Fake News Is 'Killing People's Minds', Says Apple CEO Tim Cook
Apple CEO Tim Cook had enough. During his trip to the United Kingdom, Cook briefly touched on the spread of fake news and has called it a "chief problem." He has vocally advocated for a widespread and active campaign to address the issue.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Tim Cook has firmly expressed his belief that these fabrications are "killing people's mind in a way." The spread of false information "is a big problem in a lot of the world" and needs the active intervention of governments and technology companies.
Cook believes that tech firms are in the forefront of the solution to this trend. He believes that the technology industry needs to provide tools to help cut down the growth and spread of fake news.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
In this context, the fake news that Cook is referring to is the false or sensationalized information made to look genuine as they spread online. An inaccurate or downright misleading report can gain a semblance of credibility on the Internet, if only by the sheer number of websites and social media users that republish or quote them.
Cook's proposal does not stop there. In addition to technology-based tools, the Apple CEO is also calling out for increasing public awareness through education. "It has to be ingrained in the schools, it has to be ingrained in the public," Cook emphasizes. He also calls for a measure of urgency: "We need the modern version of a public-service announcement campaign. It can be done quickly if there is a will."
In the previous months, Facebook has started rolling out new tools that can be used to flag stories that could be fake. Adam Mosseri, Facebook vice president who oversees the site's news feed, said, "We really value giving people a voice, but we also believe we need to take responsibility for the spread of fake news on our platform." The new tools have appeared in Germany and, if successful, will be tested in other places as well.
