Fighting Fake News

Last fall, news broke about a new law banning students from reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in schools. The story quickly went viral. More than 2 million Facebook users shared or commented on it.

The problem? The report was made-up, published on a fake news website, then given a huge audience on the top social media platform.

The episode highlighted the problem of fake news. Misinformation published online often spreads faster than it can be challenged. The more that bogus stories are shared and viewed, the higher they’re likely to be ranked by Google and other search engines. That makes them easier to find—and increases people’s sense that they might be true.

“Just because something is in the top five of your search results doesn’t mean it’s reliable,” says Jonathan Anzalone of the Center for News Literacy at Stony Brook University in New York.

Fake news may be made-up, but it can have real effects. For example, some experts say fake news stories may have influenced the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Since then, tech companies have come under fire for not doing enough about the phony stories.

Now Google and Facebook—among people’s top sources for fake news—are rolling out strategies to combat it. But will that be enough?

Last fall, a news story came out about the Pledge of Allegiance. The report said students would be banned from reciting the Pledge in schools. This story quickly went viral. More than 2 million Facebook users shared it or commented on it.
 
The problem? The report was made-up. It was published on a fake news website. Then it was given a huge audience on the top social media platform.

This is an example of the problem with fake news. False information published online often spreads faster than it can be challenged. The more that these stories are shared and viewed, the higher they are likely to be ranked by search engines like Google. That makes them easier to find. It also increases people’s sense that they might be true.

“Just because something is in the top five of your search results doesn’t mean it’s reliable,” says Jonathan Anzalone. Anzalone works at the Center for News Literacy at Stony Brook University in New York.

Fake news is made-up. But it can have real effects. For example, some experts say fake stories may have influenced the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Tech companies have been criticized for not doing enough about this issue.

Google and Facebook are top sources for fake news. They are now working to fight this problem. But will it be enough?

But some experts say the tech companies’ efforts aren’t likely to be very effective in stopping false info.

One big issue: Fact-checking individual articles takes too much time to slow fast-spreading fake news, says Matthew A. Baum, a public policy professor at Harvard University in Massachusetts. Instead, he says, internet platforms should evaluate websites as a whole. Any content from a site that regularly publishes false stories should rank low in search results lists.

Companies should also be more aggressive about deleting fake accounts, Baum says. Facebook recently deleted 30,000 such accounts, but in 2013, the company said it could have as many as 138 million phony accounts.

But some experts say the tech companies’ efforts are not likely to be very effective in stopping false info.

One problem is that fact-checking articles takes too much time. So it can’t slow the spread of fake news, says Matthew A. Baum. Baum is a public policy professor at Harvard University in Massachusetts. He believes internet platforms should evaluate websites as a whole. Any content from a site that regularly publishes false stories should rank low in search results.

Baum says companies should also work harder to delete fake accounts. Facebook recently deleted 30,000 such accounts. But in 2013, the company said it could have 138 million phony accounts.

For now, the best way to stop fake news may be educating people to be skeptical about what they read (see “Don’t Fall for Fake News!”). To that end, several states are weighing legislation that would encourage public schools to offer media literacy education. (Washington State passed such a law last spring.)

The classes teach students how to analyze information from websites, TV, and other forms of media. They can also help students recognize their own biases, says Anzalone.

“We don’t like to receive information that may conflict with what we believe,” he says. So when you read something that affirms what you think—even if it’s wrong—you’re more likely to accept it. That’s why people need to think critically about what they’re reading, he adds.

The end goal is about more than being able to spot a made-up story, according to Anzalone. “It’s about valuing and seeking truth—and knowing how to find it.”

For now, the best way to stop fake news may be educating people to question what they read (see “Don’t Fall for Fake News!”). Some states are considering laws to encourage media literacy education in public schools. (Washington State passed such a law last spring.)

The classes teach students how to analyze information from websites, TV, and other forms of media. They can also help students recognize their own biases, says Anzalone.
 
“We don’t like to receive information that may conflict with what we believe,” he says. So when you read something that supports what you think, you are more likely to accept it as fact. That is why people need to think critically about what they are reading, he adds.

The goal is about more than being able to spot a made-up story, according to Anzalone. “It’s about valuing and seeking truth and knowing how to find it.”