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Home , Fake news, Spin (propaganda)

CREDIT: Ben Jennings 28/03/2017 21:31:24 52 INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG 46.01 00_index_46-01.indb 52 IN FOCUS

Reel-time

DECODING THE NEWS

46(01): 52/65 | DOI: 10.1177/0306422017703615

Manipulating news and discrediting the are techniques that have been used for more than a century. In this special section, Index’s global reporting team brief the public on how to watch out for tricks and spot inaccurate coverage. Below, Index on editor Rachael Jolley introduces the special feature

ICTIONAL ANGLES, , that are spun, include or only half the Fand attempts to discredit the media, story. there’s nothing new there. Scroll back to But sadly while the has brought and you’ll find propaganda us easy access to multitudes of sources, and cartoons satirising both sides who were fac- the ability to watch news globally, it also ap- ing each other in the trenches, and trying to pears to make us lazier as we glide past hun- pump up public support for the war effort. If dreds of stories on , and the US President is worried about digital world. We rarely stop to analyse why the “unbalanced” satirical approach he is one might be better researched than another, receiving from the comedy show Saturday whose might stand up or has the Night Live, he should know he is following whiff of reality about it. in the footsteps of Napoleon who worried As hungry consumers of the news we need about James Gillray’s caricatures of him as to dial up our scepticism. Disappointingly, very short, while the vertically challenged research from across 12 French President Nicolas Sarkozy feared the US states found millennials were not scepti- pen of Le Monde’s cartoonist Plantu. cal about news, and less likely to be able to When Trump cries “” at cover- differentiate between a strong news age he doesn’t like, he is adopting the tactics and a weak one. The report’s authors were of Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa. Cor- shocked at how unprepared students were in rea repeatedly called the media “his greatest questioning an article’s “facts” or the likely enemy” and attacked personally, bias of a website. to secure the media coverage he wanted. And, according to Pew Research, 66% of As Piers Robinson, professor of politi- US Facebook users say they use it as a news cal journalism at Sheffield University, said: source, with only around a quarter clicking “What we have with fake news, distorted through on a link to read the whole story. information, manipulation communication Hardly a basis for making any decision. or propaganda, whatever you want to call it, At the same time, we are seeing the rise of is nothing new.” techniques to target particular demographics Our approach to it, and the online tools with political that looks like jour- we now have, are newer however, meaning nalism. We need to arm ourselves with tools we now have new ways to dig out angles to unpick this new world of information.

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A PICTURE SPARKS A about the event. In fact, the piece was writ- THOUSAND STORIES ten anonymously. These signs suggested to the sceptical reader that the news probably came from KAYA GENÇ dissects the use of shocking someone who did not leave their desk to images and asks why the Turkish media write the story, choosing instead to dissemi- didn’t check them nate images they came across on and to not do their due diligence in Two days after last year’s failed coup at- terms of verifying the facts. tempt in Turkey, one of the leading news- On 17 July, Istanbul’s medical jurispru- papers in the country, Sozcu, published an dence announced that, among the 99 dead article with two shocking images purport- bodies delivered to the morgue in Istanbul, edly showing anti-coup protesters cutting there was no beheaded person. The office the throat of a soldier involved in the coup. of Istanbul’s chief prosecutor also denied “In the early hours of this morning the situ- the news, and it was declared that the news ation at the Bosphorus Bridge, which had was fake. been at the hands of coup plotters until last A day later, Sozcu ran a lengthy com- night, came to an end,” the piece read. “The mentary about how it prepared the article. soldiers handed over their guns and sur- Editors accepted that their article was based rendered. Meanwhile, images of one of the on rumours and images spread on social soldiers whose throat was cut spread over media. Numerous other websites had run social media like an avalanche, and those the same news, their defence ran, so the who saw the image of the dead soldier suf- responsibility for the fake news rested with fered shock,” it said. all Turkish media. This made sense. Most of These powerful images of a murdered the pictures purportedly showing lynched uniformed youth proved influential for both soldiers were said to come from the Syr- sides of the political divide in Turkey: the ian civil war, though this too is unverifiable. ultra-conservative Akit was Major used them, for different positive in its reporting of the lynching, cel- political purposes, to celebrate or condemn ebrating the killing. The secularist OdaTV, the treatment of putschist soldiers. meanwhile, made it clear that it was an ap- More worryingly, the story showed how palling event and it was publishing the pic- false images can be used by both sides of tures as a means of . Turkey’s political divide to manipulate public Neither publication credited the images opinion: sometimes lies can serve both pro- they had published in their extremely popu- gressives and conservatives. lar articles, which is unusual for a respecta- ble publication. A careful reader could easily spot the lack of sources in the pieces too; there was no eyewitness account of the pur- Kaya Genç is a contributing editor for Index on ported killing, nor was anyone interviewed Censorship based in Istanbul, Turkey

