WHAT IS FAKE NEWS?

• Fake news, or hoax news, refers to false information or propaganda published under the guise of being authentic news. Fake news websites and channels push their fake news content in an attempt to mislead consumers of the content and spread misinformation via social networks and word-of-mouth.
• One of the more colorful definitions of fake news comes from PolitiFact: “Fake news is made-up stuff, masterfully manipulated to look like credible journalistic reports that are easily spread online to large audiences willing to believe the fictions and spread the word.”

WHAT IS TROLLING?

According to the Cambridge Dictionary trolling is:

“the act of leaving an insulting message on the internet in order to annoy someone”

Examples of Fake News and Trolling:

“Trump’s grandfather was a pimp and tax evader while his father was a member of the hate group KKK”

This Article written by AHTRIBUNE.COM and shared by a trump hate page posted and shared a controversial article about the former President of the United States’ ancestors to ruin the image of Donald Trump in efforts to have him impeached and seen unfit for the role of President.

“Trump offering one way tickets to Africa and Mexico for those who want to leave America”

Donald Trump always had his eye on people of different color and race in America, this fake news headline (by tmzhiphop) was meant to show how critical Trump was in his pursuit to “Make America Great Again”, despite his indifference to people of other colors and races, this headline was completely fake and was viewed and shared by more than 1 million people.

The Ryan Halligan Trolling Case

The Ryan Halligan case is another example of how teenagers and social media don’t always mix well. At just 13 years old, Ryan committed suicide. Ryan posted an embarrassing story about himself to a classmate he trusted on Facebook. The classmate then took that story and shared it the entire school. The bullying took an especially cruel turn when a female classmate told Halligan she had a crush on him to get more embarrassing stories out of him. From Ryan’s stories, one of the girl’s friends spread rumors about Ryan, leading to even more bullying both online and offline. When Ryan couldn’t take it anymore, he hung himself.

The Audrie Potts Trolling Case

The case of Audrie Pott’s ordeal is among the most extreme cases of cyberbullying there is. Audrie was one of roughly 20 students invited to a house party in 2012. Alcohol was served and Audrie took part, eventually passing out from too much vodka. While she was unconscious, three boys at the party sexually assaulted her. They then got permanent markers and humiliated her by coloring half of her face black and writing lewd remarks on every last part of her body. Finally, they took pictures of their misdeeds, sending digital copies to local students all over their city. After eight days of harassment and unwarranted shaming, Audrie committed suicide.