This document discusses several key topics related to social networks and online communities: 1. It defines different types of online communities including personal communities, cybercommunities, and how relationships and connections can form within these spaces. 2. It also discusses important aspects that define a community such as membership, influence, needs fulfillment, and emotional connection. 3. The document then examines the concept of a personal community and identifies three defining properties - numbers, constancy, and involvement. It provides examples to illustrate these different properties.

1. Disinformation, Misinformation and Mal-information in Social
Networks
Do you receive information and accept it as truth? Do you know when you are being
manipulated? Do you receive information and question it? Falling victim to
disinformation, misinformation, and mal information is a consequence of not
knowing HOW to question information received in a multitude of ways, especially
through social media. Critical thinking is a foundational skill for all of us and
essential for good judgment.
Disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation pollute the information space
worldwide and the trend of manipulating facts continues to disrupt public
communication and, consequently, democratic processes in societies.
Misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation are of course not a new
phenomenon, but the proliferation of social media has made this issue more urgent.
Historical origins of misinformation, disinformation, and
malinformation
The concept of fake news is not a novelty of the media landscape of the 21st century,
but rather emerged with the appearance of the first newspapers, initially serving to
entertain and/or perhaps help sell more copies. There were no evil intentions, and
journalists or editors made sure that the reader was aware that the information
presented was not true. The trend of not marking fake news as such continues to this
date, and it has become exceedingly difficult to recognize such news.
In almost every case, one can clearly determine whether a particular piece of media
content, in all the 400 years of journalistic history, is fake news (misinformation,
disinformation, and malinformation). But to do so, it is necessary todefine terms
such as “fake news”, “alternative facts”, and “post-truth”, as well as to clarify whether
it is possible to have a generic term for misinformation, disinformation, and
malinformation, and whether the term “fake news” is that term.
Disinformation, misinformation, malinformation
Using the dimensions of harm and falseness, Wardle and Derakhshan describe the
differences between these three types of information in their report “Information
Disorder” (2017):
 Misinformation: Information that is false, but not created with the intention
of causing harm
 Disinformation: Information that is false and deliberately created to harm a
person, social group, organization or country
 Mal-information: Information that is based on reality, used to inflict harm on
a person, organization or country

2. How to prevent and fight misinformation, disinformation, and
malinformation
Fact-checking has, in a way, moved one of the primary functions of media – verifying
information before publishing it – from the media to other actors, mainly NGO’s.
 Governments should promote news literacy and strong professional
journalism in their societies.
 The news industry must provide high-quality journalism in order to build
public trust and correct fake news and disinformation without legitimizing
them.
 Technology companies should invest in tools that identify fake news, reduce
financial incentives for those who profit from disinformation, and improve
online accountability
 Educational institutions should make informing people about news literacy a
high priority
 Finally, individuals should follow a diversity of news sources, and be skeptical
of what they read and watch.
FAKE NEWS AND SCANDAL IN SOCIAL NETWORKS
What is FAKE NEWS?
♡ Stories that look like real news stories but are hoaxes, propaganda, and
disinformation.
♡ Fake news typically appears on websites that look professional. The stories often
relate to topics and people who are trending on Google and Facebook. The stories
usually have outrageous headlines designed to get people to click.
Why spread Fake news?
♡ Sometimes these stories are created to attract an audience and the advertising
revenues that come with it. Sometimes these stories are published to harm
someone's reputation.
Consequences
♡Fake news sometimes gets more views than real news.
♡Sometimes politicians and professional journalists even quote fake news stories!
Sometimes people engage in illegal and violent behavior as a result of believing a fake
news story.

