Baez on the mound as much as possible early on.

Admittedly, Dusty is getting a little nervous about completely following this plan. He is now gonna let Javier pitch like a starterbut we still have Odorizzi, so that will be ok. He is actually going with rookie relievers more. Told him we would be ok sticking with Baez, but after some wicked Merlot, Dusty convinced me otherwise. Even went ahead and told Altuve and Pressly to get their injuries out of the way now, early on in the season. Wanted to talk to Bregman about that, saying that he should also think about that, but I think he was a bit frustrated after the past season and the World Series. Didnt think it was wise to get in his way.

Admittedly, we werent sure about where this master plan would lead, but we only got Click to say Oh ye of little faith. Trust the process....oh, wait, thats someone elses line. Eh, you know what? Im the GM, youre not, and we will be just fine.

So, to sum up for the Astros plan for 2022:

Step 1: Have a losing record deep into the season

Step 2:

Step 3: Win the World Series

Step 4: Profit

Wait, what about step tw...

And that is all the time we have for this article. Good Night and Good Luck.

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Totally Not Fake News: All Going to Plan - The Crawfish Boxes

Beyond Meat Inc BYND shares are trading higher by 9.82% at $39.02 following a report from Fast Company indicating Beyond Meat-based McPlant burger will become a permanent menu item at McDonalds MCD. A subsequent Bloomberg report said McDonalds denied the implications of the report.

Beyond Meat shares were initially halted for volatility at 2:20 p.m. ET, up 20%. Shares resumed out of the halt higher by 27% before a second volatility halt took place at 2:36 p.m. ET.

Before the second volatility halt was lifted, the Benzinga newsdesk reported a Bloomberg update on the matter, with McDonalds saying the company has no new Plans with Beyond Meat to announce, McDonald's calling the Fast Company report "misconstrued."Shares fell to the $39.00-level upon resumption fromthe second volatility halt.

According to data from Benzinga Pro, Beyond Meat has a 52-week high of $160.28 and a 52-week low of $35.41.

See Also: Why Visa Shares Are Trading Higher Today

The rest is here:

Fake News About Fake Meat? Here's What's Going On With Beyond Meat Shares Today - Benzinga - Benzinga

Fake news has been around long before the arrival of the internet.

According to Data Ethics PH founder Dominic Vincent Ligot, sometimes it comes in the form of propaganda, which is being magnified these days with the help of social media.

On GMAs latest #eLeksyonSerye video, TikTok star Ychan Laurenz shares tips on how to detect and avoid disinformation and fake news online through his depiction of various relatable characters.

According to psychiatrist Dr. Joan Mae Rifareal, people are hardwired to believe ideas if these are the same as their beliefs. This phenomenon is called cognitive or confirmation bias.

To detect and avoid fake news, social media users should check their cognitive bias and do the following:

1. Read before you react. Dont get carried away by emotions.

2. Find out the source of the information. If its a news article, make sure it comes from a page that has a blue check mark, which means that it is a verified official page of the organization.

3. Dont automatically trust information and pass it along even if it comes from friends or family, says Ligot.

4. To check for the veracity of photos or if these were previously uploaded by other websites, these may be run through a webpage that conducts reverse image search.

But why are some people more exposed to fake news than others?

According to digital media researcher Fatima Gaw, social media users have historical data, which record all the activity done and content consumed, including pages liked and visited, videos watched, even ones friends on a platform.

All of that is in the records of the social media platforms and all of that adds into how the algorithm decides what kind of content is pushed to you, she said.

Ultimate goal of the algorithm is for you to stay as long as you can in the platform and hours and hours of consumption, she added.

Its also a way to make sure that whatever you see is something you like and you something you will engage with.

However, theres no law that directly addresses disinformation, or the intentional spreading of false information to deceive people.

Theres no law that address fake news or disinformation per se, said lawyer Ryan Jay Roset, policy consultant for disinformation for Lente.

What we have are laws tangentially addressing it. For example we have laws against libel, he said.

Hindi lahat ng nakikita online, totoo, reminded Ychan.

The younger generation is well-versed on social media and technology, but the older ones, who are used with traditional media, may fall prey to the thinking that everything published is factual information.

#eLeksyonSerye urges the youth to help their elders find the right information online and use social media and technology properly so they will not be victimized by fake news.

