Fake News and Aggregated Credibility

Abstract

The accelerated spread of fake news via the internet and social media such as Facebook and Twitter have created a debate concerning the credibility of sources online. Assessing the credibility of these sources is generally a complex task and cannot solely rely on computer-based algorithms as evaluation still requires human intelligence. The research question guiding this article deals with the conceptualization of a theoretically anchored concept of a participatory and co-creative medium for evaluation of sources online. The concept-driven design research methodology was applied to address the research question, which consisted of seven activities that unify design and theory. The result of this article is a proposed concept that aims to support the assessment of the credibility of sources online using crowdsourcing as an approach for evaluation. The practical implications of the proposed concept could be to constrain the spread of fake news, strengthen online democratic discourse, and potentially improve the quality of online information.