Jenny Blaine, Security Analyst with UMN's Twin Cities Office Information Technology (OIT), explained in an October 15, 2020 email to IT@UMN:
Social media has created an environment where anyone with an agenda can publish falsehoods as if they were truths. People can be paid to post fake news on behalf of someone else or automated programs, often called bots, can publish auto-generated fake news. The motivations for why people create and distribute fake news are as numerous as there are individual opinions. The October 2020 edition of the "OUCH!" newsletter covers how to spot and protect yourself from fake news.
Related Resources:
- Practice Safe Computing
- Information Security Awareness Topics
- University IT Policies:
- Learn how to report information security issues