This may be a challenge, but Rifareal said it could be done through open communication. Open lines of communication is very important, said Rifareal. RC, GMA News

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Heres how to detect and avoid fake news, according to TikTok star Ychan Laurenz - GMA News Online

Doctors who criticise vaccines or lockdown policies on social media could face being struck off if regulators rule they are guilty of spreading fake news, in an update to the "Hippocratic Oath".

The core guidance for medics has been updated for the first time in almost a decade to cover media such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

The rules on use of social media include a duty to be honest and not to mislead, as well as to avoid abuse or bullying.

The draft regulations from the General Medical Council (GMC) - which the watchdog describes as a 21st-century version of the Hippocratic Oath - also say doctors must speak out if they encounter toxic workplace cultures that threaten patient safety.

And they say medics must take action if they encounter workplace bullying, harassment or discrimination.

The watchdog regulates doctors, who can face a range of sanctions - including being struck off the medical register - if they are found to have failed in their duties.

Charlie Massey, the chief executive of the GMC, said: Good medical practice is the bedrock that helps guide ethical practice and supports doctors to provide the best possible care in a world of increasingly complex medicine.

There is a lot of evidence of the damage bad workplace cultures can do to patient safety and, ultimately, to the UKs ability to retain the healthcare professionals it needs.

Toxic cultures can also spread online, undermining public trust in the medical profession.

Mr Massey said the fundamental principles of the guidance remained the same, but had been updated to reflect the modern world.

"Weve had feedback that doctors want more clarity on using social media. We are already clear that doctors must be honest and trustworthy in their communications, and are now emphasising that this applies to all forms of communication. The principles remain the same whether the communication is written, spoken or via social media, he said.

The use of social media by medics has become an increasingly vexed issue during the pandemic.

In December a judge ruled that the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service, which runs hearings when doctors are under investigation, had made an "error of law" when it ordered a GP accused of spreading misinformation to stop discussing Covid on social media.

Dr Samuel White, who was a partner at a practice in Hampshire, raised concerns about vaccines and claimed "masks do nothing" in a video posted last June.

Restrictions were imposed on Dr Whites registration while the GMC investigated.

He had claimed "lies" around the NHS and government approach to the pandemic were "so vast" that he could no longer "stomach or tolerate" them.

In August, the tribunal concluded Dr White's way of sharing his views "may have a real impact on patient safety".

It found Dr White allegedly shared information to a "wide and possibly uninformed audience" and did not give an opportunity for "a holistic consideration of Covid-19, its implications and possible treatments".

But the GP's barrister, Francis Hoar, argued the restrictions imposed on his client's registration were a "severe imposition" on his freedom of expression.

The draft guidance says doctors can be held accountable for promoting misleading information or stepping outside areas of their expertise.

They are told to be honest and trustworthy make clear the limits of your knowledge.. [and to] make reasonable checks to make sure any information you give is not misleading.

This applies to all forms of written, spoken and digital communication, the draft guidance states.

And doctors are warned that online rows and trolling could jeopardise their professional futures.

You must not abuse, discriminate against, bully, exploit, or harass anyone, or condone such behaviour by others. This applies to all interactions, including on social media and networking sites, the draft rules state.

For the first time, the guidance for medics sets out a specific duty to act, or support others to act, if they become aware of workplace bullying, harassment or discrimination, as well as zero tolerance of sexual harassment.

The medical profession has faced a series of scandals, with female doctors in 2019 accusing senior members of the British Medical Association of sending unsolicited naked pictures and joking about womens bra sizes, amid a culture of institutional sexism.

Prof Neil Mortensen, the president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said: We were appalled by the recent testimonies of sexual harassment and abuse that some surgeons shared on social media.

We are therefore pleased to see that there is specific guidance around preventing bullying and sexual harassment in the GMCs draft document."

Dr Caroline Fryar, the director of medical services at the Medical Defence Union, said the organisation would scrutinise the proposals carefully.

She said: Doctors across the UK are working harder than ever in a system that is constantly being tried and tested.

"Regulations, sets of rules and guidance documents must be compatible with the realities of doctors daily working lives, and support them to get on with the job of safely caring for patients.

More here:

Doctors could be struck off for spreading fake news on vaccines and lockdowns - The Telegraph

When they launched their war on Ukraine in late February 2022, Russian authorities also unleashed an all-out assault on dissent at home. Within weeks, the Kremlin blocked access to nearly all remaining critical media outlets as well as to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

As part of the communication crackdown, the Russian parliament the State Duma passed draconian laws to limit speech relating to the Russian-Ukrainian war, laws that lawmakers deemed necessary to fight against fake news. In its first move, in early March, the legislature unanimously criminalized public dissemination of false information under the guise of truthful messages about the Russian army. Sentences for violating the law extended up to 15 years in prison.