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No author is attributed to this article or any

There’s no image credit, nor are there eyewitnesses in the story itself

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There’s no direct quote in which Ma pledges to specifically support Fan, nor a quote from Fan or his family

The rest of the article uses rehashed infor- mation and images

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A CASE OF MISTAKEN any quote from Ma or from Alibaba Group. PHILANTHROPY Most publications that ran the story listed no quotes at all. One of the few that did was news website New China – sponsored by JEMIMAH STEINFELD writes on the story of state-run news agency Xinhua. Even then Jack Ma’s doppelganger that went too far the quotes did not directly pertain to Ma funding Fan. New China also provided no Jack Ma is China’s version of Mark Zucker- link to where the comments came from. berg. The founder and executive chairman Copying the comments into a search en- of successful e-commerce sites under the gine takes you to the source though – an Alibaba Group, he’s one of the wealthi- article on major Chinese news site Sina, est men in China. Articles about him and which contains a statement from Alibaba. In Alibaba are frequent. It’s within this context this statement, Alibaba remark on the poor that an incorrect story on Ma was taken as condition of Fan and say they intend to ad- verbatim and spread widely. dress education amongst China’s poor. But The story, published in November 2016 nowhere do they pledge to directly fund across multiple sites at the same time, al- Fan. In fact, the very thing Ma was criticised leged that Ma would fund the education for – only funding one child instead of many of eight-year-old Fan Xiaoquin, nicknamed – is what this article pledges not to do. “mini Ma” because of an uncanny resem- It was not just the absence of any com- blance to Ma when he was of a similar ments from Ma or his team that was sus- age. Fan gained notoriety earlier that year picious; it was also the absence of any because of this. Then, as people remarked comments from Fan and his family. Media on the resemblance, they also remarked on that ran the story had not confirmed its ve- the boy’s unfavourable circumstances – he racity with Ma or with Fan. Given that few was incredibly poor and had ill parents. The linked to the original statement, it appeared story took a twist in November, when media, that not many had looked at that either. including media, reported that In fact, once past the initial claims about Ma had pledged to fund Fan’s education. Ma funding Fan, most articles on it either Hints that the story was untrue were ob- end there or rehash information that was vious from the outset. While superficially published from the initial story about Ma’s supporting his lookalike sounds like a nice doppelganger. As for the images, no new gesture, it’s a small one for such a wealthy ones were used. These final points alone man. People asked why he wouldn’t support wouldn’t indicate that the story was fabricat- more children of a similar background (Fan ed, but they do further highlight the dearth has a brother, in fact). One person wrote on of new information, before getting into the Weibo: “If the child does not look like Ma, inaccuracy of the story’s lead. then his tragic life will continue.” Still, the story continued to spread, until Despite the story drawing criticism along someone from Ma’s press team went on the these lines, no one actually questioned the record and denied the news, or lack thereof. authenticity of the story itself. It wouldn’t have taken long to realise it was baseless. Jemimah Steinfeld is deputy editor of Index on The most obvious sign was the omission of Censorship magazine

