Fake News

What kind of fake news exists?

There are four broad categories of fake news, according to media professor Melissa Zimdars of Merrimack College.

CATEGORY 1: Fake, false, or regularly misleading websites that are shared on Facebook and social media. Some of these websites may rely on “outrage” by using distorted headlines and decontextualized or dubious information in order to generate likes, shares, and profits.

CATEGORY 2: Websites that may circulate misleading and/or potentially unreliable information

CATEGORY 3: Websites which sometimes use clickbait-y headlines and social media descriptions

CATEGORY 4: Satire/comedy sites, which can offer important critical commentary on politics and society, but have the potential to be shared as actual/literal news

No single topic falls under a single category - for example, false or misleading medical news may be entirely fabricated (Category 1), may intentionally misinterpret facts or misrepresent data (Category 2), may be accurate or partially accurate but use an alarmist title to get your attention (Category 3) or may be a critique on modern medical practice (Category 4.)  Some articles fall under more than one category.  Assessing the quality of the content is crucial to understanding whether what you are viewing is true or not.   It is up to you to do the legwork to make sure your information is good.

Why should you care about whether or not your news is real or fake?

1. You deserve the truth.  You are smart enough to make up your own mind - as long as you have the real facts in front of you.  You have every right to be insulted when you read fake news, because you are in essence being treated like an idiot.
2. Fake news destroys your credibility.  If your arguments are built on bad information, it will be much more difficult for people to believe you in the future.
3. Fake news can hurt you, and a lot of other people.  Purveyors of fake and misleading medical advice help perpetuate myths like HIV and AIDS aren't related, or that vaccines cause autism.  These lies are dangerous.
4. Real news can benefit you.  If you want to buy stock in a company, you want to read accurate articles about that company so you can invest wisely.  If you are planning on voting in an election, you want to read as much good information on a candidate so you can vote for the person who best represents your ideas and beliefs.  Fake news will not help you make money or make the world a better place, but real news can.

Peer-reviewed articles (some may not be available to non-Mines patrons)

• Klepper, David (2020)  Cyborgs, trolls and bots: A guide to online misinformation.  AP News, written & accessed February 7, 2020.
• Lazer, D., Baum, M., Benkler, Y., Berinsky, A., Greenhill, K., Menczer, F., Metzger, M., et al. (2018). The science of fake news. Science (New York, N.Y.), 359 (6380), 1094. doi:10.1126/science.aao2998
• Fu, Q., Feng, B., Guo, D., & Li, Q. (2018). Combating the evolving spammers in online social networks. Computers & Security, 72, 60–73. doi:10.1016/j.cose.2017.08.014
• Shin, J., Jian, L., Driscoll, K., & Bar, F. (2018). The diffusion of misinformation on social media: Temporal pattern, message, and source. Computers in Human Behavior, 83, 278–287. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2018.02.008
• Jang, S., & Kim, J. (2018). Third person effects of fake news: Fake news regulation and media literacy interventions. Computers in Human Behavior, 80, 295–302. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2017.11.034

News articles

• Google announces strategies to fight “fake news,” offensive search suggestions : Search engine giant tweaks autocomplete feature, adds feedback option to fight misleading information by The Denver Post, April 25, 2016.
• Ball, Philip & Amy Maxmen (2020).  The epic battle against coronavirus misinformation and conspiracy theories : Analysts are tracking false rumours about COVID-19 in hopes of curbing their spread.  Nature, 581, 371-374.  doi: 10.1038/d41586-020-01452-z
  May 27, 2020

Civic Online Reasoning (COR) from Stanford University

Students are confused about how to evaluate online information.  The COR curriculum provides free lessons and assessments that help teach you to evaluate online information that affects them, their communities, and the world.  https://cor.stanford.edu/

Learn about:

• Lateral reading
• Click restraint
• How to use Wikipedia wisely