Later that month, Russian lawmakers expanded the laws application to include false information about the work of all officials serving abroad, including the National Guard troops, the Federal Security Service or any other state organs involved in the Ukrainian campaign.

The combination of the laws intentional vagueness and severity is meant to stifle criticism of the Russian invasion. The fake news laws swiftly devastated media organizations that werent already controlled by the state.

The latest series of fake news laws isnt the Kremlins first use of a tragedy to enhance its power. And the earlier instance didnt need a war to trigger it it was triggered by pranksters.

Russia passed its original fake news legislation in March 2019. The law established penalties for spreading socially significant false information distributed under the guise of truthful messages.

The laws passage followed a Ukrainian pranksters hoax that built on a real tragedy. On March 25, 2018, a fire in a shopping mall in the Russian mining city of Kemerovo killed 60 people, most of them children.

Evgeniy Volnov, a Ukrainian media provocateur who fancies himself an information warrior against Russia, posed as an emergency services official to prank call the Kemerovo morgue. He told officials there to arrange for 300 incoming bodies.

Volnov then published his phone call, which sparked local residents anger at the authorities. Residents then wrongly suspected officials of hiding the real number of victims. In response, the Russian Investigative Committee the main federal investigating authority in Russia opened a criminal case against Volnov for inciting hatred or animosity and issued a warrant for his arrest in absentia.

The Russian government promptly exploited Volnovs prank to further curtail domestic freedoms.

In the days after the fire, state officials argued for the need to regulate fake news to safeguard Russian society from destabilization by disinformation. Citing Volnovs prank, Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, for example, suggested that foreign governments could use fake news to instigate regime change in Russia. He singled out the Ukrainian government, in which he claimed representatives of the CIA and the U.S. State Department work in the intelligence services.

Russias most famous pranking duo, Vladimir Kuznetsov known as Vovan and Alexey Stolyarov known as Lexus spearheaded the media campaign for fake news legislation.

Kuznetsov and Stolyarovs pranks target foreign high-profile cultural and political figures who oppose the Kremlins agenda. Russian media then widely cover the pranks to present them as evidence for the regimes mythology of Russia as a besieged fortress fending off unending Western scheming against it.

Pranks are mischievous practical jokes played on unsuspecting victims. A classic phone prank involves a caller posing as someone else, usually in front of an audience of co-conspirators, to dupe their targets into doing or saying something silly, revealing or both.

Political pranking is traditionally thought of as benign foolery targeting the powerful. My research into pranking politics shows that sometimes pranksters bolster the status quo instead.

Kuznetsov and Stolyarov were the founding figures of Russias phone pranking scene in the 2000s. At the time, the community consisting of teenagers and college students mostly pranked the downtrodden and pop culture celebrities. The jokesters aim was to drive their target to angry stupor for the enjoyment of fellow pranksters.

In 2014, upon discovering their shared support for Russias annexation of Ukraines Crimea, the veteran pranksters joined forces to dupe Ukrainian and Western elites. The pair pranked Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko; Filaret, patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church; Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko; and other Ukrainian leaders. Posing as friendly figures to entice their victims into informal chatter, Kuznetsov and Stolyarov broached a wide range of topics, including nationalism, Russian gas exports and homosexuality.

The pranksters goal was to provoke their targets into saying something that Russian media could then spin using the Kremlins characterization of post-2014 Ukraine as an inept, fascist and morally corrupt Western puppet. In 2018, Ukrainian authorities barred Kuznetsov from entering the country.

Because of Kuznetsovs and Stolyarovs reputations as patriotic experts in fakery, they took on the role of promoting the fake news law initiative. Calling Ukrainian prankster Volnovs prank a disgusting informational sabotage by Ukrainian nationalists, the pair vowed to prevent informational attacks from abroad by proposing legal solutions in their capacity as members of the State Dumas advisory Council on Information Society and Media Development.

In explaining the duos enthusiasm, Stolyarov distinguished between their socially useful fakes, which uncover hidden truths about domestic and world politics, and what they said were unlawful pranks like Volnovs that only destabilize society.

The duos public support for fake news legislation was so vociferous that one critic referred to the initiative as the law of Vovan, Lexus, and Volodin. After lobbying for the law in the media, however, the pranksters were sidelined from meaningful participation in its drafting.

