Last week, I attended the seminar on fake media. I thought this seminar was very interesting because it expanded my thoughts on what exactly fake news was. I had believed that fake news was just news that altered the truth of actual media. However, through this seminar with Professor Dan Schwarz, I learned that fake news can actually expand to any type of information that is slightly altered which includes slightly false information on cover letters, and over exaggerated information in general. The way people commonly perceive fake news is news that alters major truths and facts in politics, however fake news is a term that can explain many common actions of people.

I thought this discussion was interesting because we also discussed about how fake news(in terms of politics) gets attention and spreads. In doing so, we discussed how many times, people who constantly support those who are spreading fake news makes the fake news gain even more importance.  Communication and people emphasize the effect of fake news, which got me thinking about the turning point in which people let their blind support for people promoting fake news overpower their logical reasoning. This topic made me interested in understanding the psychology of how other people can influence one’s thoughts and beliefs about a subject matter to the point where they completely forget their own morals and values.

This discussion also made me evaluate times in my life where I believe I have succumbed to “fake news” in the form of butler lies with regards to availability management, and has allowed me to become more aware of my actions in terms of being completely truthful in endeavors I am pursuing. I also believe that this seminar has opened my eyes to the amount of  “fake news” that surrounds me with regards to people promoting causes they don’t care about, people pretending to be someone they aren’t just for benefits, etc. I didn’t previously understand the depth to which the term “fake news” has and now realize that fake news can be any situation that is presented in a way that deviates from its true intention/purpose, even if the deviation is slight.