Sunday, 6 May 2018

Week 5 [7.05-13.05.2018] Fake news detection

The phenomenon of Fake news has become one of the biggest problems in the modern world. It has impact on peoples opinions and decisions. The problem has been defined and this occurrence has to be stopped. However, existing methods of dealing with the issue seem to be insufficient. 
The following paper:
presents briefly a system of dealing with the occurrence. 

  1. In your opinion - what is fake news and why people create it? 
  2. How can we explain differences between facts and opinions? 
  3. How do you distinguish fake and real news?
  4. What do you think of the proposed in the article method?

36 comments:

  1. In your opinion - what is the fake news and why people create it?
    People create false information to influence the audience, create public opinion, manipulate facts for their own political propaganda, protect their interests.

    How can we explain differences between facts and opinions?
    The fact is based on evidence, that is, it can give a verifiable source to which we can always appeal.

    How do you distinguish fake and real news?
    Just browse the internet on different websites presenting a different political position or read more substantive books;)

    What do you think of the proposed method in the article?
    The methods proposed here are quite simple but seem at first sight effective until the false message is repeated by many media of large corporations but before such a lie can only defend the opinion or relationship of the person we ourselves consider to be the authority.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, thanks for the reply.
      Sometimes in certain conditions, simply ideas are the best ones. Examination of their performance usually leads to the introduction of enhanced approaches, especially while taking about quite fresh issues like fake news.

      Delete
  2. In your opinion - what is fake news and why people create it?
    It is really hard to determine why people or organizations are creating so called fake news. There are plenty of reasons and it is rather matter of personal reasons which could be totally different
    How can we explain differences between facts and opinions?
    The fact is based on scientific rule, information that can be proved and relays on meaningful source.
    How do you distinguish fake and real news?
    I am looking for facts like numbers and analysis with data sources that can be proven
    What do you think of the proposed in the article method?
    Outcomes of methods proposed in the article seems to be pretty accurate in exclusion of some narrow cases

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello, thank you for the post. I agree with you about distinguishing the fake and real news. One can always ask for the sources which were used for the presented calculations.

      Delete
  3. 1. In your opinion - what is fake news and why people create it?

    Fake news is and unconfirmed piece of information that is biased and is not supported by science or reliable sources information. It is created usually for the purpose of manipulation and gaining something from it.

    2. How can we explain differences between facts and opinions?

    Facts can be confirmed in many reliable and unbiased sources and supported with scientific proof.

    3. How do you distinguish fake and real news?

    As above.

    4. What do you think of the proposed in the article method?

    I agree with Ewelina. The results presented in the article seem to prove that the methods proposed can be useful tools when it comes to exclusion in certain instances.

    ReplyDelete
  4. 1. In your opinion - what is fake news and why people create it? 

    It is simply news that is a rumor or news that is intended to provide wrong information for some reason. People create it for marketing reasons, last week there was similar topic, and it can mess up with elections, and people perception. You can advertise something with usage of fake news, of spread awareness of something that can be beneficial. I guess many advertisements or scams also can be called fake news. When something goes viral people change their mind, or they become gossiping and sharing the new thing they found, because it is either shocking or provocative.

    2. How can we explain differences between facts and opinions? 

    Facts are based on some scientifically proved knowledge, and unfortunately it is hard to find facts among all the information, since scientific research are very often completely fake. I am very interested in health area and after watching many documentaries I am very terrified. Most of the “facts” are based on researches funded by corporations and the result of those researches are just to make sure they work in favour for them. Opinions are just made by people by their’s own assumptions. They are not based on any knowledge but only by some believes.

    3. How do you distinguish fake and real news?

    It is really hard nowadays. Basically I do not believe in most of news shown in media, television or newspapers. I just analyse what is said or shown without listening or reading what manipulated media is trying to convince. I also prefer listening to likeminded people like Max Kolonko news. However anyone put a lot of opinions instead of just presenting facts.

    4. What do you think of the proposed in the article method?

    It seems to be very simple, probably too simple. There are other factors that are not included. But any sort of method against fake news make some sense.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, thanks for such comprehensive reply. Do you recall any particular examples of such fake news campaigns in Poland?

      Delete
  5. 1.In your opinion - what is fake news and why people create it?

    Fake news is an intentional disinformation. It may be news that are partially or completely untrue.People create fake news to spread rumors and manipulate other people. Sometimes it is done just to earn money on views of a page.

    2.How can we explain differences between facts and opinions?

    The difference is that facts represents events or states that takes place in reality when opinions express feelings and personal believes.


