The Devastating Consequences of Fake News
Last week, the media wrote a story based on a Facebook post, which contained false and fabricated information.
On last Friday, 31 March, a Facebook user posted a photo of a young man and claimed that the Taliban had shot dead his brother, who was a military doctor. The Facebook post stated that the Taliban had thrown his brother out of a car in the Ghorband Valley of Parwan province and shot him.
Most of Afghan media outlets outside the country reported on this fake Facebook post, but after it was not confirmed and it became clear that the story was fabricated, many of these outlets removed the story from their websites.
The man whose photo was posted on Facebook with fake information is alive and has no connection to the Facebook user who posted it. He said all the information written about him is fake and fabricated.
This young man, whose name is Dadullah, says that he is living in Kabul and the fake news has disturbed him. He criticizes the media for not removing this fake news from their websites.
As of the writing of this story, some of media outlets such as Khama Press and Radio Liberty have not removed this fake news from their websites.
Dadullah says, “The dissemination of this news has upset me and I am worried that the fabricated and fake information will put my life in danger.”
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