Aging represents the most significant prerequisite to be influenced by disinformation or fraudulent media messages on the internet. The elderly are a group that consumes these messages and also spreads them most often. With the gradual aging of the population and enlargement of the elderly group, the society-wide problem further escalates. The topic of the diploma thesis is focused on the issues of fake news and the spread of disinformation online within the elderly group aged 65 and more years. The thesis aims to describe in detail the aspects on which the elderly evaluate the credibility of news and which signs of fake news they are able to identify. The theoretical section defines the fundamental terms relevant to fake news and describes the state of media literacy of the Czech elderly in the context of current research. In the practical section, a qualitative study is conducted in the form of semi structured interviews with the elderly to answer the research questions.

Unter den Anglizismen des Jahres 2016 schaffte es „Fake News“ noch vor den zweit- und drittplatzierten Wörtern „Dark Net“ und „Hate Speech“ zum Publikumsliebling und wurde auch von der Jury der „Aktion Anglizismen des Jahres“ 2016 auf den ersten Platz gewählt (http://www.anglizismusdesjahres.de). In seiner Laudatio weist Anatol Stefanowitsch darauf hin, dass das Wort Fake News schon im 19. Jahrhundert in ähnlicher Bedeutung wie heute verwendet wurde im Sinne einer frei erfundenen Nachricht, die politische Gegner ungünstig darstellt und von den Lesern – ist hier noch nicht die Rede – positiv aufgenommen wird, weil sie deren Weltbild bestätigt. Die früheste Verwendung datiert er auf 1894 in der Zeitschrift American Historical Register [... aus dem Editorial]

Unter den Anglizismen des Jahres 2016 schaffte es „Fake News“ noch vor den zweit- und drittplatzierten Wörtern „Dark Net“ und „Hate Speech“ zum Publikumsliebling und wurde auch von der Jury der „Aktion Anglizismen des Jahres“ 2016 auf den ersten Platz gewählt (http://www.anglizismusdesjahres.de). In seiner Lauda-tio weist Anatol Stefanowitsch darauf hin , dass das Wort Fake News schon im 19. Jahrhundert in ähnlicher Bedeutung wie heute verwendet wurde im Sinne einer frei erfundenen Nachricht, die politische Gegner ungünstig darstellt und von den Lesern – ist hier noch nicht die Rede – positiv aufgenommen wird, weil sie deren Weltbild bestätigt. Die früheste Verwendung datiert er auf 1894 in der Zeitschrift American Historical Register.

»Fake News« hat sich in den vergangenen Jahren als Kampfbegriff in den deutschen Printmedien etabliert. Aus medienpädagogischer Sicht steht dabei im Fokus, mit Begriffen wie diesem kundig und kritisch umgehen zu können. Mit Hilfe einer theoretischen Grundierung zum Thema »Wahrheit« mit Fokus auf die postmodernen Deutungen u. a. des französischen Philosophen Michel Foucault sowie dem Versuch einer griffigen Definition von »Fake News«, wird die Verwendung des Begriffs in der ZEIT und der Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung im Jahr 2018 im Rahmen einer Diskursanalyse nach dem Modell Siegfried Jägers untersucht und die gesellschaftlichen Folgen thematisiert.