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NOT A LAUGHING MATTER had any direct quotes from bystanders or the authorities. DUNCAN TUCKER digs out the clues that a Yet another red flag was the fact that story about clown killings in Mexico didn’t every news site used the same photograph, stand up but the initial report did not provide attribu- tion for the image. When in doubt, ’s thrives in times of public reverse image search is a useful tool for anxiety. Soon after a series of reports on sin- checking the veracity of news stories that ister clowns scaring the public in the USA in rely on photographic evidence. Right- 2016, a story appeared in the Mexican press clicking on the photograph and selecting about clowns being beaten to death. “Search Google for Image” enables users to At the height of the clown hysteria, the lit- sift through every site where the picture is tle-known Mexican news site DenunciasMX featured and filter the results by date to find reported that a group of youths in Ecatepec, out where and when it first appeared online. a gritty suburb of Mexico City, had beaten In this case, the results showed that the two clowns to death in retaliation for in- image of the dead clowns first appeared timidating passers-by. The article featured a online in May 2015, more than a year before low-resolution image of the slain clowns on the story appeared in the Mexican press. It a run-down street, with a crowd of onlookers was originally credited to José Rosales, a re- gathered behind police tape. porter for the Guatemalan news site Prensa To the trained eye, there were several tell- Libre. The accompanying story, also writ- tale signs that the news was not genuine. ten by Rosales, stated that the two clowns While many readers do not take the time were shot dead in the Guatemalan town of to investigate the source of stories that ap- Chimaltenango. pear on their Facebook newsfeeds, a quick While most of the fake Mexican reports glance at DenunciasMX’s “Who are we?” did not have bylines and contained very lit- page reveals that the site is co-run by social tle detail, Rosales’s report was much more activists who are tired of being “tricked by specific, revealing the names, ages and the big media mafia”. Serious news sources origins of the victims, as well as the number rarely use such language, and the admission of shell casings found at the crime scene. that stories are partially authored by activists Instead of rehashing rumours or speculating rather than by professionally-trained journal- why the clowns were targeted, the report ists immediately raises questions about their simply stated that police were searching for veracity. the killers and were working to determine The initial report was widely shared on so- the motive. cial media and quickly reproduced by other As this case demonstrates, with a degree minor news sites but, tellingly, it was not re- of scrutiny and the use of freely available ported in any of Mexico’s major newspapers tools, it is often easy to differentiate be- – publications that are likely to have stricter tween genuine news and irresponsible criteria with regard to fact-checking. . Another sign that something was amiss was that the reports all used the vague Duncan Tucker is a regular correspondent for phrase “according to witnesses”, yet none Index on Censorship magazine from Mexico

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This site is little- known and run by people who describe themselves as activ- ists against main- stream media

The photo was taken a year before the event of the story purport- edly took place

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00_index_46-01.indb 59 28/03/2017 21:31:26 46.01 ERITREA DECODING THE NEWS

