The Extent of the Fake News Problem
PleasegoogleShakerAamerpleasegoogleDavidKelly. (2015). Fukushima Nuclear Flowers. https://imgur.com/gallery/BZWWx
In the Stanford History Education Group study in 2016, only 20% of high school students questioned whether this photo might be fake.
- Evaluating Information: The Cornerstone of Civic Online ReasoningStanford History Education Group. (2016, November 16). Evaluating information: The cornerstone of civic online reasoning. https://stacks.stanford.edu/file/druid:fv751yt5934/SHEG%20Evaluating%20Information%20Online.pdf
- Students Struggle with Spotting Fake News, Stanford Researchers SayDoran, L. (2016, November 30). Students struggle with spotting fake news, Stanford researchers say. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/technology/students-struggle-with-spotting-fake-news-stanford-researchers-say/2016/11
Social Media as a Primary News Source
Fake news spreads easily and quickly on social media platforms and research shows that is where many Americans are getting their news.
A Pew Research Center study in 2021 found that:
- Almost half of Americans (48%) get their news from social media "often" or "sometimes"
- Almost one-third of Americans (31%) get their news from Facebook
- Twitter is used by 23% of American adults and 55% of those users get their news on the platform.
- Pew Research Center - News Consumption Across Social Media in 2021Pew Research Center. (2021, September 20). News Consumption Across Social Media in 2021. https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2021/09/20/news-consumption-across-social-media-in-2021/
Media Literacy Skills Are Lacking
Research also shows that most adults and children do not have the information and media literacy skills necessary to identify fake news.
A 2018 study by Okoro et al. found that people can identify fake news correctly only 54% of the time, which is only 4% better than guessing.
In 2016, the Stanford History Education Group study of more than 7,000 middle school, high school, and college students found that:
- 70% of high school students rated an advertisement with statistics as more reliable than a traditional news story
- over 80% of middle school students did not identify a story labeled "Sponsored Content" as an advertisement
- when evaluating the credibility of a website, most first year college students focused on appearance and superficial aspects rather than on the validity of the content
- "A Hybrid Approach to Fake News Detection on Social Media"Okoro, E. M., Abara, B. A., Umagba, A. O., Ajonye, A. A., & Isa, Z. S. (2018). A hybrid approach to fake news detection on social media. Nigerian Journal of Technology, 37(2), 454-462.
- "Evaluating Information: the Cornerstone of Civic Online Reasoning"Stanford History Education Group. (2016, November 16). Evaluating information: The cornerstone of civic online reasoning. https://stacks.stanford.edu/file/druid:fv751yt5934/SHEG%20Evaluating%20Information%20Online.pdf
Learn more about the need for media literacy skills:
CrashCourse. (2019, January 8). Introduction to Crash Course Navigating Digital Information #1. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/pLlv2o6UfTU