Social Media in the Age of Misinformation, Part 3. "Disinformation and Fake News: What It Is and How Can We Fight It?"

Description

In the last few years, we have heard the terms fake news, disinformation, misinformation, etc. repeatedly. Yet, we do not clearly know how to be better informed, fight this phenomenon, or to train people in combating it. With a vast majority of population relatively new to technology, and not trained in any formal way to decipher the real from unreal, truth from half-truths and lies, people actually end up believing disinformation as truth, especially when there is enough repetition. In this talk, I will describe the phenomenon and its implications, the current efforts and their degree of success, and provide directions for information professionals to fight disinformation and fake news. - Understanding the terms such as fake news, misinformation, and disinformation - Understanding the role of social media in mediating the above - Identifying the steps that can be undertaken to prevent the diffusion of fake newsThe talk will address questions such as: What does context really mean? How do we map the conceptual space of context? What are the boundaries of context? What are the variables that make up context in information behavior and that can be incorporated into research studies?