Language such as “senile idiot” attrib- uted to a diplomat is a red herring

The About Us section is a complete spoof

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NOT NORTH KOREA agreement to set an imaginary airline” and “ vote signals Eritrea to go ahead with ABRAHAM T ZERE dissects the moment that its long-planned referendum”. Eritreans mistook saucy for real news Although the website used the correct name and picture of the North Korean am- In recent years, the international media have bassador to the UN, his use of “senile idiot” dubbed Eritrea the “North Korea of Africa”, and other equally inappropriate phrases due to their striking similarities as closed, should have betrayed the gag. repressive states that are blocked to inter- Recently, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki national media. But when a satirical website has been spending time at Adi Halo, a dam run by exiled Eritrean journalists cleverly ma- construction site about an hour’s drive from nipulated the simile, the site stoked a social the capital, and he has opened a tempo- media buzz among the Eritrean diaspora. rary office there. While this is widely known Awaze Tribune launched last June with among Eritreans, it has not been covered three news stories, including “North Korean internationally, so the fact that the story ambassador to UN: ‘Stop calling Eritrea the mentioned Adi Halo should also have raised North Korea of Africa’.” questions of its authenticity with Eritreans. The story reported that the North Korean Instead, some readers were impressed by ambassador, Sin Son-ho, had complained how closely the North Korean ambassador it was insulting for his advanced, prosper- appeared to be following the development. ous, nuclear-armed nation to be compared The website launched with no news items to Eritrea, with its “senile idiot leader” who attributed to anyone other than “Editor”, and “hasn’t even been able to complete the Adi even a cursory inspection should have re- Halo dam”. vealed it was bogus. The About Us section With apparent little concern over its au- is a clear joke, saying lines such as the site thenticity, Eritreans in the diaspora began being founded in 32AD. widely sharing the news story, sparking a Satire is uncommon in Eritrea and most flurry of discussion on social media and reports are taken seriously. So when a satiri- quickly accumulating 36,600 hits. cal story from claimed that Eritrea had The opposition camp shared it widely to declared polygamy mandatory, demanding underline the dismal incompetence of the that men have two wives, Eritrea’s minister Eritrean . The pro-government of information felt compelled to reply. camp countered by alleging that In recent years, Eritrea’s tightly closed must have been involved behind the scenes. system has, not surprisingly, led people to The satirical nature of the website should be far less critical of news than they should have seemed obvious. The name of the site be. This and the widely felt abhorrence of begins with “Awaze”, a hot sauce common the regime makes Eritrean online platforms in Eritrean and Ethiopian cuisines. If readers ready consumers of such satirical news. were not alerted by the name, there were plenty of other pointers. For example, on Abraham T Zere is originally from the same day, two other “news” articles Eritrea and now lives in the USA. He is executive were posted: “Eritrea and South Sudan sign director of PEN Eritrea

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AND THAT’S A CUT It started ringing instantly thanks to the poor grammar evident in the and Journalist NATASHA JOSEPH spots the signs the body of the text. Most proper news web- of fiction in a story about circumcision sites still employ sub editors, so lousy spell- ing and grammar are early warning signals The smartest tall tales contain at least a that you’re dealing with a suspicious site. grain of truth. If they’re too outlandish, all but The next thing to check is the sourcing: the most gullible reader will see through the where did the minister make these com- deceit. Celebrity death stories are a good ments? To whom? All this article tells us is example. In South Africa, dodgy “news” sites that he was speaking “in Johannesburg”. routinely kill off local luminaries like Des- The dearth of detail should signal to tread mond Tutu. The cleric is 85 years old and with caution. If you’ve got the time, you has battled ill health for years, so fake re- might also Google some key search terms ports about his death are widely circulated. and see if anyone else reported on these al- This “grain of truth” rule lies at the heart leged statements. Also, is there a journalist’s of why the following headline was perhaps name on the article? This one was credited believed. The headline was “Men can now to “author”, which suggests that no real jour- circumcise themselves at home, it is easy nalist was involved in production. – says minister of health”. Circumcision is a The article is accompanied by some common practice among a number of Afri- graphic illustrations of a “DIY circumcision”. can cultural groups. Medical circumcision If you can stomach it, study the pictures. is also on the rise. So it makes sense that They’ll confirm what I immediately sus- South Africa’s minister of health would be pected upon reading the headline: this is a publicly discussing the issue of circumcision. rather grisly example of false “news”. The country has also recently unveiled Finally, make sure you take a good look “DIY HIV testing kits” that allow people to at the website that runs such an article. This check for HIV in their own homes. This is one appeared on African News Updates. common knowledge, so casual or less canny That’s a solid name for a news website, readers might conflate the two procedures. but two warning bells rang for me: the first The reality is that most of us are casual bell was clanged by other articles, which readers, snacking quickly on short pieces ranged from (with a sensational and not having the time to engage fully with bent) to the utterly ridiculous. The second stories. New levels of engagement are re- bell rang out of control when I spotted a tab quired in a world heaving with information. marked “satire” along the top. Click on it and The most important step you can take there’s a rant ridiculing anyone who takes in navigating this terrible new world is to the site seriously. Like I needed any excuse adopt a healthy scepticism towards every- to exit the site and go in search of real news. thing. Yes, it sounds exhausting, but the best journalists will tell you that it saves a lot of Natasha Joseph is a contributing editor for time to approach information with caution. Index on Censorship magazine and is based in My scepticism manifests as what I call my Johannesburg, South Africa. She is also Africa “ detector”. So how did my detector education, science and technology editor at The react to the “DIY circumcision” story? Conversation

