Fake News: The Rise of a Public Menace and the Struggle to Combat It

The UK Government has officially designated fake news as a significant threat to the nation’s way of life, according to its Online Harms White Paper published earlier this year. The paper stated that “inaccurate information, regardless of intent, can be harmful” and warned that disinformation could undermine national security, fracture community cohesion, and erode public trust.

This governmental concern emerged before the Digital, Culture, Media and Sports Committee (DCMS) released its comprehensive report on “Disinformation and ‘fake news’,” which proposed various measures to combat the growing problem. The timing is particularly noteworthy given the current political climate and ongoing debates about information integrity.

The rise of social media has fundamentally altered how information spreads. Unlike traditional news organizations, content shared online often lacks verification processes, leading to distorted or misleading information reaching millions instantly. The primary concern among experts is that voters can be micro-targeted with specific information based on personal data collected through social media platforms, potentially influencing electoral outcomes.

While media manipulation isn’t new—recall the 2015 election campaign when Ed Miliband’s awkward bacon sandwich moment was weaponized against him—the scale has changed dramatically. Social media platforms with billions of daily users present a vastly different challenge than traditional media outlets with their millions of readers.

The Cambridge Analytica scandal of 2017 marked a turning point in this discourse. The scandal revealed how personal data from an estimated 50 million Facebook users was harvested without consent and used to psychologically profile and target voters with personalized political content. Additionally, intelligence agencies, including those behind the Mueller report, concluded that foreign actors had deployed fake news to influence election outcomes.

These revelations prompted worldwide regulatory investigations and legislative responses. Even Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg was summoned to testify before both the US Congress and the European Parliament, signaling the gravity of the situation.

One fundamental challenge in addressing fake news is defining it. The DCMS report rejected the term “fake news” entirely, preferring “disinformation,” which it defined as “the deliberate creation and sharing of false and/or manipulated information intended to deceive audiences, either for harm or gain.” This definition raises questions about where to draw the line between disinformation and other forms of content like satire, parody, or biased reporting.

In response to these concerns, the Electoral Commission has advocated for legislation requiring online political advertisements to clearly disclose their financial backers, similar to printed campaign materials. Facebook has already implemented an archive of political advertisements on its platform, providing transparency about their origins and targeting parameters.

However, experts note that much of the disinformation spread during the 2016 US Presidential election came through unpaid posts rather than paid advertisements, making such regulations potentially ineffective. Between October 2017 and September 2018, Facebook reported shutting down 2.8 billion fake accounts, demonstrating the scale of the problem.

The identification of fake accounts presents significant technical challenges. Foreign actors have created thousands of false identities with supporting documentation and convincing social media profiles that are virtually indistinguishable from legitimate users. Moreover, much of the content doesn’t explicitly mention elections but instead focuses on divisive social issues like immigration or religion to provoke emotional responses.

Social media companies, while traditionally positioning themselves as neutral platforms, have begun developing tools allowing users to flag potential fake news. This aligns with the DCMS’s Code of Practice for online social media providers, which calls for “clear and accessible reporting processes” for harmful content.

The UK government has proposed a new regulatory framework that would impose a statutory duty of care on platform operators, overseen by an independent regulator. This would include obligations to proactively monitor certain types of illegal content, make disputed content less visible, promote authoritative news sources, and clearly identify automated accounts.

Non-compliance could result in significant fines and individual liability for senior management. Several regulatory bodies have already taken action, with Facebook facing a £500,000 fine in the UK for its role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal—the maximum penalty under previous law. In the US, Facebook agreed to pay a record $5 billion fine to the Federal Trade Commission and establish an independent privacy committee outside CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s control.

As the Online Harms White Paper acknowledges, balancing harm prevention with freedom of expression presents difficult judgment calls. The paper emphasizes that future regulation will focus on protecting users from harm rather than determining what is true, highlighting the fundamental tension at the heart of online content regulation.