Posted: February 16th, 2022

What is the danger to the public and American democracy

1. What is fake news, and why has it expanded so rapidly, especially during the 2016 election?

Fake news refers to false stories that appear to be news and quickly spread to influence the readers’ political beliefs and worldview. The concept of fake news grew in popularity after the incident that happened during the 2016 campaign (Watson, 2022). During that time, many audiences are said to have witnessed fake news. Since then, Americans have become worried about the influence of misinformation on voters and elections. These false stories generally originate from sources such as biased reporting, deep fakes, and selectively quoting sources which contribute to the confusion and difficulty of consumers to determine the truth. Today, Americans have been concerned about the quality of the news they encounter daily from various websites. Statistics show that two-thirds of news consumers say that they don’t trust news received from social media platforms, while older people become even more worried about this topic (Auxier & Arbanas, 2021). A recent example of fake news includes the COVID-19 pandemic, whereby around 80% of citizens reported having seen fake news on the coronavirus outbreak, highlighting the effects and spread of fake news (Watson, 2022). 

The major reason fake news has expanded so rapidly is the increased changes in media technology. After the 2012 elections, Facebook introduced new tools to help its users read and share news stories. The 2016 incident went viral on Facebook due to traffic on google searches in which stories from dubious sites jumped to the top of your screen (PolitiFact, 2022). Creators of fake news discovered they could make money off news through automated advertising that rewarded high traffics to their websites. For instance, a man from the Los Angeles suburbs running a string of fake news told NPR that he could make between $10,000 and $30,000 in a month (PolitiFact, 2022). Another major contributing factor is that barriers to entry in the media industry have drastically dropped. It has become very easy for anyone to set up a website and additionally easy to monetize web content through various advertising platforms. This has led to a sharp increase in social media use since 2016, reaching up to 1.8billion Facebook users to 400 million twitter’s (Allcott & Gentzkow, 2017). Since then, there has been a continuing decline of trust and confidence in the media platform about news reporting. These declines were marked more on the republicans as compared to democrats, thus contributing to a sharp drop among the republicans in 2016 (Allcott & Gentzkow, 2017). To conclude, the declining trust in the mainstream media could be termed as both the cause and consequence of fake news gaining more traction.

1. What is the danger to the public and American democracy posed by fake news?

The entire process of democracy is based on reliable information; therefore, violating this rule by generating fake news would pose a greater danger to the public and American democracy. The widespread dissemination of fake news has resulted in its citizens being unable to form well-considered opinions, evident by making rational political decisions. This issue increases the correlation between fake news viewing attitudes of inefficacy, alienation, and cynicism towards politics (Lee, 2019). One major consequence of factual fake news on the US democracy is that the people tend to confuse the two types of fake news, factual and ideological therefore providing validity to ideological claims of fake news. Many citizens have developed a distrust of the mainstream media and have become more politically polarized. Individuals have continued to cling to alternative sets of facts while others do not know what to believe. At this point, fake news has managed to diminish the optimum possibility of establishing a democratic debate and the subsequent legitimacy of the democratic process. To add to this, it has presented a destabilizing capacity that has affected the citizens’ trust in the policies, government, and democracy (Lee, 2019). The above destabilization could cause tension between citizens and citizen-media interactions. According to Lee (2019), fake news creates communities that act like feedback loops “hearing our thoughts about what’s right and wrong bounced back to us by the television shows we watch, the newspapers and books we read […] and the neighborhoods we live in.” Political polarizations such as these have critical consequences on democracy because people use the destabilizing properties of fake news to fuel partisan politics (Lee, 2019). 

In conclusion, the most dangerous effect of fake news is its negative consequences on liberal democracy. Lee (2019) argued that the delegitimization of the democratic process in the USA due to fake news could be a major signal to the oncoming democratic failure or transition to a hybrid regime. The future democracy doesn’t seem promising because of the age of fake news. The media has continued to be an underestimated value to democracy while the citizens are increasingly becoming aware of its impact on worldviews. Therefore there can be no doubt about the detrimental effects of fake news on both the public and democracy.

