Chatbots and charlatans: how the BBC is cracking down on fake news

The BBC is "really worried" by a new tactic by fake news propagandists and fraudsters who are exploiting the rise of chat apps to spread false content carrying the broadcaster's trusted branding. The organisation has found itself repeatedly targeted by what appears to be a mixture of state-backed political activists, opportunistic fraudsters and malicious pranksters, who are grafting the BBC's famous logo onto false reports that are shared on the largely unregulated chat platforms. The trend represents a new dimension in the fake news threat and a major challenge to democratic processes and to news organisations in protecting their brand reputations. The BBC last week felt obliged to issue a formal warning after a clip purporting to show the BBC reporting on the outbreak of nuclear war between Russian and NATO forces in the Baltic went viral on WhatsApp and other chat platforms as a piece of breaking news. In other instances, the BBC's branding has been used to give a false sense of authentication to concocted election results, and in creating malicious news'reports' designed to damage corporate targets.