Fake News: An Analysis from Political Economy

Abstract

: The issue of fake news has its antecedents in the very logic of capitalism, and has now become a recurrent phenomenon due to the way in which capitalist relations of production are being fetishized through the manipulation of reality. The issue of fake news has become a viral concern in social networks due to the dangers it represents for various social actors. The purpose of this article is to offer an assessment from the perspective of Political Economy, recognizing that the deepest cause of the same is a reflection of the sharpening of the fundamental economic contradiction of this system. The methodological procedure of documentary review was used, from the paradigm of qualitative research; this allowed, through documentary observation, analysis and synthesis, to make valid assessments for decision making in social institutions. As a central conclusion, it identifies that in the face of the problems caused by false news, the proposals for solutions are varied, some of them are focused on media education and others on the role of technology using artificial intelligence to detect this fact and discriminate it, with the limitation that it is not recognized that this fact is inherent to capitalist production relations. Beyond its use in the economic, political and ideological scenario of the term, Fake News is related to extremist opinions, propaganda and manipulation; the intentionality is to deceive the user. They are ways of generating alienation within the framework of capitalist relations of production, representing the interests of big capital, under the content of an unconventional war, based on creating uncertainties, through the misrepresentation of ideas. Politicians and powerful actors such as transnational companies in the digital environment have appropriated the term to mischaracterize media coverage that is not in line with their monopolistic interests, so that the conception with which the indiscriminate use of Fake News is handled, is an expression of the crisis of norms, beliefs and values of mercantile societies, endangering the credibility of individuals, organizations, States and communities.