(DRAMATIC ORCHESTRAL MUSIC)

Hey, gang.
Oh...

You'll never guess what I heard
in the news today.

Oh! What did you hear?
Well, apparently...

Like many young
people of today,

Billy likes to impress his friends
with his knowledge of world affairs.

Oh, I'm so impressed by
your knowledge of world affairs!

But young Billy is about to
make a big mistake.

You see, this morning, as always,

Billy cast an eye
over his social media feed,

looking for the niftiest news.

Golly! This story is outta sight!

Look out, Billy.

That interesting story
might just be a fake.

(BOOM-TISH!)
(LAUGHTER)

Look at this.
(ALL LAUGH)

What is...?

People create fake news
for all sorts of reasons.

Sometimes, it's to make you laugh.

Other times, it's to influence
your opinion

or to make money
by attracting your click.

Or sometimes, they're just jerks.

Hmm!

But repeating that fake news
can make you look pretty silly.

Did you guys know that aliens
from outer space built the pyramids?

Really?
Isn't that neat?

Yeah!

Your friends could spread
that fake news even further.

Hey, guys.

Did you hear that the pyramids
were actually built by aliens?

What?

You might have noticed fake news
is having a bit of a moment.

(CLICKS FINGERS)

TRUMP: And CNN and MSNBC
are fake news!

Fake news!

There's been a lot of talk about
how made-up news stories

can end up influencing
the real world

and many agree that's a real problem.

But did you know it's not a new one?

(CLICKS FINGERS)

(MIDDLE-EASTERN MUSIC)

What does it say?

That aliens built the pyramids.

For about as long as people
have been communicating...

Well, there you go.

We've been using our tools
of communication

to tell great, big whoppers.

We can see evidence
dating back thousands of years

of leaders, artists and historians

bending the truth to make themselves 
or their bosses look good,

or to tell a better story.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Get your news here!

Eventually, the printing press
came along,

making it much easier to spread
phoney information.

Creatures found on the moon!

Paper, sir?

You see, many newspaper owners
realized they could sell more copies

if the news was exciting.

even if it wasn't exactly true.

Oh, penny, sir.

One famous example of this
was the great moon hoax of 1835.

The New York Sun published
a whole series of articles

about creatures that had been found
on the moon.

Of course, it wasn't real,
but it did drive up circulation.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

Then there was propaganda.

During the First
and Second World Wars,

governments on both sides
would exaggerate

or downright make things up

to make their enemies look bad.

(ARTILLERY FIRE)

(SNIPPETS OF RADIO BROADCASTS PLAY)

MAN: Orson Welles.

We know now that
in the early years,

Of course, not all fake news
was made to fool people.

WELLES: ..this world was being
watched closely by intelligences

greater than man.

Some was made to entertain -

Like, in 1938, there was
a very famous radio broadcast...

Shh-shh!

Orson Welles read an adaptation
of the novel War of the Worlds

live on air,

presented as
a fictional news bulletin.

Afterwards, there were reports
it had caused mass panic,

with many listeners thinking
aliens really were attaacking.

Aliens are attacking!

WELLES: about their
little affairs,

serene in the assurance...

But even that fact
was later found to be fake news.

Most people knew
it was just a story...

..besides, a group of people
in a small US town

who attacked a water tower
because they thought it was an alien.

Still, it's thought the panic story

was grossly exaggerated
by newspapers

to discredit their new competitor -
radio.

And welcome to television.

REPORTER: President Kennedy
has been shot!

As the 20th century went on
and TV joined the mix...

NEIL ARMSTRONG:
One small step for man.

journalism ethics evolved...

Nothing will save
the Governor-General.

Many governments
created organizations

to promote standards in journalism.

MAN: The vehicle has exploded.
And many media organizations

built their reputations
on telling the truth.

Your struggle.

(FANFARE PLAYS)

That doesn't mean
fake news went away,

but it was often easier to spot.

For instance, if you wanted
to read stories

about UFOs and Bigfoot,

then you'd probably find them
in a tabloid, like this.

But if you wanted more accurate news,

well, then you could try
a more reputable broadsheet.

Oh, my goodness!
Hmm?

There's a sale on at Grace Bros.

But then came the internet,

and things got
a little more complicated.

(MODEM SCREECHES)

(MYSTERIOUS MUSIC)

All of a sudden,
anyone could be a publisher.

And with so much information
out there,

it could be hard to know
what to believe.

I don't know who to believe anymore!

The internet, with its blogs,
message boards and chatrooms,

created the golden age
of conspiracy theories,

as people seriously speculated about
celebrity lizard people,

the illuminati 
and who really killed JFK.

MAN: Next, please.

Social media
has kind of made things worse

by letting us share stories without
making it clear where they came from

or if the source is reliable.

Plus, we're more likely to see
stories we already agree with,

and we're more likely to believe them

when they're shared
by our trusted friends.

Wow!

That's a really serious problem

Next, please.

especially when it comes to
political stories

which can influence the way
people vote.

('THE BATTLE HYMN
OF THE REPUBLIC' PLAYS)

There's been a fair bit
of speculation

about whether or not fake news

could have affected the outcome
of the 2016 US election.

There were heaps of fake news stories

doing the rounds during the campaign.

In fact, near the end,

it's thought fake news
was being shared

even more than real news.

So, what about the future?

Well, there's a real worry
new technology

will make the problem
of fake news even worse.

Imagine watching an interview
or a speech

and not knowing if you're seeing
a real person

or a super-accurate animation.

Yep, this technology
is already being developed,

which gives us even more reason

to stay aware of fake news
in all its sneaky disguises.

(CLICKS FINGERS)

Gee willikers!

This fake news stuff
is completely bogus.

NARRATOR: Don't worry, Billy.

Here are some handy hints
to help you spot fake news.

Ask yourself, "Does the story
seem a bit suspicious?"

"Is it too good, too bad
or too crazy to be true?"

Then maybe it is.

Don't just read the headline.

They're often designed
to suck you in

and sometimes,
they can be misleading.

So, read on.

Dig a bit deeper.

Find out where the story came from.

Who's the author?
Who were the sources?

What website does it come from?

Does it look professional
and unbiased?

Ask yourself who might benefit
from the story

or who might end up looking bad.

Is it actually news?

Think about
why the story was written.

Could it be satirical, an opinion
piece or an ad in disguise?

And if you're still not sure,
try doing that thing

you young people
like to do these days.

What, google it?

Yes. Use your preferred 
internet search engine

to see if you can find
some more legitimate information.

There are even some sites out there

that specialize in
debunking fake news.

So, kids, armed with
these useful tips,

hopefully you'll be able to tell
the real deal from the nasty fakes

next time.

What a dill I was!

Yes, you were, Billy.

Oh, my name's actually Sam.

Oh, Billy!

Captions by Red Bee Media

Copyright Australian
Broadcasting Corporation