Educational approaches to address fake news. Preliminary insights from a systematic review

Abstract

Fake and false news, an unfortunate hallmark of today’s information society, have serious political and societal consequences. Little systematic knowledge is available about effective learning, teaching and awareness-raising strategies that help users in addressing fake news. This study reports preliminary results from a systematic literature review aimed at systematising different approaches and determining their effectiveness. Three main approaches emerged in the analysis: Firstly, the findings suggest that strategies to correct existing misconceptions caused by fake news have limited effectiveness and can be even counterproductive, particularly for polarising topics. Secondly, the evidence on the effectiveness of training on fake news detection methods is encouraging but inconclusive. Thirdly, despite the common perception that fake news detection needs to be linked to an understanding of the economic, ideological and cultural dimensions of media systems, the few empirical studies found in this area did little to support this claim. A tentative conclusion from these findings is the need to integrate education on false news and training on fake news detection strategies in educational programmes as early as children’s media consumption starts.