Social networks 'imitate' journalism: Fake news surrounds

(CLO) Websites impersonating press agencies, with sophisticated tricks such as copying cufflinks and 'stealing' content, are becoming a direct threat to the reputation of the press and public trust.

Forged cufflinks, copied content

The problem of fake websites impersonating press agencies is becoming an increasingly serious threat to the mainstream press and public trust. For example, on March 19, the Culture Newspaper discovered a fake website 'vanhoadisan.com', which used almost all of the newspaper's content, while also posting unverified information, violating copyright and potentially spreading fake news.

Previously, at the end of 2024, Nghe An Newspaper also encountered a similar situation when the website 'baonghean.net' appeared on the internet with the same domain name as Nghe An Newspaper ('baonghean.vn'), causing serious confusion. It is worth mentioning that the website "baonghean.net" not only has the same domain name (only the .vn and .net extensions are different) but also has a cufflink like Nghe An Newspaper.

Websites impersonating press agencies.

Events organized by press agencies have also become targets of bad actors. Recently, the Organizing Committee of the Half Marathon "Proud of My Fatherland" of the Lao Dong Newspaper had to warn about the situation of fake fanpages of the race, impersonating the organizing committee to scam, collect personal information and appropriate money from athletes.

These fake pages also provide a lot of false information such as accepting registration of "virtual" number of young athletes, free tickets for Kids Run, inflating the value of Kids Run distance prizes, linking tournament information with "virtual" sponsors, and calling for participation in the tournament through links provided by these bad actors.

Mr. Nguyen Anh Vu, Editor-in-Chief of Van Hoa Newspaper, said that after receiving feedback from readers, Van Hoa Newspaper discovered a sophisticated fake website, from the cufflinks to the content. This website not only copied the original cufflinks of the Van Hoa Electronic Newspaper, with the words 'Agency of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism' to deceive readers, but also took all the information content of the newspaper.

"The most dangerous thing is that these fake websites can easily spread fake, misleading, and even harmful information, confusing readers with information from official press agencies. This not only affects the reputation and brand of newspapers, but also causes information chaos, making it difficult for readers to distinguish between truth and falsehood," said Mr. Vu.

Not stopping there, the fake website also posts unverified information of unknown origin, increasing the risk of spreading false information and causing public confusion.

As soon as it was discovered, Van Hoa Newspaper immediately made an official statement on its official website and sent a report of the incident to the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism so that the authorities could take timely measures.

"In fact, the motives of these subjects have not yet been determined. However, this behavior is clearly a violation of the law and may be aimed at profiting by calling for advertising, communication or other forms," ​​said Mr. Nguyen Anh Vu.

Mr. Nguyen Anh Vu, Editor-in-Chief of Culture Newspaper.

To protect its brand and reputation, Van Hoa Newspaper has proactively provided official information on its website and asked the authorities to intervene. "This is a sophisticated and dangerous form of forgery. Therefore, we will increase our scanning to protect copyright and official information sources, and promptly detect fake websites," Mr. Nguyen Anh Vu emphasized.

Referring to the effectiveness of existing legal measures, Mr. Vu admitted that although the authorities have taken decisive actions, the persistent and ever-evolving nature of these violations requires stricter measures, including heavier penalties, to deter such activities.

Lack of human resources, lack of critical thinking

Ms. Nguyen Thi Viet Nga, Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Hai Duong Province, frankly pointed out: "The fight against cybercrime in general, and fake press agency websites in particular, is still very fierce. The rapid development of digital technology and the explosion of social networks have created conditions for bad guys to easily commit crimes. At the same time, the ability to create websites in a short time requires us to have effective prevention and protection mechanisms."

In reality, this fight is not easy. Objective difficulties such as social networking platforms with servers located abroad, making cross-border handling complicated, or the shortage of high-quality human resources in the cybercrime prevention force, are major barriers. Ms. Nga emphasized: "High-quality human resources in information technology are a key factor in this fight. We need to invest heavily in training and attracting talent to effectively deal with challenges in cyberspace."

Ms. Nguyen Thi Viet Nga, Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Hai Duong province.

However, subjective causes also contribute significantly to the prevalence of this problem. People's awareness of using and accessing social networks is still limited, leading to easy fraud and trust in fake pages.

The alarming reality is that many people still carelessly share false information from unreliable sources, and are even punished for this behavior. "Many people are punished for quoting and reporting false information from unreliable sources. They think they are innocent when citing information, but in reality, they are not. The innocence of social network users is also part of the reason why the fight against cybercrime is still so difficult," Ms. Nga pointed out.

According to the National Assembly Delegate, to thoroughly resolve this issue, it is necessary to have the cooperation of many agencies and departments, from the police, state management of information and communication, to the Ministry of Science and Technology. If this is only considered the responsibility of one agency, it will be very difficult, because this issue involves many parties and many different solutions.

On the National Assembly side, Ms. Nga affirmed the important role in perfecting the legal framework for cyberspace management. However, the current legal system still has many loopholes, especially in the field of artificial intelligence.

"The National Assembly plays an important role in building and perfecting the legal framework, as a legislative body... However, our legal system is not yet truly complete. For example, the legal system related to artificial intelligence still lacks specific regulations," Ms. Nga analyzed.

In reality, the online environment, which was expected to be a transparent space for sharing information, has now become chaotic, causing 'good and bad mixed together'. More dangerously, fake websites are also a 'springboard' for more sophisticated crimes, from online fraud to cyber attacks and data theft, seriously affecting national security.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Viet Nga believes that to deal with these challenges, the entire political system and society need to take drastic action. Completing the legal framework, improving the capacity of the authorities, and especially equipping people with a 'shield' of critical thinking, are urgent solutions. Only then can we build a safe and healthy cyberspace where authentic information is protected and disseminated.

Hoang Anh

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/mang-xa-hoi-nhai-bao-chi-hiem-hoa-kho-luong-post339330.html