We conducted user interviews (Guerrilla method) to explore emotions, understand our user goals, and assess their needs. The goal of the interview is to gain empathy for the user’s experience.

For quick primary research for our design sprint, we conducted three interviews from the people around the campus of IITH, A professor (practising in the medical field), a research scholar and a mess employee.

We received some key insights from these interviews:

“The spread of fake news is not a political problem: It’s a tech problem for the new age.” Fake news is not a new problem, Propaganda has been used historically to manipulate people. The challenge is how fast technology is spreading it. 

The purpose of fake news is to manufacture tension and spectacle. That is how it spreads from person to person.

The information is PACKAGED (with a narrative) by a particular entity to make a specific impact on the target audience.

Many are not aware that they are being influenced by social media news, even though they know that fake news can be harmful.

Fake news is only reported when it has already reached many people. Till then it has been reposted and shared many times.

People are concerned about their safety on the internet, especially with fraud and with the spread of fake news among their peers

People generally don’t read user agreements before installing apps, but some are aware that companies are collecting their data. Some are not aware of this, but most people do not think their own data is important.

Many feel that the flow of information is impossible to stop. Even if they change their own behavior, they cannot change the big picture.

When family members post false news or false information, they feel they cannot correct them because of power structures inside the family. (You cannot correct your elders, it is considered disrespectful.)