Why We Fall for Fake News and How to Avoid It

Fake news is all over the internet and it disguises itself as real news when the actual purpose is to mislead readers and push propaganda. Avery Holton, assistant professor of communication at the University of Utah, can discuss why people buy into fake news and how they can start to identify it. According to Holton, people tend to believe fake news because the format is familiar, it aligns with their existing beliefs, it was shared by family, friends or reputable sources and because they aren’t used to verifying sources. Readers can identify fake news by verifying the source, checking the quoted sources and using tools like Snopes. Holton says the upswing is that people are consuming the news more than ever. For example, the New York Times digital subscription is up to nearly 3 million after hovering around 1.1-1.5 for years.