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For several weeks, journalists and researchers worldwide have worked long hours to provide up-to-date information on the new coronavirus disease, known as COVID-19, trying to help members of the public avoid infection while also scrambling to understand the virus and its possible impacts.

What better way to start the new year than by learning new things about how best to battle fake news and other forms of online misinformation? Below is a sampling of the research published in 2019 — seven journal articles that examine fake news from multiple angles, including what makes fact-checking most effective and the potential use of crowdsourcing to help detect false content on social media.

At a time when the news media is routinely under public attack, journalists generally take one of two tacks: ignore it or defend themselves. ProPublica politics reporter Jessica Huseman made a case for the first tack in a Tweet from 2017:

Maybe controversial, but I think the media wastes energy saying we like America and are honest. Let’s just go our jobs well and prove it.

As Hurricane Florence makes landfall in North Carolina, reporters who are covering the storm can expect to contend not only with the weather, but also an onslaught of mis- and disinformation.