News Is Public Good, Needs To Be Handled With Integrity

Gaurav Sood, a professor of marketing, has delved deep into the subject of trolling, culture jamming and fake news. After his book 'Troll Proof Branding in the Age of Doppelgangers', he has now penned 'Fake News'. In this thoroughly researched book rich with examples, he describes the motives behind spreading misinformation and the damage it can cause to individuals and society. In an interview to BW Education, he describes the objective behind writing the book and also cites examples of fake news. Excerpts:

As a professor of marketing, how did you get interested in fake news? In your previous book too, the question of culture jamming had been discussed.  

I did my PhD research on the ‘Impact of Brand Doppelganger Image on Indian Premier League (IPL)’ and since than I have deep dived into researching the brand doppelganger phenomenon. Brand doppelganger is the brand alter-ego, created by consumers, anti-brand activists, competitors, opinion leaders, media and the public by circulating disparaging images of the brand in the popular culture. My book 'Troll Proof Branding in the Age of Doppelgangers' delves deep into the mechanisms of fake news, culture jamming, brand hacktivism and trolling and how they are instrumental in creation of the monstrous brand doppelganger imagery. In that book I had touch based fake news phenomenon as one chapter of the book but later I thought that this could be developed as a full book. The whole idea that fake news has become an all-pervasive phenomenon. It is being used as a tool to advance partisan agendas the world over. Almost every institution - public or private - uses fake news to further their agenda. Governments and corporate houses spread fake news either through their own agencies or by influencing the popular media. In the business sector, fake news manifests itself in the form of exaggerated company returns and false data. Fake political news is the new yellow, high on speed and often low on accuracy. Fact checks, independent research and reading are considered old school, not fast enough to keep pace with technology and click-bait revenue models.  

My motivation to write this book was simple fact that many of us seem unable to distinguish fake news from the real news and that fake news creates significant public confusion about current events and brand promises. I wanted to present strategies to spot the fake news and protect yourself from not getting duped by fake news and can put you back in control.

Is fake news in business parlance a 20th-21st century phenomenon or is it deeply entrenched in cultures and a basic human instinct?  

News is a public good. It needs to be handled with care and integrity. Lies and misinformation campaigns have been around for years, maybe since the dawn of journalism. However, the rate at which fake news is being spread these days is both alarming and preposterous.  

From Mahabharata and Julius Caesar to  propagandas in Ukraine-Russia, Israel-Gaza war or Corona Virus, ‘fake news’ or fabricated news have been in circulation since mankind can recall. Though we would have recently come to know this term but its examples can be traced down throughout the ancient history. From ancient Rome to India fake news have mislead regimes, countries, leadership, people and consumers.

Since then, it has become such a powerful tool to spread misinformation and rumours to destroy a brand image and create a brand doppelgänger.  

The popularity of the word ‘Fake News’ is so much that in the year 2017 it became the ‘word of the year’ in Collins Dictionary. It has been used for financial manipulations, influencing perceptions and destroying faith and trust.

Well, Fake news can be fascinating to the brain due to its ability to quickly capture attention, exploiting the brain’s limited attention span. Humans are naturally drawn to novelty and the unexpected and fake news often presents a twist on familiar topics. This can trigger a dopamine release in the brain, which is associated with pleasure & reward and can make fake news feel inherently interesting and engaging. Also, fake news can tap into our emotions and beliefs, which can be powerful motivators.  

You have described fake news as guerrilla communication, so why do people fall for fake news?

Fake news is a form of guerrilla warfare as it matches the strategies and tactics used to fight a formidable enemy. So why use fake news as a guerrilla warfare tool? Guerrilla communication has a long history; one finds instances of it recorded in the Bible. Propaganda, an important strategy in war, is a form of fake news. Propaganda is inherently controversial as it is deployed as a strategy to influence audience behaviour and attitudes in times of war or now as fake news to vilify people, policies, brands and current issues.  

Why people fall for fake news? The psychology of fake news involves understanding how and why people consume, share and believe false information. Several factors can influence people’s susceptibility to fake news, including cognitive biases, social influence, lack of critical thinking, available heuristics, lack of knowledge, tribalism and emotional responses.  

Fighting back to counter the damage done can be a long-drawn battle. Can you highlight some success stories where companies have bounced back after the damage?

Well in today’s age of social media, the biggest asset for businesses is their brands and all that they mean to consumers. With every consumer being a media and can create user generated content are the ones that control the perception of your brand. The fake news created and circulated by consumers, competition and media can kill the reputation of a brand. There are many instances where fake news has ruined the reputation of leading brands.In these cases brands are left with few option: to take legal actions against the perpetrators, issue disclaimers, run social media campaigns, report to social media platforms etc.  

As a professor of marketing, you interact with future managers. Do you sense awareness and alertness in them about fake news or easy acceptance of what is being served to them by way of news?

Yes there is lot of awareness among the present and future managers but it does not mean that they will not fall for fake news. But here we are talking about the educated and more aware audience. I am worried about those who are not media literate, have strong confirmation bias, lack critical thinking, do not fact check, are vulnerable to sensationalism, emotional narratives and clickbait headlines. 

Not only this, the whole media ecosystem including social media algorithms study users’ online activities and develop patterns to deliver content tailored to suit their preferences. They keep on delivering more of such content until the user is no longer able to distinguish between fake and real because of their confirmation bias. Moreover, social media algorithms are designed to prioritise content that generates high levels of engagement, which can contribute to the spread of fake news. When users engage with and share fake news stories, these algorithms may promote them to a wider audience, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of misinformation.