Fake News - What's the Harm?: Four Ideas for Fact-Checkers, Policymakers & Platforms on Countering the Consequences of False Information & Defending F

By Peter Cunliffe-Jones

Former news reporter and founder of Africa's first fact-checking organisation Peter Cunliffe-Jones argues that since concern about 'information disorder' soared in 2016, we have laboured under flawed assumptions about the nature and effects of 'fake news' and misinformation. Based on a four-year review of 250 case studies, Cunliffe-Jones sets out four ideas for fact-checkers, policymakers and platforms to curb harmful consequences and protect wider freedom of speech. First, information disorder is about more than misinformation. Second, misinformation in offline settings can cause as big a problem as misinformation online. Third, misinformation that affects policymakers can be as bad as misinformation that affects the public. Fourth, he proposes a model for fact-checkers, researchers and platforms to distinguish false claims that do and do not have substantive potential to cause substantive consequences.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1915445361
• ISBN13: 9781915445360
• Release Date: June 2025
• Publisher: University of Westminster Press
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 0.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.3" x 8.9"