Vaccinate against fake news

Sorting out the authentic wheat from the fabricated chaff is becoming increasingly difficult on the internet, and now it’s taxing the minds of scientists from the University of Cambridge, according to a BBC report. Researchers suggest “pre-emptively exposing” readers to a small “dose” of the misinformation can help organisations cancel out bogus claims. “Misinformation can be sticky, spreading and replicating like a virus,” said the University of Cambridge study’s lead author Dr Sander van der Linden. “The idea is to provide a cognitive repertoire that helps build up resistance to
misinformation, so the next time people come across it they are less susceptible.” The study, published in the journal Global Challenges, was conducted as a disguised experiment. Fabricated stories alleging the Pope was backing Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton sold
weapons to Daesh were read and shared by millions of Facebook users during the US election campaign.