Network Approaches to Misinformation Evaluation and Correction

Network research offers a useful toolkit allowing us to explore the social aspects of opinion formation, information credibility, media trust, and digital content diffusion. Understanding the social processes that drive the spread, exposure, and acceptance of fake news can inform design of policy and industry solutions. This chapter explores the social component of content evaluation and dissemination with view to possible regulatory and technological remedies for digital misinformation. It starts with a discussion of recent developments in our understanding of online misinformation. The following sections offer an overview of the role social networks play in our exposure to, engagement with, dissemination of, and belief in fake news. The chapter concludes by describing a case study that demonstrates the potential of network approaches to correcting misinformation.