Abstract The spread of “fake news” stories online has become a pressing concern in the United States and around the world in recent years. Social media platforms enable the rapid spread of such misinformation and also make evaluating the credibility of online information more difficult. Since college students are frequent users of social media, they are particularly likely to be exposed to fake news. A survey was conducted with 63 undergraduate students in which they identified and evaluated examples of both fake and real news stories and reported their associated information behaviors. Results showed correlations between accurate identification of fake news stories and specific critical evaluation behaviors and strategies. However, students were unable to accurately evaluate their own skills, and their willingness to share fake news stories on social media was not related to accurate identifications or evaluations of trustworthiness. This study contributes to the understanding of not just how accurately students evaluate fake news stories, but of the specific information-seeking behaviors and critical evaluation strategies that are associated with accurate identifications and evaluations and with willingness to share news stories on social media. Implications for educators and directions for future research are discussed.

中文翻译：

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大学生如何评价和分享“假新闻”故事

摘要 近年来，“假新闻”在网络上的传播已成为美国乃至全球的一个紧迫问题。社交媒体平台使此类错误信息迅速传播，也使评估在线信息的可信度变得更加困难。由于大学生是社交媒体的频繁用户，他们特别容易接触到假新闻。对 63 名本科生进行了一项调查，他们识别和评估了虚假和真实新闻故事的例子，并报告了他们相关的信息行为。结果表明，准确识别假新闻故事与特定的批判性评估行为和策略之间存在相关性。然而，学生无法准确评估自己的技能，他们在社交媒体上分享假新闻的意愿与对可信度的准确识别或评估无关。这项研究不仅有助于了解学生评估假新闻的准确程度，还有助于了解与准确识别和评估以及在社交媒体上分享新闻报道的意愿相关的特定信息搜索行为和批判性评估策略。讨论了对教育者的影响和未来研究的方向。而是与准确识别和评估以及在社交媒体上分享新闻故事的意愿相关的特定信息搜索行为和批判性评估策略。讨论了对教育者的影响和未来研究的方向。而是与准确识别和评估以及在社交媒体上分享新闻故事的意愿相关的特定信息搜索行为和批判性评估策略。讨论了对教育者的影响和未来研究的方向。