Following monthslong parliamentary discussions and revisions, Vladimir Putin signed the fake news proposals into law in March 2019. The law set fines for spreading alleged disinformation ranging from US$450 to $22,900, depending on who was doing the spreading and its consequences for example, whether it led to bodily harm or death. As critics had warned, the authorities applied the law almost exclusively to opposition activists and organizations.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began in spring 2020, Russia used the existing fake news framework to criminalize what it said were coronavirus-related fakes in an effort to curb unwanted coverage of the public health emergency. The law carried a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Since the renewal of Russias aggression in Ukraine, Vovan and Lexus again put their pranking talents in the Kremlins service. In late March, the duo published pranks with the U.K. Home Secretary Priti Patel and Secretary of State for Defense Ben Wallace.

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Posing as Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, the pranksters trolled the U.K. ministers with ridiculous questions surrounding the war. At one point, faux-Shmyhal asked Patel if the British were afraid that neo-Nazis would enter the U.K. among Ukrainian refugees, a reference to the Kremlins claim that the goal of its invasion of Ukraine is denazification. The startled official replied with an assurance of the Brits determination to help in the Ukrainian refugee crisis.

The leading Russian state information agency, RIA Novosti, twisted Patels response. The headline read: The U.K. Home Secretary shared with the pranksters her willingness to help neo-Nazis.

After the U.K. government urged YouTube to block the videos as Russian propaganda, the U.S.-based platform removed the pranksters channel as part of its investigation into influence operations linked to Russia.

The pranking war rages on.

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Pranks and propaganda: Russian laws against 'fake news' target Ukrainians and the opposition, not pro-Putin pranksters - The Conversation

Citizen journalism and citizen journalists have been at the centre of discussions for many years especially ever since improvements in information and communications technology (ICT) thrust them on the stage almost at par with traditional journalists.

For once, editorial gatekeeping was effectively bypassed and many stories that would have ended up in editors trash bins because they were not important could now see light of day through citizen journalists. Or better still, perspectives that would otherwise have been blocked by traditional editorial platforms in favour of establishment narratives could now also be heard again through independent journalists.

But the opening (or breaching) of the editorial floodgates did not only bring more information to citizens, it also allowed a lot of fake information that usually would have been filtered by editors to see the light of day. Growth in fake news meant the truth was further drowned. This scenario has led many people to trust traditional journalism more and distrust citizen journalism at least in cases that are not in black and white. It is important to note that there are, broadly, two categories of citizen journalists; your ordinary man or woman on the street with a smart phone and data on one hand, and on the other deeply knowledgeable people in different professions that are driven by truth and are governed by ethics to share what they know about things around them.

We see both of them online one group (though not entirely) tends to misinform, under-inform or simply heckle while the other seeks to bring truth, independent perspective or give platform to ideas that mainstream media has discarded to the periphery or is trying to hide. I shall say a few things about the second group. If, for instance, you have followed news coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war on CNN, BBC, Aljazeera, France24, etc on one hand, or RT and Sputnik on the other, then chances are you have only heard half-truths from either side.

But if you have been watching independent commentary and stories filed by independent citizen journalists, incidentally mostly operating from the West, then chances are you are closer to the truth about this war. Alexander Mercouris based in the UK and Alex Christoforou based in Cyprus come to mind. Note that it is not just individual citizen journalists. In fact independent think-tanks like Democracy Now (www.democracynow.org) doing periodic podcasts of interviews and analysis and sharing them on YouTube have shown that citizen journalism can effectively sidestep establishment media to deliver truth and balance in situations where the truth is difficult to find.

In Africa, and Uganda particularly, we are still using social media mostly for gossip, heckling and show-off yet it can be much more. Even in situations where the public is craving for information during a time of crisis or social contention, expert citizen journalists have not stepped out to provide alternative perspectives different from official government or mainstream media narrative. We can certainly do more than tweet, heckle and shame or praise on social media.

Peter Kaujju (Head of Communications & Marketing, Umeme): We read your story Mps end Umeme monopoly as electricity distributor carried in the issue of 14th April 2022.

Your story carries a number of inaccuracies regarding the Electricity Amendment Bill which was passed by Parliament. Umeme wishes to clarify as follows; Umeme is currently in its 17th year of a 20-year concession to distribute electricity in a specified license territory. While Umeme Limited is the largest energy distributor in Uganda, it is but one of six licensed distributors, who include UEDCL, the asset owner.

The sole bulk supplier of electricity is the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited and not Umeme.

