What can journalists do to combat the spread of fake news?

By Caroline Grass

October 29, 2023

Illustration for CREST project: Why Do People Spread Disinformation On Social Media? Copyright © R. Stevens / CREST (CC BY-NC-SA).

Mis and disinformation is everywhere on social media and Anthony Adornato’s chapter on fake news and its spread emphasizes the dangerous consequences fake news has on the public. As Adornato writes, the production of fake news is a business of its own as creators can make money from digital advertising and traffic to their sites.

It’s important that when talking about fake news we are all operating from the same definition. Fake news isn’t accidentally sharing something that may be taken out of context or incorrect, it is the intentional spread of incorrect information with the direct purpose to mislead. Fake news has become a buzzword in and of itself as seen with Trump using the term to describe negative press coverage about himself, even when the coverage is accurate.

This is extremely dangerous because if people think journalists are creators and spreaders of fake news, they lose trust in journalism and journalists.

This lack of trust in the news is seen in two recent polls I found out about from reading a Poynter opinion piece. A Pew Research Center analysis found that fewer adults are following the news “all or most of the time” from 2016 to 2022. In those six years, the percentage of people following the news at this level dropped from 51% to 38%. A Gallup poll also found that people who trust the media “a great deal” or “fair amount” to report news accurately was at 32% in 2023. In 2005 it was 50%.

This begs the question, what can journalists do to combat the issue of the spread of fake news? It may seem that not engaging with fake news and disinformation is the best option, take the high road and ignore it, but when the consequence of the spread of fake news is people discrediting journalists’ work and their profession it can be hard to ignore.

As journalists, I think using our expertise in the beat we cover or things we write about to call out fake news and bring it to our reader's attention is now part of our job description. Unfortunate as that might be, these additional roles we have in reporting and bringing information to the public has to adapt to the changes in technology, social media and media consumption habits we see every day.

And even as journalists enmeshed in social media and the news we aren't perfect at detecting mis and disinformation either. Being media literate is extremely important as well. Checking ourselves when we are reporting by thinking about where the information is coming from, who is saying it and seeing what the person might have to gain or lose from saying it are initial questions to ask.