Fake news on the internet - how to deal with it

The spread of the Internet has opened the doors of information to millions of people around the world. However, just as it has removed many barriers, it has also been used as a tool for harmful purposes. As is the case with fake news, which has been growing over the years, mainly thanks to social networks and their universal nature. Therefore, below, we will talk about fake news on the Internet, what they are and how it can be managed.

What is meant by fake news?

When we talk about fake news, we are referring to the divulgation, through the media or online platforms, of untrue information in the form of articles, videos, or images. What must be taken into account is that, for it to be false news, it must be presented as real information, so information that can be presented as a joke, or sarcasm, among other things, is not included in this category.

The goal of fake news is to manipulate public opinion. This is what leads to the creation of false information aimed at promoting different emotions in the public, be it for personal, economic, political, or competition purposes in the case of companies, for example.

The riskiness of fake news

Something that is important to clarify is that the spread of false news or information is not something that first arrived with the spread of the Internet. But rather something that has historically existed in the media. However, the Internet has facilitated the indiscriminate dissemination of information, promoting favorable scenarios for this news to reach a larger audience. At the same time, today, people tend to share this information without checking first. So fake news ends up having an increasing arrival.

In this context, when false news regarding a company or person spreads on social networks, the scalability of these makes it much more difficult to stop. Therefore, it can have a significant impact on the digital reputation of companies, organizations, and people.

Keys to managing fake news on the Internet

Understanding the above, it is essential to know how to manage and stop fake news. And, therefore, the impact that these can have on the reputation and continuity of companies and organizations. For this reason, one of the first things that must be done is to have an updated crisis manual that includes a section on false news or fake news, being able to anticipate events and know what reactions and responses it will be necessary to give in if this type of content appears.

In addition to the crisis manual, daily monitoring of the different platforms is essential to quickly detect if false news appears.

If this happens, the first thing that can be done to remove it is to contact the Google support center and make a claim to request that the information be deleted because it is false. If you do not prefer this modality, it is recommended to directly contact the owner of the web page where this false information appears, asking him to remove it. This is what will prevent it from appearing in search results and from spreading further.

Finally, if these steps do not work or you do not want to do it on your own, you can always go to a digital reputation agency. At 202 Digital Reputation, we know precisely how to effectively delete false news from the internet, clean up your business image, and protect its prestige.