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Americans Don't Think the Platforms Are Doing Enough To Fight Fake News (poynter.org)
Journalists regularly weigh in on what platforms like Facebook and Google are and aren't doing to stop the spread of viral misinformation. But what do Americans at large think? From a report: Nothing good, according to a new survey published by Gallup and the Knight Foundation on Wednesday. The report, based on web surveys from a random sample of 1,203 U.S. adults, found that 85 percent of Americans don't think the platforms are doing enough to stop the spread of fake news. Additionally, 88 percent want tech companies to be transparent about how they surface content, while 79 percent think those companies should be regulated like other media organizations -- a common trope among journalists. That's despite the fact that the majority of people surveyed (54 percent) said social media platforms help keep them informed and that they're concerned about those companies making editorial judgments.
Howabout teaching critical thinking skills at every grade level. A large chunk of this generation may already be too far gone, but that doesn't mean we can't begin fixing the problem with the next one. Anyone with even a modest ability to critically think when confronted with hyperbole on social media sites can quickly discern real from fake news, or at least realize the need to use Google or other search engines (such as duckduckgo.com) to check the veracity of any "news" report or bombastic claim.
I think we haven't done enough to separate these two concepts. We're confusing manipulative lies with opinions incompatible with the worldview of a segment of the population, and it will destroy us.
To a certain point, I agree, however, I think there's been a significant rise of opinion pieces that are passed off as 'news'. I also find opinions laced into articles either through manipulative language or statements not backed by facts (and refuted by other news media articles) on a greater frequency than before. I think media outlets need to clearly label what is opinion versus news (and the best outlets do) and keep high editorial standards around slipping in influential language. The other best way to combat it is to have a heterogenous news diet, being sure to read articles from multiple sources that might be labeled left and right of center (you can avoid the far left or right ones altogether).