Facts Alone Won’t Destroy Fake News
Take it from a librarian: Misinformation is everywhere
At work one day, I received a call from a retired doctor who was concerned that their grandchildren were hooked on television and sugary drinks. It seemed that the kids’ parents often leaned on junk food and iPhones as a means to keep the children quiet. But neither parent would listen to the potential hazards of reinforcing bad habits for kids — not even when the warnings were issued by the caller, a medical professional. “You were a doctor ages ago!” the parents would respond, laughing off the advice.
Desperate for research to support their argument, the doctor turned to me for assistance. “Can you help me find information that has evidence to prove that drinking sweetened juice and watching TV all day isn’t healthy?”
This isn’t an altogether unusual request. I’ve been a medical librarian in higher education for two years. I came into the profession because I was interested in helping people critically evaluate information. My hope is for them to think about information sources and how they are (and are not) influenced. So when this doctor called me, I told them about credible consumer health resources. Other resources, like a full text medical database, were also available, showing randomized controlled trials or other reviews of…
