Fake news is certainly a hot topic in the media today. But what is ‘fake news’? Is it a novel phenomenon or an old issue that has gained new life with the spread of social media? Can disinformation weaken our democracies or undermine our efforts to cope with emergencies such as the COVID pandemic? Some COST Actions are already on the case; examining sources of disinformation, how they propagate their content and how the phenomenon can be challenged.
Today the rapid rise of social media technologies that enable anyone with a smartphone to broadcast to the world has facilitated a new wave of fake news. The sheer volume of news available to access combined with social media algorithms that often accentuate our tendency towards confirmation bias make it increasingly difficult for the ordinary citizens to distinguish fact from fiction.
Read our new article on how COST Actions are addressing the issue of fake news here.
On 28 April, the Action European Network for Problematic Usage of the Internet is organising an online event dedicated at raising the public voice on problematic use of internet. Scientists who urged Internet giants to help them tackle problematic online behaviour are now seeking public consultation for new research-oriented projects aiming at overcoming Internet addiction. Find all information here.
Read more about COST Action ‘Interactive Narrative Design for Complexity Representations’
Read more about COST Action ‘Global Digital Human Rights Network’
Read more about COST Action ‘European Network for Problematic Usage of the Internet’
Read more about COST Action ‘European Cooperation for Statistics of Network Data Science’