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Friday, November 1, 2024

Lots of fake news about Diddy abuse case: ‘On the internet, lies win over truth’

The high-profile case involving Sean Combs, who is accused of sexual abuse, has sparked a relentless online rumour mill. Experts say it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish fake from real. “A critical look remains important.”

The accusations against Combs, stage name Diddy, have been going on for some time. Last month it was announced that the 54-year-old rapper, producer and record executive was being charged with extortion, sexual exploitation and human trafficking for prostitution purposes. He was arrested two weeks ago and is in custody.

Last night it was announced that another 120 victims accuse him of sexual assault. It would concern an equal number of male and female victims. One of them was allegedly abused at the age of 9. It would be the first time that Combs has been charged with sexual abuse of minors.

But in addition to the accusations being made by lawyers, social media is also flooded with “evidence” that is supposed to “prove” that Diddy is guilty.

That is very much part of this time, says media scientist Simone Driessen of Erasmus University. “We see a lot of people playing detective online. Something that is also called web sleuthing : people who, after watching a true crime series, start looking for clues and hints about who the perpetrators or victims are. They also do that in cases like Diddy’s.”

According to Duivestein, the way news and facts are distributed through the internet has changed completely. “We used to have a pillarized society, but now there is a kind of hyper-pillarization. Everyone can create their own reality and find their ‘followers’ there.”

It is almost impossible to banish fake news, says Duivestein. “On the internet, lies win over truth. Sensational lies are spread at lightning speed by the underlying algorithms of social media. The correction for this, the truth, is only seen by a few people.”

That is why there is an important task for education, government and journalism in the field of information and legislation, says Duivestein. Furthermore, there are online tools that can help. “Think of Truepic , which can distinguish authentic images from fabricated ones. But that is not watertight either.”

Duivestein says that the combination of technological solutions and human expertise remains necessary for the most reliable image verification. “Recognizing subtle details that are typical for AI-generated images, such as irregularities in shadows or fingerprints , often requires the human eye.”

The fact that so many rumors are being spread about the Diddy case is also because there is still a lot that is unclear, says Driessen. “The case has yet to start and because there are so many accusations against him, it may be harder for people to know what to believe. It certainly doesn’t make it any easier.”

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