(1 Aug 2025) Even researchers and students perform poorly at spotting “fake news” and misleading content online, as a trial in 2017 by Stanford University professor Sam Wineburg showed. Happily, Wineburg found that there is a group who do better – and that is people from my former line of work: professional fact-checkers. The trick is the…
(17 Jun 2025) As consumption of traditional news continues to fall, audiences are turning to social media personalities and influencers for their information. These figures are increasingly shaping public debates. But Australian news audiences are skeptical. More Australians believe social media influencers are a major misinformation threat than other sources, according to new research. The Digital News…
(23 Oct 2023) Sage has unveiled a literary resource hub aimed at countering the rise of online misinformation, disinformation, and deceptive content. The newly launched Literacy Information Microsite is dedicated to addressing the issues of mis-, dis-, and malinformation that are prevalent in the digital realm. This platform offers open-access research articles on vital topics…
(6 Oct 2023) Join us for a Research Review Seminar with Dr Nicole Johnston (Edith Cowan University). Dr Nicole Johnston was awarded an ALIA Research Grant to carry out research into the impact and management of mis and disinformation in Australian university libraries. In 2022, Nicole interviewed a number of university library managers who…
(11 Aug 2022) Misinformation isn’t a new problem, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to separate fact from fiction, especially on the internet. Alex Mahadevan, director of MediaWise at the Poynter Institute, wanted to learn more about how people across generational lines verify information and decide what to trust and share online. The survey found that…
(4 Nov 2021) U.S. tech company Google Inc. donated US$1 million Thursday to the Taiwan FactCheck Center (TFC) to help fund the center’s media literacy initiatives. The US$1 million will be disbursed over the next three years under Google’s Intelligent Taiwan initiatives to help combat the effects of disinformation, the company said. Google’s…
New research project on mis/disinformation in library collections in Australia. (21 April 2021) ALIA is pleased to announce it is currently seeking applications from LIS researchers to lead/undertake a six-month research project on mis/disinformation in library collections in Australia. The issue of mis/disinformation, and a wider issue of community trust, has recently been…
(14 November 2020) Australia’s peak national library bodies want to see the federal government adopt a policy and strategy for combating misinformation and disinformation among individuals of all ages. The Australian Libraries and Information Association (ALIA), National and State Libraries Australia (NSLA) and National Archives of Australia all spoke of the looming threat of…
A non-profit dedicated to science communication offers to connect learners with over 11,000 scientists. (2 Oct 2020) Dr. Sarah McAnulty, an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut and an expert on cephalopods, founded Skype a Scientist, a non-profit designed to put people in contact with scientific experts on a variety of topics. Skype a Scientist…
Tobias R. Keller, Queensland University of Technology and Rosalie Gillett, Queensland University of Technology Even before the coronavirus arrived to turn life upside down and trigger a global infodemic, social media platforms were under growing pressure to curb the spread of misinformation. Last year, Facebook cofounder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg called for new rules…