Your reference to Umeme as holding a monopoly to supply electricity is therefore inaccurate since Umeme is neither a monopoly nor the bulk supplier of electricity in Uganda. Umeme appreciates your continued interest and coverage of the electricity sector though we hope future articles will be more accurate and less sensational.

Public Editor: Thank you for this feedback. The inaccuracies are well noted and regretted. The editors have been advised to make the correction in print and online.

[The clarification was duly published in the April 21 edition.]

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Citizen journalists can share fake news or protect the truth - Monitor

Sunday Dare, minister of youth and sports development, has commended the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for the establishment of its television and radio stations.

The minister paid a courtesy visit to the TV and radio studios at the NYSC headquarters in Abuja on Thursday.

Speaking as a guest on NYSC Radio 88.3 FM, Dare described the initiative as a major achievement in the schemes history.

According to him, the TV and radio stations are crucial to help disseminate authentic information in the era of unregulated social media and rising fake news.

In an era of unregulated social media journalism, we should all be worried about fake news. With the danger posed by misinformation and miscommunication, credible outlets like the NYSC TV and radio are poised to bridge the gap and be a reliable source of authentic information for the youth and the society at large, he said.

It is gratifying that the visionary behind the establishment of the NYSC scheme, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, had commissioned the TV and radio station and it is enough that he was here to see his vision blossom into what it is right now.

The minister said the stations would broadcast activities of the NYSC across the country with unique information about youth development in various sectors of Nigerias socio-economic life.

He also enjoined the youth to devote 20 or 30 minutes daily to the radio station with a view to participating in the interactive sessions.

The NYSC TV and radio will broadcast on Channel 365 on GoTV and 88.3FM on radio respectively.

Originally posted here:

Dare: NYSC TV, radio stations will help sustain fight against fake news - TheCable

A Russian artist called Alexandra Skochilenko has been accused of spreading ''fake news'' after she replaced grocery price tags with anti-war slogans.

Amnesty International says she faces up to 10 years in prison for protesting against Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

She had provided information regarding the Mariupol art school bombing in Perekryostok supermarket on March 31 which is being deemed as "political hatred for Russia."

Skochilenko also condemned ''Russian forces' special operation'' saying "I don't support the war in Ukraine. I came out on the street today to say so loudly." She wrote this in a post on her Instagram account.

According to investigators she has been accused of "putting fragments of paper in place of price tags, containing knowingly false information about the use of the Russian armed forces."

A massive fine of 10,000 rubles ($121) has been imposed on the independent artist and musician for participating in an anti-war protest that condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Also read |Russia sets Sunday deadline for Ukraine troops to surrender in Mariupol

Skochilenko belongs to a small town in the northwestern city of Saint Petersburg. A local court has called her a ''flight risk'' as she does not have an officially registered address.

She allegedly made the hand gesture of a peace sign and smiled inside the cage for defendants in the courtroom.

Skochilenko has frequently shared images saying "violence is never the way out" on her social media accounts.

She designed a series of postcards and painted images of peace symbols along with the Ukrainian flag.

Several Russian activists have raised concerns regarding her health online as she suffers from celiac disease. It is an immune reaction to the consumption of wheat, rye, and barley.

In a similar incident, a 59-year-old doctor called Andrei Makedonov and Tatiana Popova were detained in Russia.

While Makedonov had participated in a protest, Popova had hung "no to war" slogans on toys in a supermarket.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Russian artist accused of spreading `fake news` after replacing grocery price tags with anti-war slogans - WION

Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem has urged polling officers not to be swayed by fake news and social media posts.

During the launch of the Presiding Officers Training in Lautoka yesterday, he highlighted situations that polling station officials would find themselves in as elections officers.

Do not be swayed by someone who is Johnny come off the park and say you need to have the ballot boxes upside down, he said.

Do not be swayed by the newspaper or the front page the next day that says the ballot boxes will be placed on top of a table.

Those things have been thought through.

Elections Commission chairperson Mukesh Naidu said a recent survey by the FEO on the last general election showed the high number of people that came across fake news or misinformation on social media.

On the topic of fake news and misinformation, in the recently launched pre-election survey by the elections office, of the 9292 responses, 62 per cent we had noticed fake news on social media websites while 30 per cent did not, he said.

As expected, a majority of them had suggested that they had come across fake news, misinformation on Facebook with Facebook being the widely used social network in Fiji.

It is imperative that every employee of the Fijian Elections Office demonstrate a greater level of responsibility and online behaviour.

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The Fiji Times 'Don't be swayed by fake news' - Fiji Times