Needed: A Fact Rank Algorithm to Flag Fake News
Historically, false news has influenced major events, from anti-Semitic libels to the Spanish-American War. With the rise of social media, exposure to unregulated, biased news has increased, exploiting human tendencies like implicit and confirmation biases. This creates echo chambers, reinforcing beliefs without exposure to differing views. The evolution of fake news now includes realistic audio and potential video fabrications. Addressing this, technology, not regulation, might offer solutions, such as a “FactRank” algorithm to assess news accuracy, akin to Google’s PageRank for search results.