The Cambridge Dictionary defines fake news as “false stories that appear to be news, spread on the internet or using other media, usually created to influence political views or as a joke.”

Dictionary.com defines misinformation and disinformation as:

Misinformation: “false information that is spread, regardless of whether there is intent to mislead.”

Disinformation: “deliberately misleading or biased information; manipulated narrative or facts; propaganda.”

Both misinformation and disinformation refer to types of wrong or false information, though only disinformation is wrong on purpose.

Several university libraries have produced research guides on fake news including:

The University of Michigan Library’s research guide  “Fake News”, Lies and Propaganda: How to sort fact from fiction and the University of Oregon’s research guide on Fake News and Information Literacy.

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) has produced a how to spot fake news infographic with eight simple steps you can use to verify a given news piece in front of you.

The Australian Government eSafety Commissioner’s website includes information for young people on Fake News

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) website includes information on Online misinformation, including a link to the Australian Code of Practice for Disinformation and Misinformation.

You can also find the report to government on the adequacy of digital platforms’ disinformation and news quality measures and various fact sheets on the ACMA website.

You can find items in our collections by searching the Library’s catalogue with the words fake news either as keywords or as a subject search. 

If you have a National Library login you can use the Library’s eResources portal to find and read full text ejournals and eBooks. More information on using our eResources is available in the eResources at the National Library research guide.

You can also use Trove to find and access items in a library near you.  Try searching the "Books & Libraries" category with the subject fake news or disinformation.

Communications and media Multidisciplinary

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