Propagation of 

Fake news

"False news diffused significantly farther, faster, broader, deeper in every category of
information"

Fake news – defined by the researchers as stories debunked by six major fact-checking services –
can spread 10 times faster than legitimate news stories, according to the study by researchers at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Many people now get news from social media sites and networks and often it can be difficult to
tell whether stories are credible or not. Information overload and a general lack of understanding
about how the internet works by people has also contributed to an increase in fake news or hoax
stories. Social media sites can play a big part in increasing the reach of these type of stories.

According to internet society People who spread fake news may do so because of its novelty and
because they may gain status by sharing new information. The researchers found that false news
not only spread faster than true stories, but it also had a much wider reach

Accordingly, exposure to fake news (and misinformation more broadly) is not equally distributed
across all users. In particular, political conservatives and older adults were far more likely to visit
fake news websites or share fake news articles (Guess, 2019) in her article Less than you think:
prevalence and predictors of fake news dissemination on Facebook

FALSE INFORMATION

False information is news, stories or hoaxes created to deliberately misinform or deceive

readers. Usually, these stories are created to either influence people’s views, push a political
agenda or cause confusion and can often be a profitable business for online publishers. False
information can deceive people by looking like trusted websites or using similar names and web
addresses to reputable news organisations.

According to Martina Chapman (Media Literacy Expert), there are three elements to fake news;
‘Mistrust, misinformation and manipulation’.

 
DECEPTION

A large body of research identifies three major reasons why people lie: to get something they
want, so-called instrumental reasons; to protect or promote themselves; and to harm others.
(Perina, 2023)

Deception is when a researcher gives false information to subjects or intentionally misleads them
about some key aspect of the research. This could include feedback to subjects that involves
creating false beliefs about oneself, one’s relationship, or manipulation of one’s self-concept.
(University of Chicago)

CONFIRMATION AND CREDEBILITY

Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction, but often stories that seem preposterous are from
fake news sources. Before you share a story, or cite it in your research, take some time to find
out if it is real. Many people share stories before they even read them. Not all "fake news" is
created equal. Misinformation are falsehoods that are unintentional, perhaps because of a
reporting error, or because something was shared before it was properly
verified. Disinformation is intentional with intent to deceive the receiver. (maxwell
library,2022)

Josh Introne, Assistant Professor of Information Studies at the iSchool cited that When we make
the effort to seek out truth, we commit to advancing a world built on honesty, transparency, and
perhaps most importantly of all, trust among each other (2021)