UAlbany Librarian Offers Insight on Americaâs Growing Fake News Problem
Trudi Jacobson, distinguished librarian at the University at Albany.
ALBANY, N.Y. (June 3, 2021) – While most of us believe we can sniff out fake news, a new study has found that as many as three in four Americans are overestimating their ability – and the worse they are at it, the more likely they are to share misinformation.
The study, published out of the University of Utah in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, surveyed a total of 8,285 respondents. They were asked to evaluate the accuracy of a series of Facebook headlines and then rate their abilities to spot false news content. Roughly 90 percent of respondents rated themselves above average.