A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF FAKE NEWS; A PORTRAYAL OF PREDATORS OF PAKISTAN

Abstract

Fake news is an unlawful human activity that occurs globally and is not verified by a specific boundary. It is considered a potential danger to all the governmental bodies, law enforcement organizations, and legal authorities to completely stop it both inside and beyond the boundaries. The purpose of this study is to examine how fake news spreads in national and international publications like BBC or 24News. Using Van Dijk’s CDA paradigm, the study examines false news articles in the context of textural, cognitive, and social critical perspectives. Production, consumption, presentation, manipulation, and categorization in several newspapers, including BBC and Samaa News, were analyzed using Van Dijk’s CDA model. After conducting a thorough analysis of five false news stories out of many, the researchers have concluded that the fake news articles in newspapers are modified for social, cultural, and ideological reasons. The reporters purposefully used the story’s structure in many instances of false news to further elaborate their own social and ideological agendas. In order to prevent the propagation of fake news, it is anticipated that this study would enable the publisher and editors to put an end to such biases, prejudices, and manipulation.