In a world of ‘fake news,’ whose info can you trust? Yours

As 2016 winds down, one particular news story is top-of-mind for most Americans: Fake news. You know, content that purports to be true, is delivered in a news format, and is typically published to nurture hoaxes, conspiracies, propaganda, and disinformation.

Fake news became real news when media and political experts suggested its social media proliferation possibly swayed the 2016 U.S. presidential election. It even led to one incident in which an armed man “investigated” a Washington, D.C., pizza shop based on fabricated information published online.

When you boil it all down, what we’re really talking about is bad information. Whether incomplete, taken out of context, or completely fabricated, bad information at best leads to confusion. At worst it undermines trust.

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