Mass media: Users get the control to check spread of fake news, when they become media literate

We can vividly recall the tragic incident of two young men lynched by a mob in Assam’s Karbi Anglong hills on the suspicion that the duo were child kidnappers. The whole suspicion was based on a fake message circulated through WhatsApp, which claimed the presence of child kidnappers in the locality. This incident alone speaks volume of the dangerous consequences of fake news. Many such incidents have occurred across the globe and will continue to occur so long the internet or media literacy is absent in the society.

We all are media users, even now while moving our eyes over the headlines of the newspaper in hand we are using a mass media. The term ‘mass media’ referred to here, includes all the types of media which are widely used or were used at a point of time. From traditional media to the internet, each have reached a large number of users at different years, different decades. Apart from reaching the masses the most prominent role of mass media has been playing is politically manipulating the masses, along with social and economic awareness. Advertising being the first to use the masses through the newspaper, later turned to be a big tool for the political campaigns apart from entertainment being another most popular aspect which reached the users.

The term mass media was used for the type of media which was mostly used by the people. Firstly, the religious books, then the newspapers reached the hands which made them aware of whatever was happening around. But latter it was taken over by the radio whose accessibility was large compared to the print media which was confined only to the literates. Later the radio’s popularity was taken over by the television which provided both audio and visuals to the users. But the change in the scenario was brought by the internet.

With internet being an interactive medium of communication, the whole process of communication witnessed a huge change. As the most popular mass media, internet brought into light the concept of convergence. The term media convergence changed the media scene with the availability of all forms of media on a single digital platform. The internet or the new media gave the power to its audience to interact, to express opinion and to create. The users are availed with a scope to actively participate, rather being silent spectators or media consumers. Earlier the media only had the authority to put up views and news, but the communication revolution shifted the power to its users. It is no longer a one-way channel. It has also revived the significance of uses and gratification. People started using the media actively, as per their own needs.

With the use of the internet, bloomed the most popular platforms, the social media platforms which offered the users the space to speak up on anything and everything. As much as the space gave the freedom to its users, it time and again reminded us the need and importance of media literacy or internet literacy. The percentage of internet users who used the space wisely was very less. The majority of the users have failed to use the space wisely. As a result of which the spread of fake news and unethical news sharing have risen beyond one’s control. But who should be blame? The media or the users or the telecom industries who are providing the users cheaper data plans? The answer seems simple, the users. But how are they responsible entirely about the current shift of information society to a misinformed society? In the book, 21 Lessons for the 21^st Century by Yuval Noah Harari, I found a quote relevant to the times we are living in, which says “in a world deluged by irrelevant information, clarity is power.”

The internet has no control over its users. It has a vast diverse audience. Anyone with a device which has the feature to support internet connection can give the user a global platform to interact and absorb whatever the internet offers. The academic course of media studies discusses many theories from time to time. Each reflecting the behaviour of media and the audience. The scenario is absorbing everything over the internet without any analysis, makes me relate it to a theory I came across my mass communication and journalism class. The theory being termed as an outdated theory, I find the Magic Bullet Theory a relevant one at the times when internet is our most popular mass media. The magic bullet theory introduced in the late 1930s says how the media shoots a message to its passive users and the users absorbs it without questioning any information shot at them. They believe whatever is shot at. Though the new media is platform which is interactive, and its users are said to be active users, still the whole situation fits very much into the magic bullet theory.

The like, share and believe aspects have made the new media a media which is cursed the most yet used the most. Media is criticised and have become a frequently used negative term. Media scholars and observers criticise media for manipulating the users and the masses. But why blame the medium or the media? Media have always performed its one basic duty of reaching and penetrating the best. What is to be criticised is the behaviour of the users or to be precise the internet savvy population. The internet serves two purposes, that is it is used for both mass communication and for personalised use. This depends wholly on the users how they make use of the available media. why cannot the digital generation use it for constructive purpose? Why cannot we the users defend ourselves from the bullet shot at us? out of the many reasons to be blamed, I feel the reason the new media is being the scapegoat is because of the remarkable absence of media literacy. People have the power to use the media, yet they lack the knowledge of how to use it. It is like buying a new electronic device without a manual. Media literacy is the life jacket which helps us not drown in the vast ocean of information. Media literacy is defined as “the ability to access, analyse, evaluate and create messages across a variety of contexts” (Christ and Potter 1998,7). With the change in the environment of the media, we cannot deny the importance of media literacy. The issues like, misinformation, sharing and believing fake news, lack of analysing the contents available over the internet, popularity of pornography and also the quick defamation of individuals without any second thought , manipulation for political and religious causes to name a few are all the outcome of illiteracy among the population who claim themselves to be a part of the information society.

We are not unfamiliar to the damage fake news circulation over the internet can result to. From the very recent example of a fake message during the lockdown among the migrants in Delhi. A message reached the migrants which informed them about government asking them to gather at a particular spot and from there they will be taken to their respective homes. As a result of which, breaking all the pandemic protocols they gathered in huge numbers. People gathered, following no precaution and later they were confirmed about being fake informed.

To cure this problem of internet illiteracy, the guidelines or manual for internet usage should be obviously availed amongst its users. And for that, as of now the necessity of the introduction of media as a subject in schools is much high. Basic lessons for the proper and ethical use of media is the need of the hour. We all have a tendency of blaming the news channels, web portals, reporters, their unethical practises, but do we peep into ourselves (users) who use the media anytime? Both the sides are equally responsible for making media a scapegoat to every other thing. As media is no more a one-sided affair anymore so, we are all active users. Being media literate can help create, share, believe authentic contents and make use of the media the way it is supposed to be.

Priyanka Rajkhowa

(The author is a part-time faculty member at the Department of Mass Communication, Media Studies and Journalism, Cotton University. The views expressed are the author’s own. She can be reached at [email protected])