University Students Engagement With And Disengagement From Fake News

The immensity of the exposed news online has given everybody the chance to manipulate information; and so, confusion and misinformation transpire, and the evaluation of credibility and trustworthiness becomes intricate. In spite of the continuous efforts of various academic institutions to provide a wide array of databases and resources among learners – still the current phenomenon called fake news has become incessantly dispersing. This research has explored university students’ dis/engagement from/to fake news. Using quantitative measures, it was revealed that the students had used online platforms for communication processes and for retrieving and allocating information. Moreover, upon text mining the student responses, nearly all defined fake news as satirical with misleading and fabricated content which tends to deceive and do harm to people. Students also have a moderate view in which they scarcely believe that as they disengage from fake news, they will develop their communication skills since they learn how to fact check information before sharing it. Lastly, the content analysis has revealed various themes divulging students’ experiences of fake news and its implications to the curriculum.