How to find reliable information about COVID-19

With the growth of social media and instant communication, online discussions about health and vaccinations have become ubiquitous. Despite greater access to health information, and efforts by public health officials to be transparent, there can be mistrust about the authenticity of scientific advice.  Through the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in misinformation shared …

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YouTube rabbit holes: Are algorithms pushing us to consume more fake news?

You may have heard YouTube and other social media sites referred to as ‘rabbit holes’. ‘Disappearing down a rabbit hole’ means that even when you start out with good intentions in searching for information, you could end up reading or watching extremist content or fake news as you continue to follow links to the next …

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What is fake news and how can we spot it?

Let's start with a definition of fake news: Any manipulative account of a supposedly newsworthy event or state of affairs which purports to be factually accurate but which is deceptive, misleading, fraudulent, demonstrably false, and/or unverifiable — especially sensational accounts in social media that are designed to ‘go viral’.'Fake news' (2020) in Chandler, D and Munday R (eds.) A Dictionary of Media …

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