Written by: Allie Martin, Public Relations Intern
With the current election still in motion (as of Nov. 6, 2020) for our American neighbours and with the rise of social media, it seems that the topic of fake news appears within the media on the daily.
Recognizing this, the timely and relevant topic was the subject of CPRS Toronto’s most recent virtual event. The professional development event was held on Oct. 28 and was open to all CPRS Toronto members. The goal of the event was to give audience members the knowledge on how to spot fake news, understand its impact on our lives and the tips needed to validate and disseminate trustworthy information, both personally and professionally.
The event was hosted and moderated by Gail Strachan, CPRS Toronto’s Director of Professional Development and Chair of Inclusion and Diversity. Guest speakers included Jessica Samuels, Communications Manager of the Canadian Mental Health Association, Melissa Retty, Senior Vice President of Craft Public Relations, and John Ferri, Vice President of Current Affairs and Documentaries at TVO. Each speaker gave insightful information on fake news in this day and age and how we can navigate it as communications professionals.
The first speaker was Jessica, who spoke about our information foundation and the rise of fast journalism. We are living in a 24/7 hyper-digital age, which has led to the appetite for faster journalism. The emphasis is now placed on being the first to report on information and not necessarily being right; accuracy falls behind at times when quick reporting is the priority. This has resulted in constant ‘updates’ and ‘corrections’ to news stories, and consumers are okay with it, allowing fake news to continue. The rise of social media has also allowed people to purposely set the public on the wrong information path. She emphasized how because of all of this we have to do our own fact-checking and cannot take everything we read as credible.
The next speaker was John, whose insights were greatly tied to Jessica’s. He spoke on the current state of journalism and how digital disruption has led to the loss of thousands of jobs in the traditional media landscape. Mentioning that traditional media wasn’t perfect either on keeping out fake news, but it was a key player in public information as it was the gatekeeper of reliable information. With the rise of social media and more people relying on it for information, there is a heightened risk of receiving misinformation. He recommended watching The Social Dilemma to help understand this. He concluded that fake journalism’s main goal is to have the reader undermine their faith in anything they read as being true. Creating uncertainty in the public means that we don’t know how to separate fact from fiction.
The last speaker, Melissa, spoke about some possible solutions to help us better “spot” fake news, particularly as communications professionals. She spoke on how everyone is likely to have experience in being fooled by something we read online and how it is unfortunately our reality. Melissa highlighted a campaign created by Craft Public Relations to help the public SPOT fake news online. It involves asking four questions as a consumer including:
- Is it a credible source?
- Is it from a biased perspective?
- Are other sources reporting on the same story?
- Is it timely?
We need to understand what sources we can trust and to know the difference between news channels and news sources.
After the presentations, audience members had the opportunity to ask questions which led to some further discussions. It was an excellent event where audience members gained insights on fake news and how our information has changed with the rise of social media in the digital age. It is essential to understand that we can no longer believe everything we see and read as true, as we used to in the past.
CPRS Toronto plans to continue hosting professional development events so stay tuned for those.
Special thanks to Cision for sponsoring the event.
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