3. How to spot fake new?
♡Determine where the info comes from
♡Looks can be deceiving- Fake news sites often try tomimic real news sites.
♡ Obsecure sources may be OK- Just because you haven't heard of a news outlet or
website doesn't necessarily mean it's fake. These are all legit.
♡Pay attention to the URL- Sites with such endings like .com .co should make you
raise your eyebrows and tip you off that you need to dig around more to see if they
can be trusted.
♡Read the "About Us" section- Most sites will have a lot of information about the
news outlet, the company that runs it, members of leaderships, and the mission and
ethics statement behind an organization. The language used here is straightforward.
♡Examine the sources cited- Does the story cite and quote credible sources: a person
with a first name and last name and title. If not, or if they use anonymous sources or
vague references to sources be suspisious.
♡ Popularity doesn't equal reliability- A top ranking om Google doesn't mean an
article is trustworthy. The rankings are based on several factors, including
popularity.
♡ Utilize fact- checking sites- Fake news stories that go viral are often exposed by
such websites as Snopes.com, FactCheck.org, and FirstDraftNews.com. Following
these sites on Twitter and Facebook will yield a steady stream of informative posts.
♡ But, fake news lists are often wrong- Wikipedia has a list of fake news sites, but it
includes some legitimate news sites, such as Vice, Slate, The Blaze, Daily Beast.
Anyone can edit Wikipedia and sometimes its articles get vandalized with false info.
Common on Social Media
♡ Government-sponsored news- Many countries do not offer the same press freedom
that the United States does. Media that is not free and independent be viewed
skeptically.
♡ Irresponsible journalism- Sometimes even trusted news outlets spread fake news.
Sources may lie to reporters. Journalists may fabricate or exaggerate news.
Final advice
♡ Stop getting your news from social media- Facebook is good for many things, but
it's not a news source. Facebook's job is to keep you clicking, and it does that by
tweaking your newsfeed so you only see what you want to see.

4. ♡ Consumer a variety of media- Some journalists and media outlets do a better job
than others at being impartial. But journalists are only human, so they're all at least a
little biased in some way.
Support good journalism- Ultimately consumers will be the gatekeepers by
deciding who gets clicks, retweets, shares and which stories don't get attention.
SOCIAL MEDIA REGULATIONS
Regulation – is simply a rule or set of rules, intended to shape or guide conduct
and behavior. Government regulation of media content is usually aimed at protecting
the vulnerable. Those who argue against regulation say that it creates a “nanny state”
bound up in rules and red tape. Those in favor of regulation say that it makes it easier
for parents and groups promoting cultural diversity and sexual equality.
Media regulations are rules enforced by the jurisdiction of law. Guidelines for media
use differ across the world. This regulation, via law, rules or procedures, can have
various goals, for example intervention to protect a stated "public interest", or
encouraging competition and an effective media market, or establishing common
technical standards.
The principal targets of media regulation are the press, radio and television, but may
also include film, recorded music, cable, satellite, storage and distribution technology
(discs, tapes etc.), the internet, mobile phones etc.
Anthony Lowstedt and Sulaiman Al-Wahid suggested that the authority need to issue
diverse media laws centering at anti-monopoly and anti-oligopoly with democratic
legitimacy since media outlets are important for national security and social stability.
The global regulation of new media technologies is to ensure the cultural diversity in
media content, and provide a free space of public access and various opinions and
ideas without censorship. Also, the regulation protects the independence of media
ownership from dominance of powerful financial corporations, and preserves the
media from commercial and political hegemony.
Nanny-state
--- conveys a view that a government or its policies are overprotective or interfering
unnecessarily with personal choice.
--- The term was coined by a British MP in 1965, comparing overprotective and
controlling governments to that of a nanny, or mother figure, in child rearing,
constantly making the assumption that people are unable, or shouldn’t be trusted to
make decisions for themselves.
Back to regulation

5. --- Media regulation is a process of control by government authorities aimed at
ensuring the media texts that audiences receive fall within set boundaries.
--- Media regulation is usually aimed at protecting particular audiences that are
viewed as vulnerable
--- Thesevulnerable audiences being protected include; children, the mentally
challenged and the mentally ill.
Self -regulation
--- is a process whereby media organizations set up a committee of their own embers
to oversee a code of practice. Those in favour say it is less heavy handed. Those
against say it is like putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank.
--- Self regulation does not involve the government, but is instead carried out by the
industry or profession itself.
--- A code of practice is usually developed that defines the expected behaviour.
CYBERCOMMUNITIES
A cyber community is a virtual community that includes one or more groups of
people. Virtual communities allow people to interact with each other using different
types of computer messages. Cyber communities can be open to anyone or to a select
group of people, but they often fulfill a need people have to form friendships and
romantic relationships or to talk with others about certain issues or topics.
Communication
Within virtual communities, users can frequently communicate through forums,
blogs or instant messages. Although people in virtual communities sometimes meet
in person to communicate or have webcam chats online, they don't have to be in the
same room or online at the same time to have a meaningful conversation. A virtual
community gives people in smaller towns or cities the chance to communicate with
individuals from other states or countries. Within cyber communities, people can
have conversations about political, popular culture, life-related or other topics.
Relationships and Connections
Through cyber communities, people often develop connections with other people --
becoming acquaintances, friends, business associates or romantically involved with
others. Sometimes people treat these online connections as less significant than
those they form with people face to face, but some individuals develop strong
personal or professional bonds with others through virtual communities. A danger of
virtual communities is that some people lie about themselves, and it can be difficult
to know whether someone is giving you truthful information.
Purpose

