The Anatomy of Fake News

Fake news threatens public safety and democracy.

Fake news has always been a factor in American life, at least since it spurred the “moral panic” that led to the Salem witch trials. Puritan minister Cotton Mather’s 1688 fake news diatribe about witches, Memorable Providences, was only part of an onslaught of false accusations leading to public hysteria – a sad demonstration that people are prone to assume a message is true because it’s been repeated many times.

The influence of fake news grew with each communication innovation, including newspapers, radio, and television. The internet has brought fake news to new power because it allows anyone with a web connection to spread false or misleading information. On social media, “fake news is 70% more likely to spread than truth.”

Fake news threatens democracy because voters must have accurate information to make meaningful decisions. Unfortunately, today many Americans cannot tell the difference between fake news and real journalism.

The COVID-19 pandemic illustrated how fake news causes confusion. Some stories denied the disease existed, while...