# Looking for studies: has the rise of "fake news" affected media literacy in education?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-studies-has-the-rise-of-fake-news-affected-media-literacy-in-education/842794>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 31, 2019, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-studies-has-the-rise-of-fake-news-affected-media-literacy-in-education/842794 "2019-10-31T16:21:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2019, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-studies-has-the-rise-of-fake-news-affected-media-literacy-in-education/842794/1 "2019-10-31T16:21:26Z")

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“Fake news” made the news in 2016 and 2017, and I remember Stanford’s 2016 study of middle school students was often cited in the aftermath of “Pizzagate”. There were calls for media literacy in secondary education, which I believe passed in Florida, Ohio, California, New Jersey, Minnesota, and maybe other states. **Have there been any followup studies?**

Wineburg, Sam and McGrew, Sarah and Breakstone, Joel and Ortega, Teresa. (2016). Evaluating Information: The Cornerstone of Civic Online Reasoning. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: [Evaluating Information: The Cornerstone of Civic Online Reasoning | Stanford Digital Repository](http://purl.stanford.edu/fv751yt5934)

~Max

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**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2019, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-studies-has-the-rise-of-fake-news-affected-media-literacy-in-education/842794/2 "2019-11-01T12:48:28Z")

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Not what you are looking for, but I wanted to point out that fake news has been around for a very long time. A few examples [here.](https://www.thesocialhistorian.com/fake-news/)

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**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2019, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-studies-has-the-rise-of-fake-news-affected-media-literacy-in-education/842794/3 "2019-11-01T15:48:49Z")

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> [@kferr](#):
>
> Not what you are looking for, but I wanted to point out that fake news has been around for a very long time. A few examples [here.](https://www.thesocialhistorian.com/fake-news/)

The very first example in your link (and one of the few related to politics) shows:

> [@](#):
>
> On Thursday in the Afternoon, William Anderton , Printer , was brought to the Bar, and an Indictment of High-Treason was read against him; for that he did Compose, Print and publish Two Malicious, Scandalous and Traitorous Libels, The first Entitled, Remarks upon the present Confederacy, and late Revolution in England. The second Entitled, A French Conquest neither desirable, nor practicable.  
> … — The Proceedings of the Old Bailey
> 
> The jury found Anderton guilty and he was executed at Tyburn on Friday, 16 June 1693.

Perhaps the U.S. needs its own version of Tyburn Tree. 🙂

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**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-studies-has-the-rise-of-fake-news-affected-media-literacy-in-education/842794/4 "2021-04-29T06:02:44Z")

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bump

~Max