1. How can fake news be combatted by individuals, society, the media, etc.?

Various ways can address the issue of fake news in the media. Consumers must realize that they play a major role as far as this topic is concerned. Sharing of fake news is not uncommon among US citizens. 10% of respondents of a study admitted that they had shared fake news with others even after identifying that the news was fake (Watson, 2022). It is a matter of responsibility of oneself to fight this problem. There is a greater hope as the audiences develop discernment and identify genuine content. While fake news will continue to circulate, there will be less attention to it.

Additional methods include redesigning algorithms that play a major role in encouraging fake news and filtering bubbles. The government must create laws that make the authoring and distributing of false information punishable. Through this, the government will be able to regulate fake news properly. In conclusion, the government laws or the algorithm changes, the responsibility remains on the citizens of America. The only way to combat factual and ideological fake news is to educate the public on achieving deductive conclusions, increasing their level of discernment.

1. What effect, if any, did fake news have in the 2016 election, and who did it affect most?

         During the 2016 election, the public engagement with fake news on Facebook was higher than mainstream sources. A post-election survey suggested that 3 months before elections, Americans reported spending 66minutes each day listening and watching the news while 38% spent their time on social media (Lee, 2019). undecided voters during the election were more likely to vote for President Trump if they had believed the fake news on social media about Hillary Clinton (Marina, 2020). These remain to be the most contested controversies of president trumps victory in 2016. Statistics show that three months before the elections, fake news favouring Trump was shared 30million times compared to 8 million favouring Clinton (Mores & Georgacopoulos, 2020). Due to the above factor and many more, commentators had suggested that Donald Trump would not have been elected if not for the fake news everywhere (Allcott & Gentzkow, 2017). Fake news was found to affect 65 years and older citizens who were believed to be more susceptible to believing the news than millennials (Marina, 2020). To add to this, the issue of distrust to the media platform had drastically increased more on the republicans versus the democrats, which contributed to a decrease among republicans in 2016 (Allcott & Gentzkow, 2017). 

Get Professional Assignment Help Cheaply

Are you busy and do not have time to handle your assignment? Are you scared that your paper will not make the grade? Do you have responsibilities that may hinder you from turning in your assignment on time? Are you tired and can barely handle your assignment? Are your grades inconsistent?

Whichever your reason is, it is valid! You can get professional academic help from our service at affordable rates. We have a team of professional academic writers who can handle all your assignments.

Why Choose Our Academic Writing Service?

• Plagiarism free papers
• Timely delivery
• Any deadline
• Skilled, Experienced Native English Writers
• Subject-relevant academic writer
• Adherence to paper instructions
• Ability to tackle bulk assignments
• Reasonable prices
• 24/7 Customer Support
• Get superb grades consistently

Online Academic Help With Different Subjects

Literature

Students barely have time to read. We got you! Have your literature essay or book review written without having the hassle of reading the book. You can get your literature paper custom-written for you by our literature specialists.

Finance

Do you struggle with finance? No need to torture yourself if finance is not your cup of tea. You can order your finance paper from our academic writing service and get 100% original work from competent finance experts.

Computer science

Computer science is a tough subject. Fortunately, our computer science experts are up to the match. No need to stress and have sleepless nights. Our academic writers will tackle all your computer science assignments and deliver them on time. Let us handle all your python, java, ruby, JavaScript, php , C+ assignments!

Psychology

While psychology may be an interesting subject, you may lack sufficient time to handle your assignments. Don’t despair; by using our academic writing service, you can be assured of perfect grades. Moreover, your grades will be consistent.

Engineering

Engineering is quite a demanding subject. Students face a lot of pressure and barely have enough time to do what they love to do. Our academic writing service got you covered! Our engineering specialists follow the paper instructions and ensure timely delivery of the paper.

Nursing

In the nursing course, you may have difficulties with literature reviews, annotated bibliographies, critical essays, and other assignments. Our nursing assignment writers will offer you professional nursing paper help at low prices.

Sociology

Truth be told, sociology papers can be quite exhausting. Our academic writing service relieves you of fatigue, pressure, and stress. You can relax and have peace of mind as our academic writers handle your sociology assignment.

Business

We take pride in having some of the best business writers in the industry. Our business writers have a lot of experience in the field. They are reliable, and you can be assured of a high-grade paper. They are able to handle business papers of any subject, length, deadline, and difficulty!

Statistics

We boast of having some of the most experienced statistics experts in the industry. Our statistics experts have diverse skills, expertise, and knowledge to handle any kind of assignment. They have access to all kinds of software to get your assignment done.

