A framework for finding the truth on Twitter
With more people using social media as a primary source of information, how can we sort the truth from the lies? The University of Melbourne’s Marie Truelove and Stephan Winter reveal a framework to sort fact from fiction.
On 29 October 2012, the day Hurricane Sandy hit New York City, a rogue tweeter posted: “BREAKING: Confirmed flooding on NYSE [New York Stock Exchange]. The trading floor is flooded under more than 3 feet of water,” a message that quickly spread to the mainstream news.
Only it was not true.
More recently, these kinds of hoaxes, often sent with the intention to mislead, have been labelled ‘fake news’. Journalists, authorities and ordinary social media users can struggle to sort real news from this stream of misinformation.
BREAKING: Confirmed flooding on NYSE. The trading floor is flooded under more than 3 feet of water.
