ABSTRACT. Following recent research on the production and proliferation of fake social media news, we have identified and provided empirical evidence on how users validate the information they encounter on digital content platforms. Using data from Morning Consult, Pew Research Center, Reuters Institute, Statista, and Visme, we performed analyses and made estimates regarding percentage of U.S. adults who say completely made-up news has caused confusion about basic facts of current events, proportion who say they were exposed to completely made-up news in the past week, and share who say their media reports the news accurately.

Keywords: digital content platform; fake social media news; consumer exposure

How to cite: Fielden, Anna, Marian Grupac, and Peter Adamko (2018). “How Users Validate the Information They Encounter on Digital Content Platforms: The Production and Proliferation of Fake Social Media News, the Likelihood of Consumer Exposure, and Online Deceptions,” Geopolitics, History, and International Relations 10(2): 51–57.

Received 15 March 2018 • Received in revised form 18 June 2018
Accepted 23 June 2018 • Available online 11 July 2018

doi:10.22381/GHIR10220186