Fake news, misinformation och desinformation är begrepp som synts i den allmänna debatten de senaste åren och har använts i såväl politiska sammanhang för att påverka opinion liksom för ekonomiska syften. En särskilt central aktör i spridningen av sådan information är även sociala medier. I kampen mot fake news, misinformation och desinformation utvecklas olika lösningar för att göra det enklare för användare att urskilja sant från falskt. Tidigare forskning påvisar emellertid kontraproduktiva effekter utav flera av de sätt som vilseledande information idag motarbetas på. Ett mer tillförlitligt sätt är därför att främja människors egna psykologiska försvar och därför underbygga den källkritiska förmågan. Källkritik hos människor har också tidigare undersökts, men främst utefter människors förmåga. Föreliggande studies syfte var därför att istället undersöka sociala medieanvändares upplevelser av ett källkritiskt förhållningssätt. För att besvara studiens frågeställningar genomfördes 9 semistrukturerade intervjuer med sociala medieanvändare. Datan analyserades därefter utifrån studiens teoretiska ramverk Theory of planner behavior (TPB), varpå deltagarnas attityder, subjektiva normer, upplevda egna förmåga och intentioner skulle ge en förklaring för de befintliga beteenden som uppvisades. Resultaten visar bland annat att deltagarna besitter en god förståelse för hur källkritik bör tillämpas men att tillvägagångssättet uppfattas som kognitivt belastande och tidskrävande vilket i förlängningen gör att förfarandet främst uppges ske när information anses vara viktig. Framtida lösningar bör således sänka resurströskeln utan att för den delen kompromissa användares analytiska förmåga. / Fake news, Misinformation and disinformation are terms that have been prevalent in the public debate in recent years and have been used in political contexts to influence political opinion as well as for economical purposes. A particularly central actor in the dissemination of such information is social media. To combat fake news, misinformation and disinformation, certain solutions are developed to make it easier for users to distinguish true from false. However, previous research showscounterproductive effects in many of the ways that deceptive information is being fought today. A more reliable way is therefore to promote people's psychological defence and instead underpin critical skills in evaluation of sources. People's ability to critically evaluate the reliability of sources have also been a subject for research, although mainly focused on people's capabilities. The present studies aim was therefore instead to explore social media users' subjective experiences of practicing source evaluation. To answer the studies research questions, 9 semi-structured interviews were conducted with social media users. The data was then analysed with the help of the studies theoretical framework Theory of planned behaviour (TPB), from which the participants' attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behaviouralcontrol and intentions would explain the existing behaviours. Inter alia, the results show that the participants have a good knowledge of how sources should be evaluated although the behaviour is viewed as cognitively cumbersome and time consuming which in the long run purports the behaviour to mainly happen when the information is viewed as important. Future solutions should therefore lower the resource requirements without compromising the users’ analytical capabilities.

The purpose of this study is to investigate, through focus groups, whether people aged 50-80 take a source-critical approach to online information. The study is limited and relates only to Facebook. In addition, the perceived truth value of re-shared information will also be investigated and compared to the perceived truth value in direct contact with the published information. The following questions will be the focus of the study; - How are older people affected by disinformation on Facebook? - What effect does re-shared disinformation on Facebook have on older people? - To what extent do older people have a source-critical approach on Facebook? - Does the source-critical approach among older people differ regarding digitally published information compared to analogically published information? Title: Digital citizenship: A qualitative study of how elders relate to source criticism on Facebook Author: Rasmus Wickström Jäder Course, term and year: Scientific essay, sixth term, 2024. Number of words: 8523 Methodolgy and material: The study is mainly based on three focus groups between four and six people aged 50–80 will participate in each, thus providing a response base of 12–18 people. The selection was done through a snowball sampling. Each focus group was conducted digitally, via Messenger, and moderated by the writer who continuously used an interview guide to support the valid approach. All conversations were recorded and transcribed to summarize the discussions as accurately as possible, which further aided in summarizing and analyzing the data. As a complement to the focus groups, a semiotic image analysis was also carried out. Main result: The results show that older people are not necessarily less critical of sources than the younger generation. The majority of respondents were highly critical of the sharing of posts on Facebook and did not seem to be significantly affected by disinformation on the platform. Furthermore, some of the respondents highlighted the importance of analogue media in the question of taking a source-critical approach to online news and its major place in everyday media consumption.

