By Fan Yang, University at Albany, and Holly Overton, University of South Carolina
Coca-Cola contains a bug-based dye, alcohol or pork?! Naked Juice smoothies have a toxic preservative, formaldehyde?! Rumors like these can circulate quickly on social media and harm corporate reputation.
Environmental responsibility has been deemed a pillar of corporate social responsibility (CSR) by companies across… More
By Christopher M. Cox, Christopher Newport University
When considering ways to identify and discourage the spread of fake news online, the conversation inevitably turns toward the role of social media algorithms, bots and other automated technologies that obscure the distinctions between verifiable journalism and questionable information.
As we see with the ongoing dilemma of fake news on Facebook,… More
By Qian Xu, Elon University and Shi Chen, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
More and more individuals choose social media as the first source to gain information during health crises and disease outbreaks. While the low cost and easy access of social media make it more convenient for health officials and communicators to disseminate useful information, they… More
Social media and contemporary online misinformation are inextricably linked, because social media serves as the main source of traffic for many misinformation sites.
As a primary funnel of audiences to news stories of all kinds, Facebook has taken action several times in the past year in an attempt to decrease exposure… More
By Michail Vafeiadis, Auburn University, and Anli Xiao, Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi
Social media has amplified the rapid dissemination of (mis)information and fake news. A recent study out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that fake news spreads at a much faster rate on Twitter than true news—the likelihood of the former to go viral is… More
By Mi Rosie Jahng, Wayne State University and Hyunmin Lee, Drexel University
Public relations practitioners are no strangers to navigating tumultuous media environments and adapting to changes. Yet, the post-factual “fake news world” brings a formidable challenge to the practice and its scholarship.
Scholars have long argued that a keen sense of ethics and recognition of ethical… More
