So, what is and what is not fake news, actually? 

The authors cited above bring some useful clarifications. They identify two factors which must be present together in order for a piece of news to be classified as fake news:

o    Lack of truth (false or misleading)
o    Lack of truthfulness (the presence of intention to deceive)

They classify other types of unreliable news, e.g. journalistic errors gone viral, satire and parody, or highly selective reporting as ‘problematic news’.

Other authors see fake news as a species of disinformation (Fallis, 2015)

Fake or misleading news could take various forms such as:

o    misinformation;
o    conspiracy theory;
o    pseudoscience;
o    propaganda;
o    partisan news;
o    sponsored content.

Therefore, fake news should be understood within context and complementary with other concepts such as misinformation and disinformation which we will approach in the following sections.

 Disinformation is false or misleading content that is spread with an intention to deceive or secure economic or political gain, and which may cause public harm. 

Misinformation is false or misleading content shared without harmful intent though the effects can be still harmful.

Apart from these 2 forms, some authors also differentiate between:

Mal-information, which refers to “true information is used with harmful intent” (Wardle and Derakhshan, 2018). “Typical mechanisms include, extrapolation/intrapolation, deformation, cherry-picking.” (Marchetti, Mastrogiorgio, 2023). Those techniques are often used by yellow journalism (sensational journalism, without necessarily providing false content).

De-information refers to content that is true but results into an unintentionally fake message due to the lack of competence on the producer’s side. (Marchetti, Mastrogiorgio, 2023).

An interesting and even more detailed typology of fake content, based on creators’ intent and dissemination means has been developed by the author Claire Wardle and explained in her article Fake news. It’s complicated.

https://firstdraftnews.org/articles/fake-news-complicated

The infographic shows7 types of mis and disinformation:
o    Satire and parody (no intention to harm but has potential to fool)
o    Misleading content (misleading use of information to frame an issue or individual)
o    Imposter content (impersonation of genuine sources)
o    Fabricated content (100% new and false content, designed to deceive and do harm)
o    False connection (visuals, headlines or captions do not support the content)
o    False context (genuine content shared with false contextual information)
o    Manipulated content (when genuine information or imagery is manipulated to deceive)

Creating a comprehensive typology which is also easy to understand and retain is more difficult than it seems, especially that such content is dynamic, evolving and developing based not only on the creators’ contribution but also on what users generate, pay attention to or share.

Information or news can be evaluated according to:

•  how it looks: text, image, sound – one or more features;
• corroboration between all the features of a piece of news or an article when (text, image, sound);
• source credibility and information provider (author, quote);
• author(s) gained competence(s);
• previously known facts about the news subject, compared to the ones in the news;
• scientific facts that can certify the information.

Fact checking 

Fact-checking engines or websites can be used to check the accuracy of a text or a statement to determine whether it is true or false are available.
 

Image checking

In order to check the credibility of an image, it can be used as an input query in search engines, the results obtained being related to it.

• Google Images
• TinEye
• Openverse (formerly known as Creative Commons Search)

According to Statista, more than 70% of Europeans encountered fake news on a regular basis. Although in some EU countries a significant percent of people (up to 45%) verified online information they were doubtful about, according to Eurostat, the EU average was 23% in 2021, with the lowest rates (>12%) in Romania and Lithuania.

Fake news, misinformation and disinformation affect the way people think, vote, the way they make decisions, their belief systems and behaviors. They can also polarize debates, and threaten health, security and environment at risk. 

The level of trust in media has significantly decreased, and a majority of EU citizens see the fake news problem as a serious challenge to democracy. The EU acknowledges the fact that large-scale disinformation campaigns represent a major problem for Europe. 

What make us vulnerable to fake news?

Exposure to false and misleading information, if not properly addressed, lead to formation of false beliefs. Multiple factors contribute and make people vulnerable:

• Cognitive: including an inclination towards intuitive thinking rather than analytical (lazy thinking), other cognitive failures such as neglecting source cues and counter-evidence, familiarity, etc. 
• Socio-emotional: attractiveness, emotional charge of the information along with the emotional state of the receiver, the worldviews of the information consumer.
   

It is widely recognized that people tend to believe easier the news headlines that resonate with their world view, or when sources are perceived as similar to themselves or otherwise powerful and attractive. Sometimes, they do not differentiate between personal opinions and facts (often the case with, but not limited to, social media ‘influencers’).

And finally, there are contents so convincing and ‘artfully’ done that it is almost impossible for the regular citizen without special technology or knowledge to spot them (e.g. deepfakes).

Such an example is the ‘How to spot Fake News’ infographic, created by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).

It underlines 8 aspects:

o    The source (further investigate the source website)

o    The author/s (are they credible/real?)

o    The date (is it reposted old news no longer relevant for the current events?)

o    Further reading (is there consistency between the headlines and the rest of the article?)

o    Is it a joke? (parody/satire/any disclaimers?)

o    Your own biases (could your own pre-existing beliefs affect your judgement?)

o    Experts (if still not sure, asking an expert, librarian or using a fact checking website could help solve the issue)