IndexMedia and fake newsStudents and sharing of fake newsStudents and media literacyDetection and solutionsReferencesThe objective of this study is to research the spread and recognition of fake news for university students. For the purposes of this study, the spread of fake news is generally defined as the sharing of inaccurate, distorted, or otherwise non-credible articles, reports, and “news” sources. Fake news is not a new concept, however, the platforms where fake news and biases are spread are constantly evolving and new. Propaganda will always exist and eventually made its way onto the Internet, which is now the fastest way to spread fake news. As social media and the Internet evolve every day, there are many ways to not only get news, but also report and share it quickly. There are many branches of social media used in today's world, especially sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the most recent Snapchat. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Even though younger generations are more tech-savvy, there is still an epidemic of fake news. Uninformed youth leads to an uninformed future. These new social platforms make it incredibly easy to disseminate and disseminate information, and modern technology makes it easier to create sources for fake news that have a sense of credibility surrounding them, whether they are actually credible or not. With the ease with which information reaches massive reach, misinformation has become not only widespread, but also persuasive to the audiences it reaches. This document will cover the studies conducted to support the overall objective of this study. The sections that support the research conducted are: media and fake news, students and sharing of fake news, effects of fake news, students and media literacy, detection and solutions. Media and fake news Fake news has spread since the development of written language, from political propaganda written on papyrus to satirical comedies, and from yellow journalism to government propaganda during the world wars (Emanuelson 2018). Social media plays a huge role in spreading these stories. According to Mitchell, Gottfried and Matsa. 61% of Millennials get political news on Facebook rather than traditional sources such as TV (Mitchell, Gottfried, and Matsa 2015). Over the last decade, or even the last five years, the scope of news has changed dramatically, from print to radio to television to the Internet to who knows what comes next. The low cost, easy access, and rapid dissemination of social media information bring benefits to people who seek news timely (Shu 2017). Fake news spreads more quickly thanks to citizens sharing content on social media platforms. In the three months preceding the 2016 US presidential election, over 156 misleading news articles garnered an astonishing 37 million shares on Facebook (Tsipursky 2018). Vosough, Roy, and Aral believe that what makes a good news story fake is the following: “The fake news was newer than the real news, suggesting that people were more likely to share new information. While false stories inspired fear, disgust and surprise in responses, true stories inspired anticipation, sadness, joy and trust” (Vosoughi, Roy, Aral 2018). Fake news can be classified as: “intentionally misleading information; large-scale hoaxes; jokes taken at face value; biased account of real events; and stories inwhere the truth is controversial” (Emanuelson 2018). Students and the Sharing of Fake News Students are increasingly looking to social media for their daily news. In a 2015 Pew Research Center report on millennials' social media use, researchers reported that social media is the new television for younger generations and the top place for acquiring political news. About 61% of millennials report getting political news on Facebook. This is a much larger percentage than any other news source (Little 2018). Most ways to identify fake news focus on fact-checking (Shu 2017). Recent social and psychological studies show the importance of using social media data when uncovering connections to consumers who believe fake news. Confirmation bias reveals the effects of consumers preferring to believe information that aligns with their existing opinions, which leads to publishing information that is not necessarily true. The Echo Chamber effect is an effect that suggests that people tend to listen to like-minded others. This causes groupings and communities on social media (Shu 2017). Motivations behind fake news can range from financial gain through advertising to influencing political opinions. Regardless of the motive behind fake news, the success of any propaganda campaign will ultimately be based on how much it affects the real world and how the world reacts (Andorfer 2018). Effects of Fake News Some of the effects of fake news can be incredibly harmful to a society as a whole. One of the largest factions of society affected by fake news is modern politics and economics. According to Waldman, there are several important effects of fake news in the media. An increase in fake news leads to confusion about what the truth is and leads to a decrease in public awareness of the issues. Furthermore, the more falsehoods are presented as truth by the media, the less influential the real facts become. Furthermore, fake news creates a highly polarized society and can create severe social divisions (Waldman 2018). Fake news isn't just about politics. Dr. Brittany Seymour is an assistant professor of oral health policy at Harvard University. He believes viral misinformation threatens public health. With over 80% of people seeking health information online, misinformation poses a threat to public health, and vaccines are a prime example (Vogel 2017). In 2014, one of the largest measles epidemics in a generation occurred. Seymour states that: “We were able to trace this, in part, to parents who found scary information on the Internet and decided not to vaccinate their children” (Vogel, 2017, p. 7). Additionally, controversy over fluoridation in water led to a severely limited 2014 study that claimed the chemical lowered children's IQs. Seymour goes on to say that within hours the article created public panic and people took to social media. The article was covered in the most popular media news on the Internet, generating thousands of views and shares (Vogel 2017). Students and Media Literacy A 2016 Stanford University study revealed that Generation Z lacks media literacy. The study involved more than 7,804 students from middle school to college and found that 82 percent of middle school respondents were unable to distinguish between a real news story and an ad labeled "sponsored content" (Tomar.