When it comes to fake news, unfortunately, there is a LOT of it circulating now, but alas, the culprit has been found: the readers. This may surprise you, but the reason fake news is such a problem is due to the fact that most who read news, are so gullible and decide not to fact-check what they are reading. Many researchers have studied this problem, but one article really stood out, even with the title itself. "Why do Americans share so much fake news? One big reason is they aren’t paying attention, new research suggests" (Niemanlab). After reading into this article a bit, it explained how those who create the fake news feed off of readers' lack of attention, and how many just don't care to see if what they are sharing with others is real or not.
What is most important though? How to prevent this from continuing! In the article, it said, "Pennycook said social media platforms could encourage the sharing of higher-quality content — and re-orient people back to the truth — by nudging users to pay more attention to accuracy" (Niemanlab). We need to pay more attention, research our information, and think twice before hitting that share button, and spreading this problem of fake news.
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