Includes bibliographical references and index.

Foreword: Fake News: Anxieties and Neurosis in the Era of Social Media / 1: History of Fake News / 2: Fake News, Media, and the Fourth Estate / 3: Political and Social Impact of Digital Fake News in the era of Social Media / 4: Case Study: Fake News and Threat to Brazilians' Health / 5: The Psychology of Fake News / 6: Modelling the Propagation of Fake News in Social Media / 7: Corporate Attempts to Combat Fake News / 8: Academic Research into Combating Fake News / 9: Variable Identification and Approaches to Validating Fake News / 10: Fake News: a Legal Perspective / 11: The Ethics of the Posttruth Society: Where are we with this?

"Over the last few years, social media has expanded to become a key platform for news dissemination and circulation. Nations, governments, organisations and societies are now coming to terms with the unpredictable and debilitating consequences of fake news. The propagation of fake news has been linked to an increase in measles cases, surges in youth crimes, the spread of pseudo-science, compromised national security, and more. Some even perceive it as a global threat to democratic systems around the world. In this book, the authors examine factors influencing the spread of fake news, and suggest ways to combat it by exploring the key elements which enable and facilitate this phenomenon"-- Provided by publisher.