ФЭЙСБҮҮК СҮЛЖЭЭНД МОНГОЛ ХЭЛ ДЭЭР ТАРХСАН ХУУРАМЧ МЭДЭЭНИЙ СУДАЛГАА

Abstract

Mongolia is no exception from global
problems of dealing with fake news and
misinformation. There is increasing number of
fake news stories in Mongolian language
spread over social media. The consequences
of fake news are huge, from causing chaotic
situation to influencing public opinion on
important issues, including the election
results. However, there is no systematic study
on the nature of fake news distributed in
Mongolian language on social media. The
present study aimed to explore the nature of
fake news stories in Mongolian language
spread over Facebook. The instances of fake
news stories on Facebook were collected from
March 17 to May 19, 2018. Ten students were
selected from the Department of Journalism
and Mass Communication, National University
of Mongolia to be data collectors. They were
trained on how to detect fake news and
capture them. About 200 instances of fake
news stories were captured with screenshots.
Each case was analyzed thoroughly and
verified whether it is fake or real by the pre
determined criteria. Content analysis was
conducted on the collected news stories in
terms of their topic, type, source, distribution,
and comments. We also attempted to
determine the potential consequences of
these stories. The preliminary findings of this
study will be presented.