THE IMPACT OF FAKE NEWS ON THE SOCIETY ( A STUDY OF ADESEUN OGUNDOYIN POLYTECHNIC, ERUWA)

ABSTRACT This research presents the results of the impact of fake news on Nigeria Society, a case study of Adeseun Ogundoyin Pollytechnic, Eruwa, Oyo state. Fake new media is said to be very important to the entire media industry. What the new media contribute to the industry is immeasurable. In the areas of news gathering, processing as well as dissemination, the new media is performing remarkable tasks. The rippling effect of this is that it also spread misinformation at the speed of light. Van der Linden, Maibach, Cook, Leiserowitz & Lewandowsky (2017a) opines that false information can reach large audiences by spreading rapidly from one individual to another. Wong (2019) also lend credence to the argument that social media (which is a type of the new media) help in the spread of fake news. It is pertinent to note that owners of tech companies’ especially social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram amongst others have embarked on moves to combat the phenomenon but with little success as their efforts have not stopped people from sharing misinformation, (Wong, 2019). It is difficult to achieve this because the social media space remains the most difficult to censor. Selective policing cannot also be effective as participants on new media forums or users of new media platforms could appear to be anonymous if they so wish. The traditional media have been identified as one at the receiving end and also part of the solutions to the spread of fake news. The society looks up to the media to find a solution to the spread of fake news. This is because fake news (to an extent) is known to be diminishing credibility of the media and the role of social media themselves. People tend to consume fake news on social media platforms and then turn around to blame the media in general. This is one way the concept of fake news is diminishing media trust, (Madrid-Morales & Wasserman, 2019). The paper looks at new media and the proliferation of fake news within the Nigerian social milieu and how the spread of fake news has affected some critical aspects of the country.