Fake News and Misinformation: Further Research

alternative fact - a "phrase used by U.S. Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway during a Meet the Press interview on January 22, 2017, in which she defended White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer's false statement about the attendance numbers of Donald Trump's inauguration as President of the United States. When pressed during the interview with Chuck Todd to explain why Spicer would "utter a provable falsehood", Conway stated that Spicer was giving "alternative facts". Todd responded, "Look, alternative facts are not facts. They're falsehoods." Wikipedia

bias - "To give a bias or one-sided tendency or direction to; to incline to one side; to influence, affect (often unduly or unfairly)."  Oxford English Dictionary

clickbait - "Internet content whose main purpose is to encourage users to follow a link to a web page, esp. where that web page is considered to be of low quality or value."  Oxford English Dictionary

confirmation bias - "The tendency to gather evidence that confirms preexisting expectations, typically by emphasizing or pursuing supporting evidence while dismissing or failing to seek contradictory evidence." APA Dictionary of Psychology

conspiracy theory - "A theory that explains an event or set of circumstances as the result of a secret plot by usually powerful conspirators." Merriam-Webster

deepfake - "An image or recording that has been convincingly altered and manipulated to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said." Merriam-Webster

digital literacy -"The ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills". American Library Association Digital Literacy Task Force

disinformation - " The dissemination of deliberately false information, esp. when supplied by a government or its agent to a foreign power or to the media, with the intention of influencing the policies or opinions of those who receive it; false information so supplied." Oxford English Dictionary

fact - "Something that has actual existence. Merriam-Webster

fake news - "False stories that appear to be news, spread on the internet or using other media, usually created to influence political views or as a joke." Cambridge Dictionary

filter bubble - "A situation in which someone only hears or sees news and information that supports what they already believe and like, especially a situation created on the internet as a result of algorithms (= sets of rules) that choose the results of someone's searches." Cambridge Dictionary

information literacy - Ability to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.   ALA Presidential Committee on Information Literacy: Final Report

media literacy - "Media Literacy is a 21st century approach to education. It provides a framework to access, analyze, evaluate, create and participate with messages in a variety of forms — from print to video to the Internet. Media literacy builds an understanding of the role of media in society as well as essential skills of inquiry and self-expression necessary for citizens of a democracy." Center for Media Literacy

meme - "An idea, behavior, or style that becomes a fad and spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme." Wikipedia

misinformation - "Incorrect or misleading information." Merriam-Webster

opinion piece - " An article in a newspaper or periodical expressing the opinion (frequently one which is controversial or biased) of the writer on a particular item of news." Oxford English Dictionary

parody - "A literary or musical work in which the style of an author or work is closely imitated for comic effect or in ridicule." Merriam-Webster

peer review - "The process of someone reading, checking, and giving his or her opinion about something that has been written by another scientist or expert working in the same subject area, or a piece of work in which this is done." Cambridge Dictionary

post-truth - "Occurring after or resulting from a disclosure of the truth." Oxford English Dictionary Post-truth was chosen as the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year in 2016.

primary source - "An artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under study. It serves as an original source of information about the topic." Wikipedia Check out this Library FAQ on primary sources for more information.

propaganda - "Information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc." Dictionary.com

satire - "A literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn." Merriam-Webster

secondary source - "Documents or experts offering an interpretation of information provided by primary sources. Items like reference books, textbooks, and journal articles are all examples of secondary sources." Dictionary.com

spin - "In public relations and politics, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through knowingly providing a biased interpretation of an event or campaigning to influence public opinion about some organization or public figure. While traditional public relations and advertising may manage their presentation of facts, "spin" often implies the use of disingenuous, deceptive, and manipulative tactics." Wikipedia

troll - "to antagonize (others) online by deliberately posting inflammatory, irrelevant, or offensive comments or other disruptive content." Merriam-Webster

user-generated content - "User-generated content (UGC), alternatively known as user-created content (UCC), is any form of content, such as images, videos, text, and audio, that has been posted by users on online platforms such as social media and wikis. It is a product consumers create to disseminate online product or the firm that markets it." Wikipedia