Article published by Syracuse University
iSchool professors share their research on the impact of misinformation and what we can do about it.
News media and social media have contributed to the explosive growth of fake news and misinformation in recent years.
But if one thing has become increasingly clear, it's that fake news can have very real, very dangerous consequences.
We spoke with Jeff Hemsley, Josh Introne, Bei Yu, and Lu Xiao – each of them professors here at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies – to delve into the nature of fake news and what we can all do to mitigate its impact.
Why do people believe fake news?
It's one thing to hear something that isn't true. It's another to believe it. It's these beliefs that lead to action, which can have both positive and negative consequences.
Josh Introne, Assistant Professor of Information Studies at the iSchool, studies how our belief systems influence the stories and information we choose to accept as true.
His research examines belief systems – groups of related beliefs that are likely to occur together – within certain populations.
He says, for example, that a person who believes the Affordable Care Act was an important step in improving health care is also likely to support gun control as a means of addressing gun violence.
Introne attributes people's individual susceptibility to false information to their belief systems and tribalism – a condition where group identity becomes more important than individual identity.
How does fake news spread?
Fake news is not just an online phenomenon. As events like “Pizzagate” and the 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol make clear, a widely circulated fake news story can result in violent actions and fatal consequences.
Jeff Hemsley, Associate Professor of Information Studies at the iSchool, argues that many cases of fake news, such as that spread by President Trump, are actually just propaganda – distorted information that is published for someone's political gain.
And whether it's a wartime newspaper ad or a seemingly innocent social media post, propaganda is only successful to the extent that it spreads.
"The things that tend to spread are things that are extraordinary. Extraordinary simply means that people are talking about it. And that's virality," he said.
Fake news spreads because it is often inflammatory in some way. That makes it exciting and worth talking about.
"The world can change as a result of viral events"", said Hemsley.
"If it turns out that lying is sexier than the truth, then we are in danger of undermining our own democracy."
How can you spot fake news online?
Some false information is the result of an honest mistake. Most fake news, on the other hand, is produced with the intent to deceive.
This is the difference between misinformation (honest) and misinformation (deceptive).
Bei Yu and Lu Xiao, both associate professors of information studies at the iSchool, study persuasion techniques and how they are used to spread instances of disinformation.
Here are some things they say you can do to spot fake news online.
Here, they share five techniques they recommend for easily identifying when a piece of information is false or manufactured to deceive, and how to make sure your bias doesn't get in the way of knowing when the information isn't true.
What can you do about it?
The spread of fake news, coupled with the sheer volume of information we interact with every day, can make it difficult to understand what is true and what is not. When it comes to false information and especially misinformation, the consequences can be fatal.
Here are some simple actions we can all take to take control of the information in our lives and reduce the impact that fake news can have in the real world:
- Learn how to distinguish disinformation and the intent behind it
- Take responsibility and critically evaluate the information we receive
- Empathy with people who don't share our beliefs
When we make efforts to seek the truth, we commit to advancing a world built on honesty, transparency, and perhaps most importantly of all, trust among each other.