    3.How do you distinguish fake and real news?

    Sometimes it is not easy. I try to check the informations in many outlets not only one. The more reliable is the source of news the better. It is also good option to ask local people what happened if it is possible.

    4. What do you think of the proposed in the article method?
    I think it is at a stage of proof of concept. Interesting simple idea that may be developed in a future. I would like to know if it is possible to make it more accurate.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, thank you for the comment. I agree with you about checking the reliable source. However, how do we know which source is reliable? It is a promising idea to foster the locals to verify incoming information.

      Delete
  6. 1) In your opinion - what is fake news and why people create it?

    In my opinion, Fuck News are just Fuck News. Hmm ... why people create them? Some people to stand out! Part to realize his hidden intentions. Still others to start a discussion, debate or simply promote (even try) his views.

    2) How can we explain differences between facts and opinions?

    Today, "fake news" means distortions, falsehoods or overinterpretations, the political majority. The opinion is the opinion of the person with whom we share our opinion, whose opinion we value and we believe that in expressing it, it is honest. Some of you think that only TV 1 shows real news, the second part of you think that TV 2 shows the truth and the truth is something intuitive! This intuition in my opinion is the opinion.

    3) How do you distinguish fake and real news?

    There are two versions of false news - a complete one in which false information is contradicted with facts and the one in which the falsity depends on the point of view and interpretation. How to distinguish them, it depends on which part of these messages you identify.

    4) What do you think of the proposed in the article method?

    The method is interesting. One should only think about where to start using it, how long and when the antidote will be developed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, thank for the post. You are right about the fake news - there may types to be distinguished like overinterpretation. Even if the data provided in, for example, an article is correct the accompanying comments raise fears or depict unrealistic scenarios.

      Delete
  7. 1. In your opinion - what is fake news and why do people create it?

    Fake news is a political buzzword, which was invented during the last presidential elections in the USA. It is a slur used by politically biased media to be cast against independent civic journalism done using social media. Then again, the targeted communities throw this insult right back at the MSM, as was painfully experienced by one major TV network.

    People create such word in order to excite the public and win a debate without resorting to arguments.

    2. How can we explain differences between facts and opinions?

    A fact is an element of current or historical reality.
    An opinion is a subjective judgment on anything (facts, conjectures), which is presented from a specific point of view.
    A fact should be distinguished from the reporting of it. Writing or talking about facts is just making statements. The statements can be true or false. Contrary to some stupid politician, who claimed that their opponents use 'false facts' (oxymoron).

    3. How do you distinguish fake and real news?

    The line is blurry. News which make no sense are trivially false. (The term "fake", for me, is dumb and infantile) Other news can contradict known facts. The rest is often uninteresting, but I'm left with is the benefit of doubt, or suspension of disbelief.

    4. What do you think of the proposed in the article method?

    It's wishful thinking, but then - everybody wants to publish or perish.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi thanks for the comment. The main difficulty in distinguishing fake and real news is the blurred line between facts and opinions.

      Delete
  8. Edit: 4. What do you think of the proposed in the article method? --> 4. What do you think of the method proposed in the article?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ad 1
    Fake massage is a message which aims to change the beliefs of the person who is the recipient of it. Fake news is a news on the verge of falsehood and truth. Some part of it is always true. A question arises. How does Fake News differ from Advertising? In both cases, the aim is to change the attitude of the recipient. In both cases, one of the components of information is lies.

    Ad 2
    The difference is easy to understand from the context of what is being said. The fact is also an inspiration said by experts or objective sources. In the age of the Internet, it is difficult to keep both conditions. Therefore, care should be taken when reading information from random sources.

    Ad 3
    Compare the information with own experience and knowledge. The information provided by random persons must not be trusted. I trust the statistics. There is a need to ask ourselves a question. Where is the most common occurrence of fake information? I think in politics. And I think in this area we cannot trust in untested information.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, thanks for the comment. Regarding the statistics I am thinking of the adverts of cosmetics and tests made among a group of 5 users and 100% effectiveness.

      Delete
  10. 1 In your opinion - what is fake news and why people create it?
    Fake news are an informations intentionally misleading reader. They are created to gain public support to political or business ideas.

    2 How can we explain differences between facts and opinions?

    They are entirely different realities. Facts are some events which occured in history. Opinion is somebodys idea about some topic.

    3 How do you distinguish fake and real news?

    We can do this by confrontation of information with other sources.

    4 What do you think of the proposed in the article method?

    Using stance detection is interesting but very common idea. It seems that article is a very preliminary stage in the research work of Mumbai scientists.

