Archives: Research

In the most recent addition to Weber Shandwick, Powell Tate and KRC Research's ongoing investigation of 'Civility in America' they explore the topic of fake news. Given the contentiousness of the 2016 US elections and the heightened role of social media and news media, the researchers wanted to gather insight into how fake news was faring in the public domain. The report highlights four key findings on American's awareness of fake news, their level of concern and the impact of fake news on civil discourse and behaviour in America. 

From an epistemological standpoint, fake news presents an interesting problem. According to the author fake news presents a phenomena which indicates an indifference to the truth. He argues that this phenomena has been allowed to flourish due to the way in which we have set the terms of the "public" epistemology which maintains what it considers "rational" public discourse. The author argues that one potential solution to this problem of fake news is to challenge the public epistemology by including a certain ethical consideration back into its discourse.

This paper studies and explores the techniques and methods used by actor who spread fake news and manipulate public opinion to serve their selfish motives ranging from the personal, financial to political. It also looks into the three points of the fake news triangle: the services that enable them, social media and the motivation behind spreading fake news. The paper demonstrates several techniques used to identify fake news campaigns and discusses how social media and the public can counter fake news.

Recent election experiences in countries like Brazil and the US have highlighted the role of misinformation in perverting democratic processes. Most of the work done on the subject of misinformation is focused on the Western experience with very limited research within the Indian context. This report gives an overview of the history and implications of misinformation and fake news from global scenarios and specifically from the Indian context.

In the wake of the 2016 US presidential elections the study of fake news has been rapidly on the rise. However, an analysis of political satire has remained an underdeveloped line of research. This research paper uses field experiment, survey and focus group methods to determine whether media consumers' ability to differentiate between satirical or fake news is related to socio-demographic factors. The findings highlight that age, education, sex and political affiliation affect the understanding of "fake news' and satire. 

Fake news has existed long before the advent of social media. Large tech companies like Google and Facebook are developing their own algorithms to protect their users from false news. However, the lack of a common approach to understanding the essence of fake news makes a solution ideologically impossible. This research analyses the mechanisms of the publication and distribution of fake news. The researchers also decide on methods to identify fake news on social media with the help of systems featuring elements from artificial intelligence and machine learning. 

Fake news has received considerable attention in the recent past although it is not a new phenomena at all. The spread of fake news is attributed to the advent of the social media age making it seem like a modern issue. While fake news has been perceived and defined differently over time, it is linked to the role of the news as acting as the fourth estate which is an instrument of influence and persuasion. This articles attempts to show that fake news is not the root of the problem but rather a symptom of a deeper problem which affects the political and information ecosystem.

This study looks at the role social networks and advertising plays on social networks in the dissemination of false news stories about childhood vaccines. It documents that anti-vaccine groups on Facebook spread false stories beyond the groups and also serve as "echo" chambers. The study also finds that after the Facebook ban on advertising by fake news sites, the sharing of fake news articles fell by 75% on Facebook as compared to Twitter.

Despite measures implemented by the public, private and people sector towards tackling disinformation, the concerns among the public remains high. This working paper focuses on the various strategies and interventions that have been used to overcome human biases and also their limitations. The paper identifies key human biases which affect how we process information, evaluation and debunking efforts. The paper also presents three approaches, techno-cognitive solutions, effective communication and education as well as a review of recent measures taken on these fronts to counter falsehoods. 

This thesis seeks to discover the effects of fake news on consumer trust in social media marketing. The concept of fake news is discussed at length in the research in order to establish a more theoretical basis for the study. It is a quantitative research which uses the questionnaire tool designed for a dedicated survey group on Facebook with the aim of gathering a hundred responses. The data was analysed after receiving a hundred responses.