World Press Freedom Day: fake news and how to spot it

World Press Freedom Day is marked every year on 3 May, but there is little reason to celebrate as journalists continue to be repressed and persecuted all over the world. The challenges facing the press are discussed by Parliament’s human rights subcommittee on Thursday morning, with a special focus on the growing threat of disinformation. Check out our handy guide on how to spot fake news.

The internet has created new opportunities for the media, but it has also made it easier to deliberately spread  fabricated news stories to fool readers. Parliament President Antonio Tajani called attention to the issue in a statement: “When we consider press freedom, we also have to look at the internet. It is a source of knowledge as much as it is a source of concern. Almost half of all Europeans get their news from social media. This has made spreading fake news far too easy. There are mounting concerns over disinformation and hate speech, used to promote radicalisation and fundamentalism, particularly among young people.”

During the debate on 4 May, members of the human rights subcommittee are to discuss the World Press Freedom index compiled by Reporters without Borders as well the European Endowment for Democracy (EED) activities in the field of media freedom and how the EU is reacting to disinformation and fake news.