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The conversation surrounding misinformation, fake news, and fact-checking is constantly evolving. As changing technology changes the way we consume information, new cultural and ethical considerations arise. Here is a collection of recent readings, podcasts, and other media we’ve highlighted from around the web that address the latest issues in fact-checking.
What We’re Reading:
- From The Washington Post: “If not us, then who?” Doctors and nurses face endless misinformation battle
Meet the doctors and nurses who are battling Covid-19 on the frontlines, then going home to fight misinformation online. Particularly moving is the story of Dr. Atul Nakhasi, who started #thisisourshot, a digital campaign which gathers doctors and nurses to answer questions and build vaccine trust.
- From Al-Monitor: Turkish government's fact-checking app brings concern, ridicule
With a majority of traditional Turkish media already in the hands of pro-government owners, a state funded fact-checking app could mean censorship, and a further spread of misinformation. “[This app] is likely to present everything that official sources say as true and anything else as false,” said one journalist.
- From Poynter: Fact-checking works and may give you ‘pleasure’
A new study from Argentina shows the effects of “True” fact-checks. “When the fact-check validates as being true something that people already believed was true, the chances of sharing that fact-check are higher than when there is a double false, when something you thought was wrong is considered wrong,” says one of the researchers.
- From The Reading Armchair: Did This Writer Say That?
Misattributed and inaccurate author quotes are rampant on social media. This writer investigates how we’ve come to put the wrong words in our favorite writers’ mouths.
- From The BBC: Why this teen set up a fake cosmetics shop
The rise in worldwide domestic abuse this past year has been referred to by the UN as the “shadow pandemic.” In response, one teen developed a fake online cosmetic shop where victims can ask for help while they appear to be shopping online.
What We’re Listening To:
Writers Aubrey Gordon and Michael Hobbes tackle myths and misinformation that pervade the health and fitness community. This week’s episode covers the master cleanse diet.
What We’re Watching:
- From Netflix: Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art
The new documentary profiles a New York art gallery that made over $80 million selling forgeries attributed to famous artists.
