A clever, interesting and thoughtful story on the spread of misinformation online, particularly through social news sites.

Thoughtful analysis about the spread of misinformation over the Internet -- and how it can be involuntarily amplified by unedited news aggregators such as Digg or Google News (or voluntarily in partisan sites like the Drudge Report). The author provides good factual evidence from multiple sources to support his findings. The article also points to NewsTrust as a possible solution to this growing problem, and accurately describes how this service works. [Disclosure: I head NewsTrust, ... More »

An interesting story regarding rumors and facts of stories placed on the Internet and their affect of false information. One sign that NewsTrust is advancing is that the author not only quotes Fabrice Florin but brags about the rating of another story that he wrote. These are small but important steps.

The issue of hoaxes, especially on Internet, is important--so much so, that I devoted a chapter to this very topic in Living Ethics Across Media Platforms To bust a hoax, reporters need to think critically; to suspect one, readers and viewers need to as well. Indeed, as Marsha Iverson, a NewsTrust reviewer, states here, it is rare that a news outlets advocates for more critical thinking. We need that in classrooms as well as news rooms. What I especially admire about this Times ... More »

It is rare that journalists and media outlets point to information sources to exhort the public to hone their critical thinking skills. In this piece, Noam Cohen cites several critical examples of the damage done by inaccurate information--often deliberately spread by those who stand to gain from its dissemination. Journalists, news junkies, and even casual readers alike are well advised to apply stringent analytical standards and good common sense to evaluate "news," whatever the source.

Jay Adelson advocating transparency? He may want to consider practicing some on Digg.

The most glaring error on the Oprah rumor was that SHE did refuse to have Palin on, but she also refuse other candidates as well because she had endorsed Obama. I saw an interview with her where she explained the situation. So Factually SHE did refuse to have Pailin on her show, butr she did the same for many others as well. Half Truths..don;t fly..you might want ot have a closer look at the rest of this NYT article..

Raising the alarm about how the lack of an editor's filter allows bad news into the world.