What’s fake about fake news?

Fake news is one of the frequently-used words of 2017, but is there anything new about it and why is it so significant?

This is the question that Hugh McFaul, OU Lecturer in Law discusses with Philip Seargeant, Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics in the second of the OU’s Brainteaser Month ( #BrainteaserMonth) academic videos: What’s fake about fake news?

January is Brainteaser Month and the OU is using this opportunity to encourage followers to do some lateral thinking. Over the course of the month, the OU will post some brainteasers on Facebook, and OU academics will explain the theory behind them and encourage audiences to share their own.

About the academics

Hugh McFaul has research interests in law and religion, legal ethics and technology enhanced learning.

Read more about Hugh McFaul’s research

Dr Philip Seargeant has research interests in language and social media, with a particular focus on the politics of online interaction; English around the world and language and creativity.

Read more about Dr Seargeant’s research

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