Ok, so first things first. That image above. Bad News is not necessarily what I think about this, I actually think it’s rather interesting news. It could, however, be ‘bad news’ for purveyors of fake news.
Bad News is the name of a new mobile game developed. The game is designed to help people identify fake news in what scientists will hope will eventually make them ‘immune’ to it.
The term, ‘fake news’ really came into provenance after its regular usage by US President Donald Trump. While some mocked his regular use of the term, it would seem that fake news has played a much bigger part in our lives than we previously knew.
Scientists have therefore researched fake news in an attempt to create a game to attempt to help the general public identify what it is.
In the game, the player is placed in the role of a fake news producer. You score points by getting followings based on your conspiracy theories.
Dr. Sander van der Linden, director of Social Decision-Making Laboratory at Cambridge University helped design the game. Of it, he said: “A biological vaccine administers a small dose of the disease to build immunity. Similarly, inoculation theory suggests that exposure to a weak or demystified version of an argument makes it easier to refute when confronted with more persuasive claims. If you know what it is like to walk in the shoes of someone who is actively trying to deceive you, it should increase your ability to spot and resist the techniques of deceit.”
In a report via Metro, the game is available to play for free in your respective APP store.
It would seem that ‘fake news’ had an impact on recent democratic processes. Most common of these accused is the US Presidential Election and the UK’s Brexit vote. Anything that can help us identify what the real truth of a story is can certainly be useful, but as someone once said ‘there is no such thing as your truth. There is the truth, and your opinion.’
What do you think? Is the Bad News game a good idea? Planning on giving it a go? – Let us know in the comments!
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