I expect that individuals will use this website as their main source of news and will realize their inability to tell what is fake news. False news needs to be stopped and this is my solution!
I chose the #hackislamophobia track. This website is intended to combat the false news and conspiracies around the Islam community. I have saw firsthand how harsh these articles can be and the negative effects they have on those in the community. It ostracizes Islam individuals and makes them feel as if they are a mockery. Imagine seeing thousands of articles shaming and polarizing your community, it would not be something you enjoy. I expect that individuals will use this website as their main source of news and will not be exposed to the false news that can negatively impact others. This website also includes a quiz that allows us to see how easily we can be manipulated by the media. Fake news is a big issue with cyber security and the negative effects it can have. Fake news can affect things as serve as the election and is a serious threat. Within the Islam community the effect of fake news can cause serious biases as well as lead to frustration. False news needs to be stopped and this is my solution!
What it does
This website has a video embedded that depicts the negative of Islamophobia and how it impacts those in the Islamic community. It has a navigation bar that allows users to easily navigate the website. I have embedded 6 accredited websites and have them set to display news related to Islam. These embedded sites are updates anytime new news arises dealing with Islam. I have also include a quiz that I created with headlines that could be fake news. I have multiple choice questions in which the user is able to challenge their ability to spot fake news. I also show the correct answer once the question is answered and show the overall score when the quiz is completed.
How I built it
To combat the issue of fake news and widespread theories I wanted to create a website that has Islam focused news from credible sources. I picked 6 websites that have accredited news outlets and embedded them. I display a preview of all articles dealing with Islam that the publication has as well as allow the user to click the preview and be redirected to corresponding sire. This allows users to assure that what they see is accredited and not false. In addition, I have included a tab called “Fake News Quiz”. We have become so complacent in our online activity that we have lost our ability to decipher real news from fake. We scroll and scroll and tend to believe everything we see without hesitation. I am guilty of following for a fake news article simply because I saw the heading on twitter or any other social media. I intend for this quiz to showcase how simple it is to fall for a fake headline. I created a backend API which houses my questions. I then called the questions using an asynchronous function. Once the user submits the answer, I have a function that checks correctness and increases the quiz score accordingly. I also show what the correct answer is in the case that a person gets the question incorrect. Once the quiz is completed, I show the overall score. My hope is that this website will become widespread and that everyone will use it as their source of news. I hope to make this into a Facebook, Instagram, and twitter page.
Through this project I learnt how to utilize JS in conjunction with HTML. I have created a website in flask but never really dabbled in JS. I learnt how to create functions and use them to complete a quiz and various processes associated with that. I found JS to be very similar to Java which is a language I have experience in. I found the project a bit time consuming as I did it solo but nevertheless, I enjoyed it very much.
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
I am proud of myself for taking the time to try this. I am not big on coding and have not done it in over a year. I was a bit rusty and had to research things again but I am glad I gave it a shot. I was able to create a layout that was not generic and looked enticing. I am proud of the work I put in and challenging myself even though coding scares me.
What I learned
I learnt how to combine JS and HTML. I did not know you can so easily manipulate HTML in order to make a functioning website. I was also blown away at how useful bootstrap is. On a more personal not I learnt that though i shy away from code because it intimidates me I am not too shabby. I learnt that I am a strong minded young woman who can accomplish a lot when she puts her mind to it. The internet has a ton of useful resources that I can use to learn and better my coding skills. This has inspired me to continue to code in hopes of getting more confident.
What's next for Combat islamophobia #hackislamophobia
Moving forward as mentioned before, I would like to make this into a social media account. I want this news to be all over so that it can combat the fake news that spread. I want to make a bot that takes news from accredited sites and post them on social media so that it is easier for users to get the information at all times.
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