Social Media Misinformation Propagation and Detection

Misinformation, also known as 'fake news,' is a growing problem in social media. It refers to the dissemination of false information, intentionally or unintentionally, in digital media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The issue has gained global attention due to its potential to cause harm and pose a threat to democracy. Misinformation in social media has significant consequences such as loss of trust in institutions and the stoking of fear and anger in people. The causes and mechanisms of spreading fake news are complex, involving psychological, social, and technological factors. To tackle the problem, it is necessary to develop interventions that address these factors and to enhance media literacy among the public, so people can tell fact from fiction. The objective of this research paper is to perform a comprehensive review of the techniques and tools that are used to cause, spread, and detect misinformation in social media, as well as perform in-depth experiments with the open-source tools and datasets to evaluate and compare those techniques. We believe the research work's outcome will benefit researchers, educators, and students through dissemination of the knowledge and resources, including the open-source tools and data acquired by the research work.