scholarly journals Information Literacy in a Fake/False News World: An Overview of the Characteristics of Fake News and its Historical Development

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol A. Watson

Prior to designing strategies and information literacy programs to combat the dissemination and proliferation of fake/false news, it is instructive for legal information professionals to understand the characteristics of fake news and the context of its historical development.

2021 ◽  
pp. 163-182
Author(s):  
Maria Haigh ◽  
Thomas Haigh ◽  
Maryna Dorosh ◽  
Tetiana Matychak

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 386-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Rochlin

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to illustrate that the current efforts to combat the epidemic of fake news – compiling lists of fake news sites, flagging stories as having been disputed as “fake,” downloading plug-ins to detect fake news – show a fundamental misunderstanding of the issue. Design/methodology/approach This paper explores the plummeting believability ratings in conventional news outlets, as well as current efforts to combat fake news. These concepts are situated in the post-truth era, in which news is upsold on the notion of belief and opinion. Findings This paper finds that, in combination with a general mistrust of all news, a fundamental flaw in the system of clicks-as-reward allows fake news and other clickbait to gain unobstructed virality. Originality/value Fake news is a widely discussed topic right now. As this is primarily an issue of information literacy, library and information professionals need to understand, discuss, and address this issue as one that is directly related to the profession.


2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina L. Niedringhaus

Now that we have a better understanding of the history and context of fake news, I am going to discuss why fake news and combatting it matters and how the recent rise of fake news correlates with a change in how society views expertise. I will also share the recently released results of a huge research project examining how fake news spreads.


2018 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Eva ◽  
Erin Shea

In keeping with this month’s theme of trustworthy information, the editors of this column have written about the ways that libraries have capitalized on the currency of this topic to market themselves and their information literacy programs.—Editors


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Pereira ◽  
Jay Joseph Van Bavel ◽  
Elizabeth Ann Harris

Political misinformation, often called “fake news”, represents a threat to our democracies because it impedes citizens from being appropriately informed. Evidence suggests that fake news spreads more rapidly than real news—especially when it contains political content. The present article tests three competing theoretical accounts that have been proposed to explain the rise and spread of political (fake) news: (1) the ideology hypothesis— people prefer news that bolsters their values and worldviews; (2) the confirmation bias hypothesis—people prefer news that fits their pre-existing stereotypical knowledge; and (3) the political identity hypothesis—people prefer news that allows their political in-group to fulfill certain social goals. We conducted three experiments in which American participants read news that concerned behaviors perpetrated by their political in-group or out-group and measured the extent to which they believed the news (Exp. 1, Exp. 2, Exp. 3), and were willing to share the news on social media (Exp. 2 and 3). Results revealed that Democrats and Republicans were both more likely to believe news about the value-upholding behavior of their in-group or the value-undermining behavior of their out-group, supporting a political identity hypothesis. However, although belief was positively correlated with willingness to share on social media in all conditions, we also found that Republicans were more likely to believe and want to share apolitical fake new. We discuss the implications for theoretical explanations of political beliefs and application of these concepts in in polarized political system.


Libri ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenna Kammer ◽  
Kodjo Atiso ◽  
Edward Mensah Borteye

Abstract This comparative cultural study examines differences in digital citizenship between undergraduate information literacy students at two different, but similar, universities across the globe from each other. Under the notion that the internet and prevalence of mobile devices allow students to participate online as digital citizens in ways that were impossible before, we use mixed methods to compare the attitudes and experiences of undergraduate students at a university in the midwestern United States (U.S.), with a university on the southwestern coast of Ghana. We also examine the policies related to technology use at these schools. The findings indicate that Ghanaian students had higher levels of digital citizenship. Other findings suggest that network issues are a problem for students in both schools, especially for Ghana, and ethical aspects of internet use, like cyberbullying, hacking, and fake news, deter students from participating online as much as they would like.


Publications ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
Aida María de Vicente de Vicente Domínguez ◽  
Ana Beriain Beriain Bañares ◽  
Javier Sierra Sierra Sánchez

The infodiet of young Spanish adults aged 18 to 25 was analysed to determine their attitude towards fake news. The objectives were: to establish whether they have received any training in fake news; to determine whether they know how to identify fake information; and to investigate whether they spread it. The study employed a descriptive quantitative method consisting of a survey of 500 representative interviews of the Spanish population aged between 18 and 25 through a structured questionnaire. The results indicate that they are aware of the importance of training, although generally they do not know of any course and when they do, they do not tend to enroll on one either due to lack of interest or time. These young adults feel that they know how to identify fake content and, moreover, that they know how to do so very well. However, they do not use the best tools. While they do not always verify information, they mainly suspect the credibility of information when it is meaningless. However, they do not tend to spread fake information. We conclude that media information literacy training (MILT) is necessary in educational centres that focuses on the main issues identified.


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