Social media is the biggest channel for spreading fake news.

With most of the tools being free to use and a large number of users, social media is the best channel for spreading fake news.

According to the latest report by security company Trend Micro, it only takes about US$55,000 (S$76,400) to entice social media users to lose trust and have a negative view of online articles or information, and US$200,000 to incite protests and protests on the streets.

Illustration photo.

The Japanese security firm's report, The Fake News Machine: How Propagandists Abuse the Internet and Manipulate the Public, details the planning, strategy, and execution of the widespread fake news sharing scam.

In its report, Trend Micro identifies three essential elements for creating fake news: the tools and services the actors use, the decision on which channels to spread the message, and the use of the Internet's latest media.

“Of course, with the tools and services available today, social media is considered the most powerful platform for spreading propaganda. Social media is one of the most potential factors in spreading fake news. Because today users spend more time on social media instead of surfing websites to get the latest information,” said the representative of the reporting team.

The people behind fake news often want to make money through advertising, smearing business rivals or political purposes. In this way, the parties will badmouth the competitors, or the businesses will sell more products and make more profit with their business operations.

“Fake news campaigns are not always carried out independently. Sometimes they are large, systematic, well-organized plans, which can be said to be extremely methodical,” said a representative of Rend Micro./.

According to VOV