FAKE NEWS vs. REAL NEWS: How to Determine the Reliability of Sources

[Pierce College login required] Abstract of Reason (magazine) article published August/September 2020: "The article examines the case of the militant anti-fascist group antifa to discuss how jokes and misinformation could spark conspiracy theories. Also cited are the alleged fake social media accounts of antifa members that were mistaken as real and taken seriously, the alleged plan by antifa to launch a civil war and desecrate Confederate burial markers at Gettysburg National Park, and the categories of jokes like pranks and enigmas."

[Pierce College login required.] Excerpt from abstract of PLoS One (scholarly, peer reviewed journal) article published August 12, 2020: "Social media has made it possible to manipulate the masses via disinformation and fake news at an unprecedented scale. This is particularly alarming from a security perspective, as humans have proven to be one of the weakest links when protecting critical infrastructure in general, and the power grid in particular. ...findings demonstrate that in an era when disinformation can be weaponized, system vulnerabilities arise not only from the hardware and software of critical infrastructure, but also from the behavior of the consumers."

A new scientific analysis offers rigorous proof of something that social media acolytes have known for years: Twitter is an excellent platform for spreading actual news. Written by Karen Kaplan, and published in the Los Angeles Times on March 8, 2018.

Abstract of Time (magazine) article, published August 3, 2020: "The article discusses the proliferation of false information about the COVID-19 pandemic in the Internet and its possible adverse effects to the public. Also cited are the claim by associate professor David Rand on the reason why people believe and share information online even if it is false, and some suggestions on how social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter can improve the accuracy of information posted on their sites."

McAfee blog post by Judith Bitterli, published September 10, 2020. Differentiates between "misinformation" and "disinformation," and provides tips for tips for examining information of various kinds.

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a warning against health misinformation Thursday, saying that falsehoods spreading quickly online have subjected large numbers of Americans to avoidable illness and death. Published in The Washington Post, July 15, 2021.

Links to the USA Today article on a NewsGuard report that 519 websites out of the 6,700 it studied published false information about Covid-19. . Published September 9, 2021.

The Associated Press asked six doctors from across the country to describe the types of misinformation and denial they see on a daily basis and how they respond to it published in the Daily Herald, Oct 5, 2021.

documents disclosed by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen show that the company's researchers had a deep knowledge of how covid and vaccine misinformation moved through the company's apps, running multiple studies and producing large internal reports on what kinds of users were most likely to share falsehoods about the deadly virus published in the Washington Post on October 28, 2021.

Misinformation in English is rife on social media. says it's even worse in Spanish. Published in The Washington Post. Oct 31, 2021.

Facebook researchers had deep knowledge of how coronavirus and vaccine misinformation moved through the company's apps, running multiple studies and producing large internal reports on what kinds of users were most likely to share falsehoods about the deadly virus, according to documents disclosed by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen. Published in The Washington Post. October 31, 2021.