    ReplyDelete
  11. 1. In your opinion - what is fake news and why people create it?

    Fake news is unproven and unreliable information. Most frequently they are manipulations, which are aimed at forming in the reader views that are correct according to the author.

    2. How can we explain differences between facts and opinions?

    Facts are something that can be supported by evidence or scientific results. Opinions, on the other hand, are very individual and there may be a lot of them on the same subject.

    3. How do you distinguish fake and real news?

    I always try to use trusted sources of information. When I have doubts about the truthfulness of it, I look for other sources which will overthrow or confirm it. Of course, this applies only to those articles which do not constitute an obvious lie, according to the information that I have.

    4. What do you think of the proposed in the article method?

    The use of NLP, Machine lerning and AI for this seems to make sense, but at the present level of advancement I think that it will be difficult to get the correct results in more sophisticated fake news. At this point I think that only people are able to detect fake news with a high effectiveness.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello, thanks for the post. Referring to the detection of the fake news I think you are partially right. Partially, because we see that fake news indeed have influence on many people.

      Delete
  12. I've always been interested in politics and news, and this topic is close to me
    1 In your opinion - what is fake news and why people create it?
    In my opinion, the fake news is fictitious news that does not correspond to reality, more often it is someone's opinion issued for the fact to manipulate public opinion. Sometimes fake news is done for propaganda purposes, sometimes for trolling.
    2 How can we explain the differences between facts and opinions?
    Trying to read news with reference to proven sources, it is possible to search for similar news in other media resources. Do not trust unverified sources. See who the author of this article. To try to search everywhere for lies, and proceed from the opinion "can I prove this theory myself?", "Who should be deceived me?", "Can this information manipulate me?"
    3 How do you distinguish fake and real news?
    I described my algorithm in question number two. Most often I read only proven sources
    4 What do you think of the proposed in the article method?
    I always believed that humanity needs something like that. I would gladly like to see this method used on all possible resources with news. The truth above all

    ReplyDelete
  13. 1.In your opinion - what is fake news and why people create it?

    In my opinion fake news are information which target is change mind of reader. They are create as I said in definition to change mind of reader or just for fun to make laught when someone believe it.

    2.How can we explain differences between facts and opinions?

    Facts are real. Opinions are just someone point of view.

    3.How do you distinguish fake and real news?

    I always go to the source (if provided) and verify if it is worth trusting, for example if it is a big information station (although sometimes stations like the BBC give false information). If the source is small blog or I can't find out similar information on other information pages I approach information with a great deal of uncertainty.

    4.What do you think of the proposed in the article method?

    I will be suprise if this will detect fake news with a high effectiveness.

    ReplyDelete
  14. 1. In your opinion - what is fake news and why people create it?
    It's a dataset that is intentionally used to create a certain reaction/behaviour which is always unreliable as in the best scenario (if the data subset matches the part of the whole fact set) it's only a part of the 'truth'. Be aware that you can hide intention in every set of data even if it's so called 'reliable source confirmed by authority'. Always question authority and stay curious, don't rely 100% on news. Check things out by yourself because what you read may differ a bit from reality:)
    2. How can we explain differences between facts and opinions?
    Imagine few people sitting in a circle around a sphere. The sphere symbolizes a dataset, an idea, truth, name it. Every person looks their POV and sees only a part of the truth. So only when you know the POV's of other people you can get closer to facts (an emphatic approach)
    3. How do you distinguish fake and real news?
    You can't. Every 'news' is fake to some degree as it cannot contain the full spectrum of data.
    4. What do you think of the proposed in the article method?
    It bothers me as it marks 80% correct dataset as true. So if I were to say that you are : PJATK student, human, breathing, talking, male, would you agree on that, and mark it true? I guess despite how much NLP techniques you use you cannot construct the F-score unless the dataset matches 100%, you can call it mostly true, but I'd be cautious with saying "ah it's so true, cause it matches 99%. Think of this 1% too).

    ReplyDelete
  15. Katarzyna,
    Thank you for very “on top” issue to discuss.
    Fake news used to be considered as information totally untrue. We live in times, when information is the most powerful tool and weapon. It can be used with good intention. Fake news are often prepared to achieve financial profits, or to cheat other people.
    In fact, it is not possible to distinguish fakes and real news. I use my intuition to do it, I don’t believe in any tools or methods (as suggested in the article) – they can be helpful, but also their suggestion can keep us in illusion.
    As for facts and opinions, there is a huge difference between them. Facts are something, what happened and there is nothing to discuss with. Opinion is always some kind of judgement., dependent on the person who spreads them out.
    When Internet appeared, it turned out, everybody can provide “news” service, and to send anything he has in his mind to the whole society. And there is no responsibility for such activity, unfortunately.
    Best,
    Marta

    ReplyDelete
  16. 1. In your opinion - what is fake news and why people create it?
    Fake news are false information. They are created in order to slander a given person, institution, company, influence society for example in political elections.

