Imane Khalif, an Algerian boxer who competed in the most recent Olympics, was first portrayed as a man who underwent a gender transition. This led to mockery and harassment of her on social media until the veracity of those claims was refuted, hopefully putting the people who made them ashamed and possibly in legal hot water. However, this issue is not unique to Khalif; rather, it is a result of the acceleration of technological advancement. Social media fake news is not a recent occurrence, at least not in comparison. This wasn't always the case; what happened to rumors that never made it into the news?

The fall of traditional Media

Information and journalism came from the old mass media, which is now considered traditional media. It led the way in providing news and information to the global public. Individuals trusted these organizations to deliver news that was unbiased and fact-checked. Prior to the invention of technology, the information sphere was dominated by traditional media. All industries were completely disrupted by the sudden arrival of digital media; you had to jump on board or risk being kicked out. The information sector was also impacted by the ease and speed of doing things that came with the rise of digital media. The news was now accessible on phones and other devices, so people didn't need to wait or sit in front of TVs to get it. You may now quickly obtain news and access regions of the world that the traditional media was unable to deliver with just a few taps on your mobile devices. With digital media's global reach and abundance of information, old media suddenly became cumbersome and became much easier to utilize.

The Bleeding of Traditional Media's Authority

Traditional media had to adapt to the dominating rise of digital media platforms in order to remain relevant in the media landscape, and it took a number of bold steps in that direction. Growing more divisive and fabricating stories to draw in more viewers—a move that might have worked in the short term but ultimately caught up with them—the source of information that people had previously trusted was suddenly exposed for its deliberate dissemination of false information and employment of dubious methods to attract attention. By their own actions, the media's once-great control over information and news had started to crumble, leaving a hole that was swiftly filled.

The Rise of false Social Media Authority

As technology advanced, social media emerged. Given its enormous potential, it is reasonable to replace traditional media as the primary information distribution channel. After all, it's speedier, simpler to use, allows for instant interaction, and condenses information into short-form material. Our phones quickly replaced other sources of information, particularly for the younger generations that are only now breaking into the global scene and growing up with phones. However, a new issue that wasn't prevalent in the era of traditional media emerged along with this new, enticing means of information exchange. Before the digital era, traditional media could take pride in processing material through careful and rigorous analysis and fact-checking, ensuring that the information was accurate and reliable. This occasionally meant that information took a while to reach the public. Investigative journalists are one example of this; they would go undercover or into places to gather information that wasn't available anywhere else. Once the data was gathered, it still needed to be processed and fact-checked to make sure that the information offered at least had some validity. This is not a standard media requirement in the digital age, at least not consistently. The purpose of fact-checking is to separate the truth from rumors and lies, and it appears that this is a significant deficiency in the information that is disseminated nowadays. One could argue that we are living in the age of false news, as all you need to disseminate any narrative about anything, no matter how true it may be, is the internet and a sizable audience. It is concerning how much fake and distorted news there is in our culture. When someone becomes well-known and has a sizable following, it's simple for others to accept what they say at face value without giving it any attention. This also occurs as a result of the kind of information that is disseminated. We are discussing delicate narratives that are meant to elicit an emotional reaction from the reader, spectator, or listener, making them susceptible to logical fallacies and impairing their ability to engage in critical thought about the material they are absorbing. Although fake news appears innocent, it's not. Their consequences Transform the digital realm and carry over into our daily existence. We have to address vices like polarization, disseminating misleading information, and cyberbullying seriously because they have a profound impact on all facets of our lives.

The Importance of Critical Thinking

When consuming conventional news, you most likely at least partially trusted the news source that was providing the information; even if you didn't, analysis was still provided to ensure the veracity of the information being disseminated. But these days, news sources are taken for granted, unless the information they present conflicts with your worldview. People will only be open to criticism, but as long as it comes from their party or organization, it must be real. The innocent people who are on the receiving end of our maltreatment suffer greatly as a result. Developing critical thinking skills when consuming online news is one approach to combat the overabundance of incorrect information being spread by this new generation. We must acknowledge that the ease with which information is disseminated should arouse our suspicions. While it's important to pay attention to news sources, we also need to ensure that our critical minds are examining any biases present in both the source and ourselves. By doing this, we can prevent our emotions from controlling our decisions. They should serve us, not the other way around.