Alternative facts and fake news have become so pervasive in the the we consume lately that Apple CEO Tim Cook says it’s “one of today’s chief problems.”
During an interview this week in the U.K., Cook talked about the challenges tech companies face on how to combat stories that perpetuate false information without hurting the free flow of ideas on the internet.
Good Morning Britain caught up with Tim during his tour of the U.K. during which he met with prime minister Theresa May and received an honorary degree from the University of Glasgow. Cook told the show that fixing fake news won’t be easy.
Fixing Fake News
“We have to give the consumer tools to help with this,” Cook said. “And we’ve got filter out part of it before it ever gets there without losing the great openness of the internet. And so this is one of today’s chief problems, it is not something that has a simple solution.”
EXCLUSIVE: With fake news hitting the headlines, how does Apple boss @Tim_Cook think the issue should be dealt with? pic.twitter.com/kqF9scLzYh
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) February 10, 2017
Apple could add some tools to its News app to help highlight when an article has made dubious or false claims. That would require more people using the Apple News app though and so far it hasn’t been a huge hit.
Tim Cook also talked about the impending Brexit. When Cook and Theresa May met earlier this week, the prime minister reportedly discussed her strategy for leading the country out the EU. In an interview with the Independent, Cook said he thinks the U.K. will be “just fine.”
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
15 responses to “Tim Cook warns that world needs to fix ‘fake news’”
This is ridiculous. Cook is definitively going to be insane.
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Fake news and alternative facts exist because people fear questioning their beliefs or their positions. It is fear mongering that causes people to dismiss facts and act irrationally.
Does this guy never shut up about random subjects that have nothing to do with why we even know his name?
I have an idea, it’s crazy in fact. How about focusing on MAKING GREAT PRODUCTS. Those “tools” “empower” people as mentioned. Do not focus on babysitting humanity.
With a large chunk of the population genuinely believing Obama is Muslim and Hillary runs a child porn ring out of a pizza joint, it is really scary.
Very very very very few people actually believe that. Literally don’t know a soul or know anyone who knows a soul who believes that.
I don’t know a lot of people but I do know a few who do believe it.
It’s not their job. I like to use the old 80’s phrase of trust, but verify. When I was a kid, I knew the stuff in the checkout aisle was garbage and didn’t need anyone to tell me. Just be skeptical and know that everyone and every publication has an agenda and go from there.
Apple News should stop pushing CNN headlines to me then.
Fake news has always existed. Especially on the internet. Whatever happened to laughing at that “Do you believe everything you read on the internet?” commercial? If Clinton got elected nobody would be batting an eye at “fake news” but because the Oompa Loompa won everyone’s acting like it’s next world ending crisis facing humanity. Encourage analytical thought, challenge each other’s ideas, buy a subscription to a high quality news source, and chill the fudge out.
I have two word for Tim Cook: Operation Mockingbird.
When a news source tells you two separate massive high rise buildings collapsed in a controlled way after being hit near their tops by aeroplanes, I think that they are the ones Cook should be addressing.
It’s a bigger problem that mainstream media works so hard to manipulate the public. Its news is just as fake in many ways, but less blatant in how that news is delivered (or not delivered through omission. We probably would be better off focusing on education rather than suppression. And a return to mindfulness over constantly bombarding our minds with stimuli.
just gid rid of right-wing media and we will all be fine