What to Do About Fake News

A recent study by the German Marshall Fund found that misinformation on Facebook has tripled since 2016, when the term “fake news” was first popularized during the presidential election. Another take on this is the recent Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, which has tech insiders sounding the alarm on how social media manipulates users and threatens democracy itself. All this is troubling to say the least, and if there were no solutions we would have good reason to throw our hands up and become more cynical, disengaged, and divided, as is currently happening in America. But there are in fact solutions, many of which are being proposed by informed citizens, people in government, and tech insiders.

It is the informed (digital) citizens part that I focus much of my energy on as a librarian. In response to the prevalence of false news stories in 2016, I along with other librarians at The Seattle Public Library have been teaching a class called The Fake News Survival Guide. This class is based on the premise that even though false news, misinformation, and disinformation have been difficult to prevent, we can avoid falling victim through awareness and positive habits like fact checking.

So where do we start? A 2016 study by computer scientists at Columbia University and the French National Institute found that 59% of links shared on Twitter were not clicked through. That means people on social media generally share content without fully examining it! It’s a sobering yet empowering statistic because we can cut down on so much misinformation online by simply reading/listening/watching content thoroughly and critically before sharing. Hence, that’s my number one tip for fighting fake news. It’s a challenging habit to cultivate, but can make a huge difference. 

For more tips, and to learn more about this issue, check out my recent podcast on Vox’s Today Explained. The Seattle Public Library also has an updated resource list for The Fake News Survival Guide. And as always, pandemic or not, your local library is the place to go if you need help fact-checking a story. Ask us a question via chat, email, or phone and The Seattle Public Library will help you find reputable resources and information on any topic. 

~Posted by Di Z.