Vaccinating People Against Fake News
Researchers are trying to boost people’s immunity to fake news using online games and other strategies. Can these efforts protect the wider population against disinformation?
As the disinformation-vaccine movement grows, one crucial unknown is just how much inoculation is enough to combat disinformation.
“What’s the equivalent of herd immunity for human society?” Vincent asks. “Do we have to have inoculation for, let’s say, 80 percent of a country in order for the spread of misinformation to be mitigated?” Calculating that percentage, he notes, is a complex undertaking that would have to account for different ways of reaching people online and the multiple strategies used to counter fake news.
Subramaniam Vincent, director, journalism and media ethics, quoted by OpenMind Magazine.