A fake news story suggesting London’s iconic Big Ben clock tower will be renamed “Massive Mohammed” has hit the mainstream press in the UK, owing to the large number of people who thought the story was real. The media have to do more to reaffirm their commitment to truth and prevent the erosion of public trust in journalism.

“The famous landmark, which is due to undergo extensive refurbishment next week, is to be called ‘Massive Mohammed’ from 2018 to reflect the city’s growing diversity,” satire site The Rochdale Herald wrote in the story.

The story was retweeted 14,000 times and shared extensively on Facebook, with many users furious. It was picked up by Buzzfeed, The Independent and Metro.

“This isn’t going to be England anymore if foreigners keep doing this to Britain and our landmarks,” one Facebook user wrote.

Another said “I’m not even surprised…this country really is going down the shitter.”

Many took delight in mocking those who believed the fake news story, pointing out that The Rochdale Herald is openly a satire site.

Another person started a change.org petition (presumably a joke) to actually rename Big Ben Massive Mohammed.

However, the original girl who shared the message posted that she couldn’t have been expected to tell what was true and what was false.

“‘So myself and [redacted] have become a meme because we shared something on Facebook that wasn’t true,” she wrote, according to Metro. “Hence why I said “this better not be true” but let’s face it the way the world is at the moment and how bizarre everything is, anything could happen, the amount of fake things that get shared on social media is untrue but of course it would never of gone ahead it’s a BRITISH LANDMARK but I wouldn’t be surprised in this world if people didn’t attempt to change it.”

If people are finding it this difficult to tell fact from fiction that is a deeply worrying comment on the state of the media today. Blurring the line between reality and falsehood has three major chilling effects on public discourse.

Firstly, it facilitates the easy spread of conspiracy theories, like the idea, spread by Alex Jones, that the KKK protesters in Charlottesville were really paid Jewish actors.

Secondly, it erodes public trust, because people will be more inclined to look suspiciously at stories which really are true, like the discussion about toppling Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square currently being promoted by certain activists.

Thirdly, it increases polarization, since people will be less willing to listen to any other side’s point of view since they can dismiss it as “fake news.”

Given the extent to which public discourse on the issue of Islamism is already fraught with partisan hatred and suspicion, media outlets must do more to shore up public trust.

That means bringing reliable proofs for every claim made in an article. It means fact-checking claims made in other outlets before re-reporting them. It means correcting mistakes when you find them and checking out a story before you share it on social media.

Of course people are going to make mistakes sometimes, especially given how crazy the news has been recently. But if the media does not step up and take steps to promote truth online, things can start to unravel a lot more.

By the way, Big Ben is actually the bell inside the iconic tower, whose name is St. Stephen’s Tower – Ed.

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