Law

Writing a law essay may prove to be an insurmountable obstacle, especially when you need to know the peculiarities of the legislative framework. Take advantage of our top-notch law specialists and get superb grades and 100% satisfaction.

What discipline/subjects do you deal in?

We have highlighted some of the most popular subjects we handle above. Those are just a tip of the iceberg. We deal in all academic disciplines since our writers are as diverse. They have been drawn from across all disciplines, and orders are assigned to those writers believed to be the best in the field. In a nutshell, there is no task we cannot handle; all you need to do is place your order with us. As long as your instructions are clear, just trust we shall deliver irrespective of the discipline.

Are your writers competent enough to handle my paper?

Our essay writers are graduates with bachelor's, masters, Ph.D., and doctorate degrees in various subjects. The minimum requirement to be an essay writer with our essay writing service is to have a college degree. All our academic writers have a minimum of two years of academic writing. We have a stringent recruitment process to ensure that we get only the most competent essay writers in the industry. We also ensure that the writers are handsomely compensated for their value. The majority of our writers are native English speakers. As such, the fluency of language and grammar is impeccable.

What if I don’t like the paper?

There is a very low likelihood that you won’t like the paper.

Reasons being:

• When assigning your order, we match the paper’s discipline with the writer’s field/specialization. Since all our writers are graduates, we match the paper’s subject with the field the writer studied. For instance, if it’s a nursing paper, only a nursing graduate and writer will handle it. Furthermore, all our writers have academic writing experience and top-notch research skills.
• We have a quality assurance that reviews the paper before it gets to you. As such, we ensure that you get a paper that meets the required standard and will most definitely make the grade.

In the event that you don’t like your paper:

• The writer will revise the paper up to your pleasing. You have unlimited revisions. You simply need to highlight what specifically you don’t like about the paper, and the writer will make the amendments. The paper will be revised until you are satisfied. Revisions are free of charge
• We will have a different writer write the paper from scratch.
• Last resort, if the above does not work, we will refund your money.

Will the professor find out I didn’t write the paper myself?

Not at all. All papers are written from scratch. There is no way your tutor or instructor will realize that you did not write the paper yourself. In fact, we recommend using our assignment help services for consistent results.

What if the paper is plagiarized?

We check all papers for plagiarism before we submit them. We use powerful plagiarism checking software such as SafeAssign, LopesWrite, and Turnitin. We also upload the plagiarism report so that you can review it. We understand that plagiarism is academic suicide. We would not take the risk of submitting plagiarized work and jeopardize your academic journey. Furthermore, we do not sell or use prewritten papers, and each paper is written from scratch.

When will I get my paper?

You determine when you get the paper by setting the deadline when placing the order. All papers are delivered within the deadline. We are well aware that we operate in a time-sensitive industry. As such, we have laid out strategies to ensure that the client receives the paper on time and they never miss the deadline. We understand that papers that are submitted late have some points deducted. We do not want you to miss any points due to late submission. We work on beating deadlines by huge margins in order to ensure that you have ample time to review the paper before you submit it.

Will anyone find out that I used your services?

We have a privacy and confidentiality policy that guides our work. We NEVER share any customer information with third parties. Noone will ever know that you used our assignment help services. It’s only between you and us. We are bound by our policies to protect the customer’s identity and information. All your information, such as your names, phone number, email, order information, and so on, are protected. We have robust security systems that ensure that your data is protected. Hacking our systems is close to impossible, and it has never happened.

How our Assignment  Help Service Works

1.      Place an order

You fill all the paper instructions in the order form. Make sure you include all the helpful materials so that our academic writers can deliver the perfect paper. It will also help to eliminate unnecessary revisions.

2.      Pay for the order

Proceed to pay for the paper so that it can be assigned to one of our expert academic writers. The paper subject is matched with the writer’s area of specialization.

3.      Track the progress

You communicate with the writer and know about the progress of the paper. The client can ask the writer for drafts of the paper. The client can upload extra material and include additional instructions from the lecturer. Receive a paper.

4.      Download the paper

The paper is sent to your email and uploaded to your personal account. You also get a plagiarism report attached to your paper.

PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET A PERFECT SCORE!!!