Identify & Challenge Disinformation (aka Fake News): Disinformation (aka Fake News)
What is Disinformation?
What is Disinformation?
- Authentic material used in the wrong context
- Imposter news sites designed to look like brands we already know
- Fake news sites
- Fake information
- Manipulated content
- Parody content
A more comprehensive list of fake news can be found at the Daily Dot.
The availability of software used to manipulate audio and video is increasing. This New York Times article on "face swapping" video gives an idea of what's possible:
- Here Comes the Fake Videos, Too (March 4th, 2018)
How does Disinformation Spread?
We know that fake news is not less likely to check verified news sources. They use facts from verified news and layer it with misinformation. When confronted by both the fake news and verified news, people tend to discount both the misinformation and the facts. That's the power of fake news.
Additionally, most adults use social media to get their news. Columbia Journalism Review reports that 30% of fake news can be linked back to Facebook while only 8% of verified news is linked from Facebook. There are fewer fake news sources than verified news sources but with social media, their reach is that much more pronounced.
Identifying Fake News
Role of Social Networks
- How Russia Harvested American Rage to Reshape U.S. PoliticsNew York Time's investigation of Facebook pages backed by Russian agents during the 2016 presidential election.
- Examining the Alternative Media Ecosystem through the Production of Alternative Narratives of Mass Shooting Events on TwitterFrom the abstract: This research explores the alternative media ecosystem through a Twitter lens. Over a ten-month period, we collected tweets related to alternative narratives—e.g. conspiracy theories—of mass shooting events.
How to Spot Fake News
Fight Disinformation
Strategies
Here are some ways you can make a difference now.
1. Think before you share. Read the entire piece before you decide whether or not to share.
2. Verify an unlikely story. Use the tools on the Fact Checking page.
3. Rethink your news diet. Expand your information network to include diverse perspectives from quality sources.
4. Evaluate your news using IMVAIN
The bedrock method of deconstruction: Each source in a news report is evaluated using the “IMVAIN” rubric and you can to:
- Independent sources are preferable to self-interested sources.
- Multiple sources are preferable to a report based on a single source.
- Sources who Verify or provide verifiable information are preferable to those who merely assert.
- Authoritative and/or Informed sources are preferable to sources who are uninformed or lack authoritative background.
- Named sources are better than anonymous ones.
More Resources
- Join the Digital Polarization Initiative
- Report fake news on Facebook
- Install B.S. Detector, a browser extension that identifies stories from sites that produce clickbait, fake news, and other suspect stories.