Many people believe in the printed work (newspaper) and with Google, Facebook and Social Media a similar kind of trust is seen in the internet. Mankind is curious and sometimes overcredulous so the latest development might be a problem…
There are some known satirical news producers like “The Onion [USA]” or “Der Eulenspiegel [Germany]” who create fake news. Those we recognize as they clearly state their intention to entertain.
However, there are other sources of fake news which are used to either earn money (e.g. through clicking them!) or manipulate the audience. It gets dangerous once people don’t recognize the difference anymore – for any reason – and start believing what they read, making decisions based on misinformation. This can have personal and financial consequences, lead to over-protectiveness and may even fuel extreme opinions.
Educate yourself and always remember: there is no filter in the internet and you often don’t know the source. It can be a regular guy like you and me with best intentions in mind, a clever marketing scam, an adolescent or kid posing as subject matter specialist, an extremist looking to spread his/her ideas or even someone who is eager to get your vote…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-alphabet-advertising-idUSKBN1392MM