Imagine a desolate world, in which anarchy rules and destruction has taken the reins of the government. This world has one difference between now and then. The American figurehead has become part of the problem. People bite and tear at the crumbling foundation of democracy, not trusting their neighbor, their friend. There has been no nuclear fallout, or even a war. This isn’t the Hunger Games either. Instead, it is a world without media. From social media, to online newspapers, to even radio broadcasting, news is ubiquitous. No longer does anyone have to wait a week for the newspaper to be delivered, but instead now one can search a news site and have all the information they want at the tip of their fingers. Yet this power has its limits. Mainstream media has become biased and, in some cases, fake altogether. Fake news is a major problem in the American society, and has become as prevalent as real news. In order to find a solution to this large-scale issue, certain concepts must be cleared up. The definition of fake news, the impacts it has had on the American culture and dream, and who should be in charge of regulations are all very important elements to the fake news infestation.

Fake news is, by definition, “a report of recent events” that is “counterfeit, or a sham,” as stated by Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary. According the Guardian by Elle Hunt on December 17, 2016, there is a difference between fake news and many news articles that people claim to be “fake.” This astonishingly common phrase has been used to describe articles that hold significant political bias against, or for, the subject of the story. One example of this is titled, “Attorney General Loretta Lynch ‘Pleads the Fifth’ on Secret Iran Ransom Deal.” WNYC, an organization committed to educating the public about fake news, explains in their article “The Rot of Fake News,” published November 17, 2016, that fake news isn’t something we can just let run rampant, because it will begin to rot society. Fake news isn’t just a casual word that can be thrown around to label news we don’t agree with. Fake news is a major problem many people struggle with today.

One major point of the fake news push was in the 2016 presidential election. In a report by two Stanford college professors, Hunt Allcott and Matthew Gentzkow, it is explained how one-sided the fake news stories were. According to their research, the average American saw and remembered 0.92 pro-Trump fake articles, yet could only remember 0.23 that were pro-Clinton. With pro-Trump stories such as the one that caused ”Pizzagate,” many people were swayed away from voting for Hillary Clinton, because they believed that the stories they saw on Facebook were true. There was more impacts than just in politics. Anas Modamani, a Syrian refugee, found himself on the worst side of fake news. Anas was branded a terrorist by social media giant Facebook after simply taking a selfie with German chancellor Angela Merkel. CNN writer Atika Shubert writes on March 17, 2017, Merkel visited Modamani’s shelter in 2015, and, after he posted the selfie to Facebook, fake news producers hijacked the picture. Fake news articles sprung up, causing Modamani to file a lawsuit that he later lost. From what used to be satire, fake news has spread into a widespread virus in almost all American homes.

There are many debates about who should hold the responsibility of abolishing fake news. From my perspective, the media should hold the greatest amount of authority towards the purpose of fake news. The government should have little to no power in this matter. Our current president has become a self-proclaimed “first line of defense” of fake news. Except Trump’s version of fake news is simply all liberal sources that publish articles against him. There are very few in his Cabinet that have differing opinions than him on this pressing concern. The LSE Media Policy Project is a project by the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom centered around fake news. They published an article on February 17, 2017 that explains the media’s policy for fake news. The media has no straightforward solution. The first step would be setting up regulations for social media sites. These regulations must be pushed by the board of each company, so they can be unique and effective. No company wants to be the one to take the first step; however, with a little time and effort, the news can begin the baby steps into productivity.

Currently, the media is quickly growing out of hand, with extreme right- and left- wing journalists that write extremely biased articles that anyone can read--and believe. The news has no limit, so they must begin revamping their systems. Regulations must be put in place to prevent situations like the ones that happened to Danielle Bregolli and Anas Modamani. Another vexatious situation has come to light. Whoopi Goldberg, renowned actress, says a fake news story put her life in danger. She plans to sue a man who published a damaging story about her, according to a  Huffington Post article by Zeba Blay on March 15, 2017. In the article, Goldberg, who hosts the show “The View”, says that the widow of fallen Navy SEAL William Owens was just “seeking attention” when she received a standing ovation at Trump’s first Congressional address. The fake article was created by a man who “just wanted to see how fast his stories could spread.” Goldberg believed that someone with a strong opinion and access to weapons could have found her. There must be restrictions on the media, whether they are regulations on content, source, or quotations.

Fake news isn’t just an idea or an article, it’s a business. In a podcast by Marketplace, it is explained how many fake articles sprout from Macedonia. Buzzfeed identified over 140 sites originating from a singular town called Veles, which has a population of about 43,000 people. Fake news generators can earn anything between $5,000 per month and $10,000 per day in the height of the fake news season. The money is earned through AdSense, via website monetization. Sometimes generators don’t even do it for the money, they do it just to see how far their stories can spread. Fake news is an illegitimate business that has many negative effects.

There are many steps we can take towards a solution. The first of which is societal prevention. Everyone must be educated on the dangers and ways to prevent fake news. The steps to preventing fake news can be remember under the pneumonic CRAAP. The website must be current and relevant. The writer must also have the authority, either educated or using as little bias as possible. The news must be accurate and have a purpose other than selling everyone memberships or political sway. The next step that must be taken is the management. An authoritative body must be established, and can set up a rule system. Everyone must work together to get rid of the atrophy of fake news. Finally, the fake news generators who profit off fake news must be put out of business, and discouraged from creating any more, via punishment such as heavy fines. Fake news is still a major problem that only grows, but if someone takes a single step towards stopping it, the whole wave will start.

So through the steps toward the solution of fake news, the cases of Anas Modamani, Danielle Bregolli, and Whoopi Goldberg can be put to rest. It will also prevent another case in the election, where fake news was partly the cause for the current president’s popularity. The fact of whose responsibility it is will also be put to rest. The solution won’t happen in an hour, a day, or even a week, but if someone gets the ball rolling, the world will follow. If not, fake news will slowly and steadily begin to rot away the walls of society, leaving death and destruction in its path. While anarchy doesn’t rule quite yet, who knows what will happen in the future.