Sharing content without thinking: “A complex web of societal shifts is making people more susceptible to misinformation and conspiracy,” writes Claire Wardle.
“Most of this content is designed not to persuade people in any particular direction but to cause confusion, to overwhelm and to undermine trust in democratic institutions from the electoral system to journalism. Users become “unwitting agents of disinformation.”
Celebrity death hoaxes: Daniel Funke and Alexios Mantzarlis report that celebrity deaths are a popular subgenre of misinformation and offer 15 fact-checking links.
“At a time when we are at pains to distinguish ‘real news’ from ‘fake news,’ falling for these shallow fabrications undermines the argument,” they write.
Rumors, misinformation and fake news: Craig Silverman says he helped popularize the term “fake news” and now regrets it.
Silverman and colleagues published an analysis of 50 of the biggest fake news hits on Facebook in 2017.
“This highlights the challenge faced by Facebook to find ways to halt or arrest the spread of completely false stories on its platform, and raises questions about how much progress has been made in fighting this type of misinformation.”
Facebook “remains the home of massively viral hoaxes,” says Silverman.
Year of the Internet Vigilantes: Doris Truong writes about online identification technology to combat misinformation.
“It might lie in facial-recognition technology. You might have it in your hands already, depending on which smartphone you’re using.” Trust but verify.
Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists 