Combatting visual misinformation: an everyday user's guide for times of conflict
In times of war and conflict, the digital landscape becomes flooded with images and stories. However, many of these images are fraudulent or modified, making it difficult to tell fact from fiction. As regular people, we must assume ethical responsibility for the content we consume and distribute as Read More...
How to use a reverse image search to spot fake news
If the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that “fake news” has found its home on social media. While fake posts are often news stories, they can also be images that people share, sometimes without the knowledge that what they’re sharing isn’t factual. As we have previously Read More...
Pinterest tightens policy on fake news with climate misinformation ban
The popular image-focused social networking platform Pinterest is promising to do its part in the fight against fake news by blocking all content that denies, twists, or in any way spreads misinformation about the climate crisis. As reported by The Guardian, Pinterest’s new policy defines Read More...
Some tips to spot false posts about the Russia-Ukraine conflict
It’s hard to discern what to believe and what to question, what with fake news and improved deep fake videos. Misinformation has been commonly used as a propagandistic tactic to distract, confuse, and redirect public opinion by many countries throughout history. In World War Two, the Germans Read More...
New policy reduces climate misinformation on popular video platform
A 2020 report by Avaaz, a US not-for-profit organization focused on issues such as climate change, blamed YouTube for “incentivizing this climate misinformation content via its monetization program.” In response, Google is finally banning ads, YouTube videos, and other content that preaches Read More...
Two journalists fighting for truth awarded 2021 Nobel peace prize
Berit Reiss-Anderson, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee, named journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov as this year’s laureates for the prestigious Nobel peace prize. Maria Ressa is a journalist from the Philippines and the chief executive and co-founder of Rappler, an online news Read More...
Illinois high schools equip students with media literacy skills
Misinformation in media isn’t a new problem—but it used to be much more contained. With the rise of the internet and social media platforms, misinformation has gained even more power. In the past couple of years, misinformation ran rampant, wreaking havoc on a population largely unprepared for Read More...
Tech giants are joining efforts to combat misinformation about the COVID-19
Preventing the circulation of misinformation in regards to the COVID-19 is arguably as important as stopping the spread of the virus itself. With that in mind, a group of the biggest technology companies in the US has recently banded together in a commitment to fight coronavirus-related fraud and Read More...
Singapore and Australia are drawing news laws to stop spread of fake news
The phenomenon of ‘fake news’ poses a serious threat to democracies all over the world because of its ability to significantly influence political and social trends in our societies. In an attempt to prevent such democratic disruptions, governments in the Asia Pacific region are accelerating Read More...