A Study of Fake News and select Fact-Checking Sites in India

Abstract

Fake news refers to incorrect information presented as news,whether on socialmedia orthroughmainstream media. The rising prevalence of fake news, particularlywith the advent of social media, underscores the need for effective fact-checking. Factchecking is a process involving the verification of facts and debunking fake information. The study analysed the working style of four fact-checking sites in India (AltNews, BoomLive, TheQuint (Webqoof) and The LogicalIndian), dissecting 805 stories into elements to determine their accuracy. The study provides an insight into how fake news is debunked. It has been found that fake news outweighs genuine  news, as consumption of viral content is higher. The main reason behind this is people’s shortened attention span. Those spreading fake news exploit this vulnerability. Besides,mainstreammedia nowadays picks up news from socialmedia, which is a hub of fake news. Fact-checkers have consistently debunked such cases. Much like traditional news reporting, the fact-checking process is guided by news values and ethics