https://www.jou.ufl.

edu/insights/fake-news/

Navigating the Fake News Landscape

December 1, 2016 by Frank Waddell

After the proliferation of fake news during the 2016 election cycle, the journalism field has come to a
grim realization: Accuracy is no longer necessary for news to reach a broad audience. This is
particularly problematic on social media, where traditional journalistic functions such as gatekeeping
arent necessary.

For journalists hoping to cope with the deluge of fake news, the first step is to understand why fake
news stories are so successful. One reason is our default instinct to believe what we have been told,
a phenomenon that psychologists have coined truth bias. We are also easily persuaded by the
opinions of others, so the likes, comments and shares of those in our social networks can affirm the
validity of fake news stories.

Meanwhile, when were overwhelmed with information, were more likely to take mental shortcuts like
truth bias. The average social media user often must sift through hundreds of news stories on
Facebook or Twitter. When deciding whether to click the share button, its simply easier for readers
to trust their gut and go along with the crowd than to carefully consider the veracity of the news story
in question.

With these obstacles to accuracy in mind, what can legacy media do? The burden falls on journalists
and social media platforms. News outlets can educate the public in media literacy, debunking viral
fake news along the way. Social media sites like Facebook must also do their part, not just by
banning the most popular fake news sources, but also through offering their users with easy-to-
process cues (like implementing a verified news tag) to indicate when news has been posted by a
reliable and established source. It may be our tendency to believe what we read, but that doesnt
mean our natural instincts cant be reversed.

This excerpt originally appeared on The Conversation as part of Experts roundtable: The future of journalism in
Trumps America. Frank Waddell is an assistant professor in the Department of Journalism.

1. What are the concerns of the author and do you believe that all of them are
valid?
2. What are the implication of truth bias? What effect does this have on
audiences reception of information?
3. How do time restrictions influence both the production of media
information as well as its reception?
4. What would you propose as methodologies and approaches for media
literacy education? Who do you feel should be responsible for this?