Connecting theory and practice: Implications of coherence Theory in the fight against fake news

Abstract

Fake news and virally-spread misinformation online have been identified as an increasingly pressing concern, one which LIS professionals may have a role in combatting. The insidious nature of this phenomenon is such, however, that correcting wrong information after the fact is insufficient to alter previously held incorrect beliefs. This work uses the Coherence Theory of truth to frame a conceptualization of how fake news creates “truth” for people on the basis of “influential people”. Accepting this theory requires that for LIS professionals to combat this phenomenon, the myth of neutrality must be abandoned and the LIS-approved “truth” amplified.

Date
Sep 17, 2020 14:00 ET — 14:15 ET
Mike Chee
Mike Chee
University of Waterloo