Combating the spread of fake news and misinformation on social media (2018)

During the 2016 United States presidential election campaign, the term “fake news” rose to prominence in popular culture and conversation. The realization that people and groups were intentionally creating, disseminating, and popularizing “news” stories that were deliberately fake—not based on any facts or evidence, and very often, only based on the creator’s imagination—struck a chord with Americans as it suggested that our democracy was under attack. Previous research has highlighted the difficulties both in creating effective news media literacy interventions and in correcting misperceptions once they are established. Research has shown that media literacy background and knowledge have promise for generating skepticism toward misinformation and reducing acceptance of political conspiracy beliefs. This study explores how news media literacy interventions and corrective information can combat the spread of fake news and misinformation on social media.