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The grammar is poor even in the headline

You don’t need to be a doctor (or a health minister) to spot the problems here

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GET THE TRICKS was launched in late 2016. OF THE TRADE Mencher’s consisted of a standard spiral- bound reporter’s notebook, but also included tips and hints for young reporters and tem- Veteran journalist RAYMOND JOSEPH explains plates for a variety of stories, including a how a handy new tool from South Africa can crime, a fire and a car crash. These listed the teach you core journalism skills to help you get questions a journalist needed to ask. to the truth Cape Town journalist Kanthan Pillay was introduced to Mencher’s notebook when he It’s been more than 20 years since leading US spent a few months at the Harvard Business journalist and teacher Melvin School and the Nieman Foundation in the Mencher released his Reporter’s Checklist and USA. Pillay, who was involved in training young Notebook, a brilliant and simple tool that for reporters at his newspaper, was inspired by it. CREDIT: Nic Bothma/AFP/Rex years helped journalists in training. Back in South Africa, he developed a website Taking cues from Mencher’s, there’s now a called Virtual Reporter. new kid on the block designed for the digital “Mencher’s notebook got me thinking about age. Pocket Reporter is a free app that leads what we could do with it in South Africa,” said people through the newsgathering process – Pillay. “I believed then that the next generation and it’s making waves in South Africa, where it of reporters would not carry notebooks but

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OPPOSITE: A woman riot police in would work online.” Cape Peninsula University of Technology Cape Town Picking up where Pillay left off, Pocket Re- journalism department lecturer Charles King is in February 2017 porter places the tips of Virtual Reporter into planning to incorporate Pocket Reporter into your mobile phone to help you uncover the his curriculum for the news writing and online- information that the best journalists would dig media courses he teaches. out. Cape Town-based Code for South Africa “What’s also of interest to me is that there re-engineered it in partnership with the As- will soon be Afrikaans and Xhosa versions of sociation of Independent Publishers, which represents independent community media. It quickly gained traction among AIP’s members. Their editors don’t always have the Ordinary people without time to brief reporters – who might be inex- journalism training often perienced journalists or untrained volunteers – before they go out on stories. find themselves on the This latest iteration of the tool, in an age frontline of breaking news when any user can be a reporter, is aimed at more than just journalists. Ordinary people without journalism training often find themselves on the frontline of breaking news, the app, the first languages of many of our stu- not knowing what questions to ask or what to dents,” he said. look out for. Once it has been downloaded from the Code4SA recently wrote code that makes Google Play store, the app offers a variety it possible to translate the content into other of story templates, covering accidents, fires, languages besides English. Versions in Xhosa, crimes, disasters, obituaries and . one of South Africa’s 11 national languages, The tool takes you through a series of ques- and Portuguese are about to go live. They are tions to ensure you gather the correct informa- also currently working on Afrikaans and Zulu tion you need in an interview. translations, while people elsewhere are work- The information is typed into a box below ing on French and Spanish translations. each question. Once you have everything “We made the initial investment in devel- you need, you have the option of email- oping Pocket Reporter and it has shown real ing the information to yourself or sending it world value. It is really gratifying to see how directly to your editor or anyone else who the project is now becoming community-driv- might want it. en,” said Code4SA head Adi Eyal. Your stories remain private, unless you Editor Wara Fana, who publishes his Xhosa choose to share them. Once you have emailed community paper Skawara News in South the story, you can delete it from your phone, Africa’s Eastern Cape province, said: “I am leaving no trace of it. helping a collective in a remote area to launch their own publication, and Pocket Reporter has been invaluable in training them to report Raymond Joseph is former editor of Big Issue news accurately.” His own journalists were South Africa and regional editor of South Africa’s using the tool and he said it had helped im- Sunday Times. He is based in Cape Town and prove the quality of their reporting. tweets @rayjoe

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