Libraries and Fake News: What’s the Problem? What’s the Plan?

• Published in: Communications in information literacy Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 91 - 113
• Main Author: Sullivan, Matthew
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tulsa Communications in Information Literacy 2019
• Subjects: Authors; Beliefs; Citizenship; Credibility; Democracy; disinformation; Education policy; Elections; fake news; False information; information disorder; Information Literacy; Information professionals; Information Science; Information Science Education; Information Scientists; Information Sources; Interdisciplinary Approach; Interdisciplinary aspects; Librarians; Libraries; Library and information science; Library Personnel; Library Role; Library Science; misinformation; News Reporting; Political Campaigns; Presidential elections; Problem Solving; Public Opinion; Research Projects; Social networks; Social Problems; Trust (Psychology); User services; United States > US
• ISSN: 1933-5954; 1933-5954
• DOI: 10.15760/comminfolit.2019.13.1.7

This article surveys the library and information science (LIS) response to the problems of fake news and misinformation from the 2016 U.S. presidential election to the end of 2018, focusing on how librarians and other information professionals in the United States have articulated the problems and the paths forward for combating them. Additionally, the article attempts to locate the LIS response in a larger interdisciplinary misinformation research program, provide commentary on the response in view of that research program, and lay out both a possible research agenda for the field and practical next steps for educators ahead of the 2020 election.