Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 47 views

    Simulacra and Fake News

    Uploaded by

    sadaf hashmi
    The document discusses the launch of Pakistan's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's "Fake News Buster" Twitter account to combat misinformation, but shortly after another fake account with a similar name emerged. This highlights Jean Baudrillard's concept of simulacra, where reality and images become indistinguishable. Specifically, it demonstrates hyperreality, how people now consume images rather than products, the power of media culture, the desire for social conformity, and that images are purposeful constructs - not reflections of reality. The proliferation of "fake news" shows how postmodern society has become uncertain due to its blind trust in manipulable online images over facts.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Simulacra and Fake News

    Uploaded by

    sadaf hashmi
    47 views2 pages
    The document discusses the launch of Pakistan's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's "Fake News Buster" Twitter account to combat misinformation, but shortly after another fake account with a similar name emerged. This highlights Jean Baudrillard's concept of simulacra, where reality and images become indistinguishable. Specifically, it demonstrates hyperreality, how people now consume images rather than products, the power of media culture, the desire for social conformity, and that images are purposeful constructs - not reflections of reality. The proliferation of "fake news" shows how postmodern society has become uncertain due to its blind trust in manipulable online images over facts.

    Original Title

    simulacra and fake news.docx

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The document discusses the launch of Pakistan's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's "Fake News Buster" Twitter account to combat misinformation, but shortly after another fake account with a similar name emerged. This highlights Jean Baudrillard's concept of simulacra, where reality and images become indistinguishable. Specifically, it demonstrates hyperreality, how people now consume images rather than products, the power of media culture, the desire for social conformity, and that images are purposeful constructs - not reflections of reality. The proliferation of "fake news" shows how postmodern society has become uncertain due to its blind trust in manipulable online images over facts.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    47 views2 pages

    Simulacra and Fake News

    Uploaded by

    sadaf hashmi
    The document discusses the launch of Pakistan's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's "Fake News Buster" Twitter account to combat misinformation, but shortly after another fake account with a similar name emerged. This highlights Jean Baudrillard's concept of simulacra, where reality and images become indistinguishable. Specifically, it demonstrates hyperreality, how people now consume images rather than products, the power of media culture, the desire for social conformity, and that images are purposeful constructs - not reflections of reality. The proliferation of "fake news" shows how postmodern society has become uncertain due to its blind trust in manipulable online images over facts.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    1

    Sadaf Naheed Hashmi

    Mr.Amer Akhtar

    postmodern criticim

    23 October 2018

    ‘Fake News’ and ‘Simulacra’

    KARACHI: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Oct 1 launched a Twitter

    account named ‘Fake News Buster’, with an aim to expose fake news, however, another account

    sprang up shortly with the same title, prompting the government to issue clarification to

    distinguish between the fake and the real twitter handles.

    FakeNewsBusterMoIB@FakeNews_Buster

    Please beware that @FakeNewsBuster_ is a fake account. The official


    account is @FakeNews_Buster which can be verified from the official
    website of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.The case is being
    referred to NR3C for further necessary action.
    http://moib.gov.pk/Page.aspx?Page=147 ….10:51 PM - Oct 1, 2018

    The original account has 19,900 followers so far, while the one implying to a genuine one has 476 followers as yet. A
    close inspection can help users detect the fake account through its description that says: “Twitter Handle of Ministry of
    Interior & BroadCoasting for Exposing #FakeNews”. The account has written ‘Ministry of Interior’ instead of the
    ‘Ministry of Information’, while mis-spelled broadcasting. Besides, it is surprising to note that the fake account’s Twitter
    joining date is shown on the profile as June 2018. It is possible that the account was being operated under some other title
    and its user a day ago changed the handle and all information to dupe users.

    The Information Ministry’s FakeNewsBuster account posted a screenshot of the fake account and asked people to ‘beware
    of fake and real’ accounts simultaneously being operated, one by the ministry and another anonymously.

    Baudrillard’s Simulacra and its link with ‘fake news’:

    1-Hyperreality/Hyperinformation:Baudrillard says that in the postmodern world nothing is real.Everything is

    an image without having any link with reality.The above image of a fake twitter page proves Baudriallard’s

    concept of ‘Hyperreal’.It means to distinguish between real and imaginary is quite impossible.we became
    2

    uncertain of the reality.Although in the above images one is declared ‘Real’ and the other is ‘Fake’ yet we can’t

    decide which one is ‘real’ in reality and which one is ‘fake’ in reality.

    2-Consumption of images rather than products:

    According to Bauldriallard’s concept of Simulacra,today the postmodern human beings consume images rather

    than products .In the above fake image we see that the logo of the government of Pakistan is used .It shows that

    people of our country accept whatever will be provided with the brand mark.They don’t go for details .They just

    see the images and follow them blindely.

    3-Media culture:

    In the postmodern world media is very active and has control over the minds of the people.Due to the media

    culture bloggers easily upload whatever they want to and they receive a positive response by their followers

    also.So such fake news keep on coming on the ‘global screen’,the internet.

    4-The desire to show conformity with the culture :

    Today everyone wants to be prominent in the social circle .To achieve this objective everyone not only watches

    the latest news but also shares it without verifying its source.The propagators of the fake news also know about

    the psychology of people .So they paly with the psychology of people and achieve their objectives.

    5-Images are Constructs:

    Baudrillard’s concept of simulacra also points to the constructs.These constructs are designed and propagated

    for some motives.These constructs may be created by antipolitical parties to let the ruling political party down

    or by some professional businessman for monetry benefits from a website.The more the website be visited the

    more profit be gained.

    Conclusion:

    Baudrillard’s concept of simulacra is proved a type of foreboding for the postmodern world where people are

    only taking interest in images rather than objects.This blind trust in images and their use made the postmodern

    world uncertain and confused .Love of media use,desire to be with the latest technological standards has

    brought us in the ‘Hyperreal’ situation which is having ‘Hyperinformation’ or rather ‘misinformation’.

    ________________The end______________

    You might also like