Modus Operandi in Fake News : Invited Paper

With the proliferation of different forms of digital communication, the opportunities for spreading Fake News are increasing constantly. More often than not people inform themselves about news and current events in social networks or blogs. By doing so, they run the risk of falling for and also – often unconsciously – spreading false information from manipulative news sites. The distribution of fake news itself is not a new phenomenon, but thanks to the advances in digital communication their circulation accelerates, leading to major impacts for the whole society. This lecture will take a closer look at several aspects. (a) What exactly are fake news? Which legal and content-related criteria must be fulfilled in order to identify fake news as such? (b) Modus Operandi: What are the typical methods of committing a crime? Moreover, the typical motives for spreading fake news are going to be examined in more detail.