Article
Academic library guides for tackling fake news: A content analysis
Journal of Academic Librarianship
(2020)
Abstract
Built on a pilot study, this study examined how librarians understand fake news and the specific methods or strategies they suggest for detecting fake news by analyzing their guidelines from academic libraries. A content analysis regarding a total of 21 institutional guidelines was conducted. The major findings include the following: 1) in the librarians’ guidelines stating their definition of fake news, the two elements of falsity and the intention to mislead were explicitly stated. The other element of bias, however, was presented in only some guidelines. 2) The sub-elements of clickbait, a decontextualized content and omitted information were inconsistently or barely presented across these guidelines. 3) Only two institutional libraries put forth the notion of fact in relation to fake news in their guidelines. 4) All of the guidelines suggested checklist approaches to detecting fake news or evaluating news sources. Finally, 5) librarians acknowledge the influence of human biases on consuming news. However, psychological factors are minimally presented in most of the guidelines. This study provides a few suggestions. First, librarians must further clarify the term fake news so that it reflects its multiple layers. Second, librarians must incorporate new strategies, such as lateral reading and click restraints, in combination with a few prioritized elements of a checklist into their guidelines regarding detecting fake news. Finally, librarians must pay attention to psychological factors more when interpreting facts in their strategies about news sources and fake news.
Keywords
- Fake news,
- fact,
- information literacy,
- guidelines,
- academic libraries
Disciplines
Publication Date
Fall September 1, 2020
Citation Information
Sook Lim. "Academic library guides for tackling fake news: A content analysis" Journal of Academic Librarianship Vol. 46 Iss. 5 (2020) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/sooklim/33/