    2. How can we explain differences between facts and opinions?
    Facts are information that is confirmed by scientific research, scientific journals, public credibility institutions, historical texts, experts in a given field. Opinions are statements of people who express their opinion on a given topic. The information may not be fully accurate as the person expressing his opinion may have misconceptions or knowledge.

    3. How do you distinguish fake and real news?
    It's difficult to distinguish a false message from a real one. A false message contains a part of the truth which makes it look authentic. We need to check the source of the message and look for information on the other page.

    4. What do you think of the proposed in the article method?
    The method is very simple and interesting. I think it's worth attention. It may help to distinguish between false messages.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Fake news are news presenting changed or totally untrue stories, edited interviews or counterfeit materials like fabricated proofs of some political crimes etc. One reason for creating fake news may be simply satire. Other, more harmful is audience manipulation.

    In the context of language processing probably we can use parts of speech as an important feature. Opinions should contain many adjectives and adverbs while facts mainly nouns and verbs.

    Comparing text to other, know news and relying on some features seems like a good way to distinguish real news from the fake one. It's probably very similar to what humans can do to detect what is fake.

    ReplyDelete
  18. 1. In your opinion - what is fake news and why people create it?
    I think it is a class of memes that compete for people attention (and thus exposure, and thus clicks, and thus money) with each other. Considering social good, there is not that much difference between fake news and gossip on celebrities or "10 blankiest blanks" articles or long-term weather forecasts.
    2. How can we explain differences between facts and opinions?
    On the extreme, facts are verifiable and opinions just are: to quote immortal Dude from Big Lebowski: "Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man". But there is a smooth transtion between facts and opinions: hard facts can become more like opinions when properly selected and presented.
    3. How do you distinguish fake and real news?
    I don't. I have distanced myself from news, and only consider historic and scientific publications.
    4. What do you think of the proposed in the article method?
    20 years ago I would say that method proposed is wrong and unscientific: author stance towards news article must be irrelevant for its being true or false. But now, being deeply Bayesian, I think they might be onto something.

    ReplyDelete
  19. 1. In your opinion - what is fake news and why people create it?
    In my opinion it is an information incompatible with reality. It is created for business reasons. In many cases it allows either to acquire or to save some important values (eg money, support, interest).

    2. How can we explain differences between facts and opinions?
    It's simple: opinions are subjective and the facts are objective. The problem is the assessment of the opinion. While the facts should be supported by evidence, some opinions are completely subjective and there is no way to prove them.

    3. How do you distinguish fake and real news?
    First of all, I approach this subject with a distance. I usually try to refer to knowledge that I have or verify news at the source, if possible. In general, it is hard to immediately specify whether something is a truth or a lie.

    4. What do you think of the method proposed in the article?
    The article states that the presented method has 87% accuracy. It’s a quite high rate. I think it needs to be tested a lot. It seems to be a very good idea.

    ReplyDelete
  20. In your opinion - what is fake news and why people create it?
    The "fake news" term stands for any information which is intended to be credible, yet it's completely false. People are creating such material to provide themselves, for example, comfortable income from the fame, or to increase political divisions.

    How can we explain differences between facts and opinions?
    The term "fact" refers to the something true or real, which is backed by, for example, the evidence or the documentation. Opinion is what a person believes or thinks about something. Facts are objective; opinions are subjective.

    How do you distinguish fake and real news?
    I'm always trying to verify the news, especially if it's 'click-bait', to get myself a relatively clear point of view.

    What do you think of the proposed in the article method?
    I believe that only the mixture of NLP techniques, Machine learning, and Artificial intelligence methods would manage to process fast and robust verification process of the amount of the information produced every day.

    ReplyDelete
  21. In your opinion - what is fake news and why people create it?
    To control opinion. Simple, right? You can break peoples careers by spreading fake news and so on. Use them on political campaigns to influence people. Fake news is PR's mightiest weapon.
    How can we explain differences between facts and opinions? Facts are easy, you can evaluate them easily and confirm. Opinions are subjective, our statements.
    How do you distinguish fake and real news? Basically, you can't. It can be done by comparing multiple sources, but it takes time and most of us don't bother doing that.
    What do you think of the proposed in the article method?
    I'm afraid that it won't work. It's too easy to make a mistake based on the incorrect data.

