Somewhat predictably, the fake news accusation goes both ways
After a year in which journalists became a straw man for Trumpian tirades and tweets, it shouldn't be a surprise that the outrage among media over fake news has rebounded back as conservatives claim mainstream media is the source of most of it. Just search Twitter for "fake news" and you'll see what I'm talking about.
In an effort to tamp down on the furor, Facebook recently started asking some readers whether news links use misleading language. But recent studies found that both students and adults are both terrible at discerning the factuality and integrity of news, even when stories don't align politically with a reader's beliefs.
"Consumers are likely to believe even false stories that don’t fit their ideological bias. And the survey calls into question the notion—which Facebook has reportedly begun testing—that consumers themselves can do the work of distinguishing between real and fake news."
Facebook's Instant Articles feature, lauded as a boon to publishers, has backfired by contributing a veneer and sheen to low-quality outlets that now appear identical to established publications while you're on the platform.
