On Twitter, fake news has greater allure than truth does
An analysis of 4.5 million tweets shows falsehoods are 70 percent more likely than truths to be shared
Maria Temming
Apr 13, 2018 — 6:45 am EST
The truth about online fake news is becoming clearer. A new study shows that on Twitter, phony stories reach more people than truthful ones do. Fake stories also spread far faster.
Fake news refers to stories based on false or misinterpreted information. These stories try to dupe readers into believing something that isn’t true. Some might try to make public figures look bad or claim people did something they didn’t. Others might try to discredit scientific findings. Such stories are often shared on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. But scientists have lacked data on how widely they were shared, or by whom. So a team of researchers decided to investigate.
https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/twitter-fake-news-has-greater-allure-truth-does