Stockholm den 7 april 2017, klockan 14:59: rapporter om en lastbil som körde på människor längs Drottninggatan i centrala Stockholm, nådde allmänheten. Det konstaterades snabbt vara en terrorattack. Kort efter attacken började uppgifter om skottlossning på olika platser runt Stockholm att spridas. Ryktena cirkulerade i drygt en timme innan polisen kunde dementera dem, efter att ha avsatt resurser för att undersöka de påstådda skjutningarna. Skottlossning hade aldrig inträffat.             Studiens syfte var att undersöka retoriska dimensioner och persuasiva funktioner hos fake news samt vilka konsekvenser fake news kan få vid en krissituation. Visuell retorisk analys var den metodologiska utgångspunkten som, genom en abduktiv forskningsstrategi, kombinerades med teoretiska perspektiv för kris, ethos, vividness och fake news. Analysmaterialet utgjordes av fyra nyhetsutdrag: SvT Nyheter, Dagens Nyheter (2 st.) och Expressen var källorna bakom dessa.             Analysen visade att nyheterna om skottlossning mottogs som visuella intryck, som i kombination med starka ethos och högt förtroende för nyhetskällorna, utgjorde trovärdiga nyheter som allmänheten accepterade som sanna. Därtill konkluderades att fake news kan förstås som mentala bilder. / Stockholm, 7th of April 2017, 2:59 pm, reports said a lorry had hit several people along the pedestrian street Drottninggatan in the city centre, which was quickly labelled a terrorist attack. Shortly afterwards, news flashes warned people of alleged open gunfire observed at several other spots in the city. The rumours circulated for over one hour before the Police were able to refute them, after firstly having investigated the claims themselves. There had been no shootings.          The purpose of this study was to explore the rhetorical dimensions and persuasive functions of fake news and which consequences these can lead to in a crisis. Visual rhetorical analysis has been the methodological approach which, through an abductive research strategy, was combined with the theoretical perspectives of crisis, ethos, vividness and fake news. The material analysed consisted of four news excerpts: SvT Nyheter, Dagens Nyheter (2) and Expressen.             The analysis showed that the news of the alleged gunfire were perceived as visual impressions which, in combination with strong ethos and high trust for the source of news, were deemed as credible and therefore true by the readers. In addition, it was concluded that fake news can be understood as mental pictures.

Fake news har fått ett starkt fäste i sociala medier och är ett växande problem – för individen såväl som för samhället. Grundläggande teorier om beslutsfattande, samarbete, kommunikation och marknader bygger alla på en bärande idé om att information är sann, precis och samvetsgrann. Det finns starka både ideologiska och ekonomiska motiv bakom spridningen av felaktiga fakta, falska berättelser, lögner och konspirationsteorier. Det råder en uttalad oro över effekten på politiska val och den demokratiska utvecklingen, men också farhågor om andra potentiella negativa konsekvenser, från ökande cynism och apati till hetsande extremism. Åtgärder för att minska utbredningen diskuteras, i litteraturen framträder fyra olika huvudformer: statliga interventioner, självpåtagna begränsningar/plattformspolicys, teknologiska lösningar och utbildning i källkritik. Civilsamhällets roll i begränsningen av spridningen är, såvitt kunnat överblickas, tidigare inte studerad. Denna explorativa studie syftar till att öka kännedomen om det svenska civilsamhällets mobilisering mot fake news. De aktörer som identifierats i studien är för civilsamhället karaktäristiska frivilligorganisationer som dels agerat självständigt, dels i samarbete med offentlig sektor och/eller näringslivet. Samtliga aktörer har haft mobiliseringen mot fake news som en biuppgift, det vill säga det har inte varit deras enda eller deras huvuduppgift. I studien har fem huvudstrategier framträtt i mobiliseringen mot fake news: grundläggande utbildning och undervisning, allmänbildande kompetenshöjning, understödjande, skapa debatt och påverkansarbete. Angreppssättet har varit kvalitativ innehållsanalys. / Fake news has gained a strong foothold in social media and is a growing problem - for the individual as well as for the whole society. Basic theories of decision making, cooperation, communication and markets are all based on the idea that information is true, accurate and conscientious. There are strong both ideological and economic motives behind the spread of false facts, false stories, lies and conspiracy theories. There is a deep concern about the effect this may have on political elections and democratic developments, but also concerns about other potential negative consequences, from increasing cynicism and apathy to instigative extremism. Measures to reduce dissemination are discussed and the literature shows four different main forms: government intervention, self-imposed measures/platform policies, technology solutions and source criticism training. The role of civil society in limiting the spread is, as far as it could be established by the author, not studied previously. This exploratory study aims to raise awareness about the Swedish civil society's mobilization against fake news. The actors identified in the study are civil society voluntary organizations who acted independently, or in cooperation with the public sector and/or business sector. All actors have mobilized against fake news as a secondary task, that is, it has not been their sole or their main task. In the study, five main strategies have emerged in the mobilization: basic education and training, general education enhancement, supporting, creating debate and impact work. The methodological approach in this study has been qualitative content analysis.

