Fake news is the talk of the town these days. This form of communication is believed to have surfaced after the digital transformation of our channels of communication but it is in fact as old as times and examples of miscommunication or fake news are found in different stages of our civilization.
A very early example comes from 13th century BC, when Ramesses the Great launched fake news regarding the battle of Kadesh and presenting it as a great victory for the Egyptians. To add power to such fake news he had his portrait slaughtering the enemy on nearly all the temples.
Truth was revealed when the treaty between the Egyptians and their enemies the Hittites was signed and it was revealed that the battle was actually a stalemate.
Also another much remembered episode in Roman history is found in the first century BC, when the well-known noble man Octavian launched a campaign of misinformation against his rival Mark Antony, in this false campaign he was portrayed as a drunkard, a womanizer, and a mere puppet of the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII.
He went to the extent of publishing a document purporting to be Mark Antony’s will, which claimed that Mark Antony, upon his death, wished to be entombed in the mausoleum of the Ptolemaic pharaohs. This was blasphemous and, it invoked outrage from the Roman populace.
The ultimate in false news is also found in this era of this early history. This was the death of Mark Antony who ultimately killed himself after his defeat in the Battle of Actium but it was not motivated by this defeat but by the false news that Cleopatra had committed suicide—a false news propagated by Cleopatra herself.
It seems that fake news in yesteryears played a major role in tussles for power and victory or defeat in battle. All through the ages fake news have played a pivotal role in conflicts and those dispensing it were popularly known as propagandists.
All this before the digital age. Then there was a period of relative calm which we can term as the age of the printing press. Information was transferred in written form through printing press, and in most cases thoroughly scrutinized by media experts before it reached the common public.
It was not possible for anyone to malign a person in authority or in the realms of popularity without exposing themselves and being held accountable for their claims.
Exaggerations if any were mostly of a commercial nature and even those were fully scrutinized by the well informed media persons and in most respectable publications rejected without being printed.
Defamation laws in many countries constituted the restraining factor. Defamation laws were a deterrent to mudslinging and rumor mongering.
The greatest benefit of the print age was the fact that any news that reached the public was first scrutinized by a professional journalist who was also accountable to the management of the publication and risked losing job if he or she allowed unsubstantiated allegations or rumors to be published.
Now we are living in the digital age. This is a free-for-all where you and I just need an electronic device to create news of our choice and once it is created spread it around the globe with the touch of a button. This is why fake news has such an impact and sting. In the absence of any accountability it is like a wild fire and its ravages have no boundaries.
Those who create it are almost guaranteed large circulations because there are others out there who love to forward juicy and thrilling stories without attempting to verify their content or gauge the harmful impact of such stories. Coupled with this is latest technology that allows mind boggling changes to camera shots and recorded audio. It is in most cases impossible for the brightest minds and most tech savvy induvial to fathom the truth.
Fake news has new meaning in the digital world. In ancient ages it took months if not years for news to travel so it was in most cases too late to counter its negative influence. Today it travels too fast with those reacting to a tragedy so overwhelmed by the evidence that in many cases they do not bother to verify.
Fake news is here to stay and as its use spreads across many sections of society it will continue to prosper unless our society finds a way to regulate this menace.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
The writer is a well-known columnist
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