The impact of fake news on business
While even the term itself has become politicized, there is no room to doubt that publication and dissemination of false information across the internet has become a major concern as of late. The rise of fake news affects not only individuals, narratives, and the platforms that publish them, however. There are also ways that fake news is impacting businesses and jobs across all manner of industries, as well. Here are some of the instances of fake news putting livelihoods at risk.

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The further politicization of facts
There is an undeniable and inherent political bent to spread of fake news across the internet. In many cases, political actors, such as influencers, online publications, and the like will challenge commonly known facts in a result to further polarize their base, incentivizing them to continue to subscribe to a shared set of beliefs. As such, many businesses may inadvertently find themselves taking a political position by simply acting on the fact as they are known. This has been seen to be the case with many businesses that require masks to be worn in the building, even when mandated by law, as shown by The Guardian. As such, fake news can risk businesses alienating portions of their target market through no fault of their own.
The increasing risk of libel
The fake news epidemic that has been consistently growing as digital technology gets more widely and frequently adopted has effectively cemented the fact that anyone can post any falsehoods they want online. False negative reviews and hit pieces can, for instance, not only impact the online reputation of a business, but also the effectiveness of marketing platforms such as Google, which can decrease the ranking of pages based on the review scores of the businesses that own them. Thanks to Removify and other reputation management tools, companies do have a tool to help them fight against the spread of false reviews against them. However, many business owners are not aware that these tools exist and so have to suffer the consequences of fake news.
Increasing the risks of exploitation and fraud
Recently, online fraud against companies and consumers has become increasingly popular. This is, in part, due to the fact that the coronavirus outbreak has exposed the vulnerabilities in a lot of systems thought to previously be secure. However, fake news is also related to many of the scams that can lead to instances of fraud. For instance, the spread of email scams that promise to offer information about the outbreak, as well as things like false Coronavirus Map apps that deliver malware can affect companies and consumers alike. Similarly, there are groups that are currently masquerading as companies offering false refunds to online customers in order to capture their login information.
The above examples outline some of the solutions being put in place against fake news and the impact it can have on consumers and businesses. However, until the platforms responsible for the spread of false information take the time to address its impact, many have worries that the issue may continue to get worse.