[pt] A internet se tornou um vasto terreno de pesquisa e fonte de informação e também uma poderosa ferramenta de lucrativa desinformação e propaganda. Silverman (2016) verificou que três meses antes das eleições americanas de 2016, as 20 informações falsas mais compartilhadas somaram um total de 8.711.00 de compartilhamentos em contraponto às 20 notícias mais compartilhadas publicadas por jornais como The New York Times, NBC News e outros, que tiveram 7.367.00 compartilhamentos. Segundo o Índice Global de Desinformação (GDI, na sigla em inglês) a desinformação é um mercado de pelo menos 235 milhões de dólares em publicidade online. É o que estima estudo de 2019, que acompanha o alcance e os efeitos da desinformação no mundo. Esta é a receita estimada dos 20 mil sites de diversos países classificados como desinformadores pelo GDI. Essa receita com publicidade foi auferida por meio de uma tecnologia chamada propaganda computacional ou mídia programática, que automatiza leilões de espaços publicitários em sites em tempo real. O presente trabalho procura, a partir do método dialético de Marx, tecer considerações sobre desinformação, esclarecendo termos como fake news, pós-verdade, misinformation e disinformation para compreender os impactos do fenômeno e buscar compreender a quem interessa desinformar. Compreendemos que a desinformação, em muitos casos, tem o objetivo de trazer lucro a quem a dissemina. Com base no estudo publicado pelo Oxford Internet Institute, da Universidade Oxford, procuramos mensurar a lucratividade dos sites de desinformação brasileiros, indicados pelo site jornalístico independente de verificação de fatos Aos fatos, e utilizando a mesma plataforma de gestão de visibilidade online, SemRush, que o instituto usou para mensurar os dados, e comparamos com sites de jornalismo de referência (Aguiar, 2018). Dissertamos também sobre a legislação que começa a ser construída no Brasil em relação à desinformação. / [en] The Internet has become a vast field of research and source of information and also a powerful tool of lucrative disinformation and propaganda. Silverman (2016) found that three months before the 2016 American elections, the 20 most shared false information totaled a total of 8,711,00 shares in contrast to the 7,367,00 shares of the 20 news articles published by newspapers like The New York Times, NBC News and others. According to the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), disinformation is a market of at least 235 million dollars in online advertising. This is what the 2019 study estimates, which follows the reach and effects of disinformation in the world. This is the estimated revenue of the 20,000 sites classified as uninformed by the GDI. This advertising revenue was earned through a technology called computer advertising or programmatic media that automates auctioning of advertising space on websites in real time. The present work seeks, from Marx s dialectical method, to weave considerations about misinformation, clarifying terms such as fake news, post-truth, misinformation and disinformation to understand the impacts of the phenomenon and seek to understand who is interested in misinformation. We understand that disinformation, in many cases, aims to bring profit to those who disseminate it. Based on the study published by the Oxford Internet Institute of Oxford University, we seek to measure the profitability of Brazilian disinformation sites, indicated in the article of the independent journalistic fact-checking website, To the facts, and using the same online visibility management platform, Semrush, that the Institute measured the data and comparing with reference journalism sites (Aguiar, 2018). We also discuss the legislation that is beginning to be built in Brazil in relation to disinformation.

The thesis follows up a topic of fake news within the borders of Czech Republic. This frequently discussed phenomena is often linked to the pro-Kremlin propaganda, whose aim is to evoke fear across the citizens, as well as raise distrust towards reigning authorities, western institutions, a functionality of liberal democracy and at last but not least - distrust towards public media and mainstream media in general. This is being achieved by production of fake news, also known as fictive, false or manipulative articles, that are being spread through the social media. Despite its low credibility the news often make their way into the public discussion, forming the general opinion and as a result affecting many political decisions. In order to follow this topic up further, I will put in use the Adam Klein's concept, also known as information laundering.This concept describes the ways how these hateful articles, personal opinions and straight up false news are getting legitimised within the online world and subsequently spread through the social media under the disguise of respectable journalism. The thesis is aiming to map out the entire sphere of fake news media, its websites and Facebook and YouTube social profiles as well as describe individual aspects of the entire mechanism using quantitative analysis. In...