Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ Who spreads fake news? On Twitter, humans are more likely culprits than bots, new study suggests

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

Reports of this study on the spread of fake news are all over the media today. There are several major threads (and it's interesting to see which news outlet points to which). First, humans, rather than robots, are the ones that really spready fake news. Second, fake news spreads much more quickly than real news. Third, it reaches more people than real news. Why? " We found that false news was more novel than true news, which suggests that people were more likely to share novel information. Whereas false stories inspired fear, disgust, and surprise in replies, true stories inspired anticipation, sadness, joy, and trust." More: New Scientist, Vox, Gizmodo, The Atlantic, USA Today, BBC, Reuters.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
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Last Updated: Nov 03, 2024 4:52 p.m.

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