6. Cyber communities usually have a specific purpose, such as forming romantic
relationships, learning about new ideas, selling items, playing games or
communicating with others. Some virtual communities are centered around people's
hobbies, backgrounds or lifestyles. When a community has a specific purpose, it
often has a better chance of staying relevant and interesting to members, especially if
it doesn't stray from its purpose and regularly features new information. Sometimes
even topic-targeted cyber communities get infiltrated by people who want to discuss
other topics, such as sex, or advertise their products or services.
Availability
Discussions within virtual communities, including conversations in forums and
blogs, are usually available for others to view for long periods of time. Who is able to
view these conversations depends on a website's structure and settings. Some
communities, including social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter, allow
people to choose what individuals will have the opportunity to see messages they put
on their pages. Other communities, such as forums on many newspapers' websites,
are open for anyone to view.
Koh and Gul Kim noted four elements of community:
 membership which indicates people experience feelings of belonging
 influence which people feel that they can make a difference
 needs fulfillment and believe that the resources available in their community
will meet their needs and emotional connection which is the belief that
community members have and will share history , time, places, and
experiences
PERSONAL COMMUNITIES IN SOCIAL NETWORKING
The personal community has been defined as the group of people on whom an
individual can rely for support and/or approval.
The idea of a personal community – the collection of 'important' personal ties in
which people are embedded – is suggested as a practical schema. Through the lens
of these personal communities, different patterns of commitment to friends and
family can be observed.
THREE PROPERTIES OF THE PERSONAL COMMUNITIES
NUMBERS
In the first place, a personal community has a certain number, determined by
counting those who most frequently contribute to an individual’s welfare and
approve his actions.

7. The number in the personal community is assumed to be important to cooperation
and to feelings of security.
Ang man’s personal community ay binubuo ng relatively reduced number of
persons with whom he exchanges food most often, and who have lived with him the
longest, regardless of kinship. Under the conditions of urbanization and
Westernization, one of the first properties of social structure to be targeted is the
number, for large numbers of persons often drop out of one’s personal community.
Death and out-migration are well-known ways for social systems to be
undermined.
CONSTANCY
A personal community has a certain constancy, measured by the time spent by its
members in direct interaction. Constancy is a property that is more central, more
determining, and more “biological”. Unless there is a certain constancy of presence in
the human environment, the child fails to develop its capacity to respond. That is to
say, particularly during the first year of life there is a certain necessary minimum of
human interaction in the absence of which the organism will not develop normally.
In any case, all social systems strive for some level of consistency among personal
group members. A person’s constancy is measured by the ratio of the time he is
absent to the time he is present. Conflicts arise as a result of the inconstancy of
seeking companions in society. Low consistency is biologically intolerable.
INVOLVEMENT
The members of a personal community have a certain involvement in each other,
that is to say, an obligation to give heed to and be swayed by each other’s wishes.
Involvement is the most complex of the properties of the personal community.
Ito ang pinaka-variable property of the personal community. The great variety of
human involvements is directly related to the absence in human beings of
genetically determined mechanisms of social linkage. This has brought it about that
human beings have set up a great variety of social structures depende sa paraan
kung saan ang mga involvement ay stipulated or restricted under ng iba't ibang
mga cultural conditions.
Other important types of involvement are:
EXTERNAL INVOLVEMENT
The essential character of external involvements is that they rest upon the exchange
of goods and services and that they generate pseudo-kinship ties.
Ang external involvement ay ang paggamit ng mga inputs in the innovation
process that originate outside the boundaries of the focal organization. Internal
change agents are assumed to use external involve- ment whenever they consider it

8. to be beneficial. Ang pseudokinship or tinatawag din na fictitious relationship ay
nagaganap when the social relationships simulate the ones arising through real
kinship (consanguinity or affinity)pero walang anumang biological relationship.
For instance, in many societies, children who are breast-fed by the same mother are
considered siblings.
CEREMONIAL INVOLVEMENT
The essential feature of ceremonial involvement is that within the structure of the
ceremonial organization each individual is subject to its requirements.
Ang example nito ay ang Hopi ceremonial socities wherein nagkakaroon sila ng
involvement as all members of the Hopi community possess some form of ritual
edge acquired by initiation into one or more ritual societies.
In overall, if a person's feelings of security or fear are a function of his personal
community, then they can't be interpreted solely in terms of number and constancy,
but must also be linked to the character of the involvements.