    ReplyDelete
  22. In your opinion - what is fake news and why people create it?
    People create fake news from various purposes. Sometimes it is just a work. I do not want to judge - is it ethical, because maybe they do not have a choice? Nevertheless company focused on this kind of activity should be (if it is not) prohibited by law regulations.

    How can we explain differences between facts and opinions?
    Fact it is like a bit (0/1) It reflects something what is undeniable. Opinion is something that is “next to” the fact. Opinion could reflects a fact but can be a little bit modified … by subiective thought of opinions author.

    How do you distinguish fake and real news?
    Sometimes it could be extremely hard. Gdod fake news can be multiplied thousands of times. Journalists sometimes do not take an effort to validate an information and repeat fake news.

    What do you think of the proposed in the article method?
    Mentioned methods looks simple, but I their results are satisfying. I believe that are more sophisticated methods, which were verified and are present in commercial tools. I have heard about companies that are specialized in fight against fake news.

    ReplyDelete
  23. 1. In your opinion - what is fake news and why people create it?

    Misleading was always a very powerful weapon, nothing has changed in this matter. We often say that “who has the information, has the power”, it is the same case. If you can create information that is good for you, and people will believe in it, than you are gaining a lot

    2. How can we explain differences between facts and opinions?

    The difference is very simple:
    Fact – you can not discuss about it.
    Opinion – most people does not care about your opinion. You can not say is it good or bad because you will always find some people on both sides

    3. How do you distinguish fake and real news?

    I’m looking for the news in different sources often on “both sides”

    4. What do you think of the proposed in the article method?

    As long as the same fake news is not repeated by many media than it will probably work quite well

    ReplyDelete
  24. Thank you for the interesting material. People or organizations create false information to achieve a goal in an easier way. Often, messages of this type may affect the emotions of readers. False information is usually created to distract people's attention from certain events or, on the contrary, to focus the attention of others on some events or people. Regarding the second question, facts are formulas with a logical value equal to one. On the other hand, opinions are expressions about some reality spoken from the perspective of a given person. The fact is by definition true and the opinion is not necessarily. I have the impression that a significant part of society has a problem with distinguishing opinions from facts because it is difficult and requires knowledge in a given field. The fact is always consistent with other facts and it is devoid of emotions and has its support in other data. Opinion is often associated with emotions ... Generally, it is similar to distinguishing between real and false information and it is worth relying on the coherence of knowledge. The presented methods seem to be quite effective, however, they carry the risk of false message authorization because they always assume a limited level of confidence

    ReplyDelete
  25. 1. In your opinion - what is fake news and why people create it? 
    Fake news is the kind of news which are not based on real events or which change the real ones in a way, that they no longer presents the objective truth. The reasons why people create them can be different and depend on particular creator. The common reasons for sure can be seeking the attention from others – some poeple may think that thanks to present some exciting news they will gain popularity and even fame. Other reasons may be misunderstanding the facts, which person heard before, and then present it with false modifications or even just mindless repeating news read on internet pages, which are not credible.

    2. How can we explain differences between facts and opinions? 
    In relation to news presented on the Internet facts are desriptions of events which actually happened, in the exact way that are decsribing, and opinions are just personal statements, presented by some person, about some events. The main difference is that we can use the facts to know what is happening in the world, and from the opinions we can gain information about how other person see different events, persons and things in general.

    3. How do you distinguish fake and real news?
    It sometimes is incredibly difficult and I can’t be certain that in each case I correctly can distinguish fake from real news, but I use some methods. For instance, I take notice of some phrases, such as - in my opinion, according to me etc., which suggest that the news don’t exactly present facts in reality. What’s more, if the fact is important, I check it in a different sources to find out, if there is more sites talking about such events. I also take under consideration, if the site or newspaper are credible.

    4. What do you think of the proposed in the article method?
    If I get the article properly, I think that proposed method is interesting, but I am not sure, if it can be sufficient to really distinguish fake from real news. In fact mentioned method generally depend on two stages – checking the attitude of the author to the title of the article (which considerably narrow the findings, because the title is not always perfectly comaptible with the contest) and then comparing how similar is the document to top search results. However I am sure these stages can be helpful to decide wheter the news are right or wrong, in my opinion it can’t assure that the results will be accurate.

    ReplyDelete
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