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Fake news: belief in post-truth

Fake news: belief in post-truth PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to illustrate that the current efforts to combat the epidemic of fake news – compiling lists of fake news sites, flagging stories as having been disputed as “fake,” downloading plug-ins to detect fake news – show a fundamental misunderstanding of the issue.Design/methodology/approachThis paper explores the plummeting believability ratings in conventional news outlets, as well as current efforts to combat fake news. These concepts are situated in the post-truth era, in which news is upsold on the notion of belief and opinion.FindingsThis paper finds that, in combination with a general mistrust of all news, a fundamental flaw in the system of clicks-as-reward allows fake news and other clickbait to gain unobstructed virality.Originality/valueFake news is a widely discussed topic right now. As this is primarily an issue of information literacy, library and information professionals need to understand, discuss, and address this issue as one that is directly related to the profession. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Library Hi Tech Emerald Publishing

Fake news: belief in post-truth

Library Hi Tech , Volume 35 (3): 7 – Sep 18, 2017

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References (11)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN
0737-8831
DOI
10.1108/LHT-03-2017-0062
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to illustrate that the current efforts to combat the epidemic of fake news – compiling lists of fake news sites, flagging stories as having been disputed as “fake,” downloading plug-ins to detect fake news – show a fundamental misunderstanding of the issue.Design/methodology/approachThis paper explores the plummeting believability ratings in conventional news outlets, as well as current efforts to combat fake news. These concepts are situated in the post-truth era, in which news is upsold on the notion of belief and opinion.FindingsThis paper finds that, in combination with a general mistrust of all news, a fundamental flaw in the system of clicks-as-reward allows fake news and other clickbait to gain unobstructed virality.Originality/valueFake news is a widely discussed topic right now. As this is primarily an issue of information literacy, library and information professionals need to understand, discuss, and address this issue as one that is directly related to the profession.

Journal

Library Hi TechEmerald Publishing

Published: Sep 18, 2017

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