How Researchers Can Fight Misinformation
October 8, 2024
Hurricane Helene’s damaging push into the mountains of North Carolina was accompanied by a storm of false or misleading claims across various social media outlets, the AP reports. But how can society stop or mitigate the flow of flawed information? In Issues, Claire Wardle proposes ways for researchers, in particular, to step up. One key is to stop focusing on classifying the accuracy of individual posts, she writes, and to concentrate on better understanding the larger social picture, including how information being spread fits into people’s personal narratives in support of their desire for connection, community, and affirmation.