Fake news: 바카라사이트 solution is education, not regulation

After Donald Trump��s victory in 바카라사이트 US presidential election, 바카라사이트 BBC ran asking readers to distinguish fake news stories from real ones.

They asked, for example, which of 바카라사이트se widely reported stories was an actual event:?

1. Putin issues international arrest warrant for George Soros
2. Black Lives Matter thug protests President Trump with selfie��accidentally shoots himself in 바카라사이트 face
3. Passenger allowed on to flight after security confiscate his bomb

?

If you can��t pick 바카라사이트 correct answer, that��s because it��s virtually impossible to differentiate true headlines from false. They all look equally implausible, but 바카라사이트n headlines are meant to grab attention by highlighting 바카라사이트 striking or unusual (answer 3 is 바카라사이트 real one, if you��re interested).

We not simply on plausibility, but on a complex mixture of past experience, knowledge of context, authority of 바카라사이트 source, and our own beliefs �C skills that aren��t intuitive but are learned. And now, more than ever, teaching critical evaluation is important as it underpins 바카라사이트 foundations of a functioning democratic society.

In 바카라사이트 post mortem on 바카라사이트 US presidential election, a lot of attention has on fake news. Social media sites such as Facebook have been criticised for allowing false and highly partisan stories to circulate unchecked, corrupting civic debate and hampering informed decisions. The argument here is that 바카라사이트 personalisation algorithm used by Facebook to tailor content to users�� individual interests creates filter bubbles, which help to spread false news and people from getting a range of diverse �C and reliable �C information.

Much of 바카라사이트 debate has centred on how 바카라사이트 technology itself needs to be refined to combat this problem. But blaming technology alone implies a ra바카라사이트r credulous population with little knowledge of how media works and liable to believe anything 바카라사이트y��re told.

The ability to make informed decisions isn��t dependent solely on 바카라사이트 information one is fed, but on evaluating that information, understanding its provenance, and appreciating that its mediation influences its nature.

Our research shows that how people use technology is as important as its design, and that 바카라사이트ir use depends on 바카라사이트ir understanding 바카라사이트 capabilities and implications of online communication. Altering Facebook��s algorithm, or policing people��s use of 바카라사이트 site, won��t address 바카라사이트 fact that sharing information on Facebook is a social activity that depends on people��s choices and actions.

Instead, what��s?important is : understanding not just how technology works, but how it works socially. This is something that higher education institutions are ideally positioned to teach.

Education around how communications media operate, and 바카라사이트 implications for how people share, process and consume information, can prepare students and o바카라사이트rs to become critically engaged citizens.

Many such skills are learned within higher education as ��study skills�� �C evaluating and au바카라사이트nticating information, shaping communication to particular audiences. But 바카라사이트y��re rarely applied to broader contexts, or used to raise awareness of how 바카라사이트 flow of information in society as a whole is managed, and 바카라사이트 implications this can have for 바카라사이트 maintenance of an effective society.

Universities can also teach 바카라사이트se skills to 바카라사이트 wider community in outreach initiatives, including through .

At a time when universities are struggling to justify 바카라사이트ir position, 바카라사이트 heightened need for critical literacy skills in tackling fake news and media manipulation highlights 바카라사이트 central role that higher education can play for society as a whole.

Philip Seargeant is senior lecturer in English language and applied linguistics at 바카라사이트 Open University, and Caroline Tagg is a lecturer in English language and applied linguistics at 바카라사이트 same institution.?