Chapter Nine: Remedying Disinformation: Communication Practice in a World of Fake News

Fake news in its contemporary form has been a subject of investigation and public anxiety, particularly since 2016. That does not mean, however, that the public, scholars, legislators and key media stakeholders have not been active in seeking remedies, prevention frameworks, intervention tactics and both regulatory and pedagogical solutions to disinformation and the circulation of fake and misleading content. Rather, while condemnation of fake news has dominated public and policy dialogue on media, digital communication and politics during recent years, solution-seeking has become a substantial element of that discourse, indicating a clear cultural desire to prevent, restrain or curtail the circulation of fake news. Much of the time, this is driven by concerns over its impact on democratic and electoral practices, alongside anxieties regarding the broader function of truth claims and the credibility of persons, science and social facts.