Purpose With growing dependency on social media for reportage, coupled with rising media errors with potential to threatening the boundaries of knowledge and reliable information, attention is now being drawn to credibility of using social media and other media outlet. This increasing attention is because of the apparent disorderliness in the information milieu as a result of powerlessness to regulate activities on social media coupled with the dilemma of tampering with fundamental right of individual to free speech. Unlike the traditional media houses with specific address and location, identifying the whereabouts of promoters of fake news is challenging as information can be manufactured at the remote locality and the consequence will be felt in all the four compass points of the world. Tracking down individuals peddling fake news for charges of slander, defamation or libel is difficult, as a result of the intercontinental nature of the social network. Design/methodology/approach This study used a qualitative research design, which is guided by the interpretive paradigm because it relies comprehensively on practical methods of content analysis in which concepts are discussed to convey an in-depth understanding of the topic being investigated and bringing new knowledge. Findings Ensuring that the citizenry is adequately information literate is sine qua non for reducing the threats posed by fake news access and use to the barest minimum. Ibenne (2016) notes that becoming information literate is a process that leads to empowerment of the individual to take rationally elevated decisions in information use and knowledge application. The authors may therefore conclude that falling prey to fake news plays majorly on ignorance among the citizenry, and on the other hand, irrational use of information. When citizens possess functional information literacy, they are able to subject the information they receive to critical evaluation to eliminate the undesirable, which fake news squarely fall under. Originality/value This paper sheds light on assessing the fake news infodemic as information disorder and a threat to reliable information access and use; therefore, information acquired from this study is imaginative and valuable to better understand how information professionals react to official and personal engagement.
An infodemic can be defined a disproportionate aggregate of information regarding a problem that makes exposure to reality challenging in a manner that compromises logical thinking. It can also be categorized as a pervasive and deliberate spread of misinformation geared towards deceitfulness. In the 1st WHO Infodemiology Conference, it was affirmed in the context of the coronavirus pandemic that infodemic had heightened deception to the point that necessitates a harmonized response because of the overabundance of misinformation that the world is inundated with, so much so that finding dependable sources and reliable guidance when urgently needed has become an uphill task. Consequently, misinformation blows out of proportion at a remarkably faster pace and further compounded the complexity to health emergency response. The abundance of information on social media oftentimes without authentic sources leads to a dilemma in distinguishing facts, mere opinions, propaganda, or prejudices. Social media has become an avenue for all sorts of misinformation that initially seems credible but later proves fraudulent. Conversely, by the time the authenticity is confirmed to be false, the damage may be irreversible.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review key models of people’s information behaviour (IB) exploring the integration of the concepts of information literacy (IL) and knowledge in their designs. Scholarly perspectives portray IL as providing individuals with capacity for good information practices that result in generating new knowledge. It is surprising that this important perspective is not reflected in the reviewed IB models. This paper contributes to the literature base by proposing a new model highlighting IL and knowledge as important concepts within the IB discourse. Design/methodology/approach A discourse of the integration of IL and knowledge, which are integral factors, associated with IB, in selected IB models. Findings Identifying a need for information and understanding its context is an IL attribute. IL underpins IB in providing awareness of information sources; how to search and use information appropriately for solving information needs and leveraging generated new knowledge. The generation of new knowledge results from using information, in a process that combines with sense-making and adaption. Correspondingly, the knowledge that develops, increases capability for sense-making and adaptation of information to suit various contexts of need, iteratively. Originality/value A new model of IB; the causative and outcome factors of information behaviour (COFIB) is proposed. COFIB stresses that IL and knowledge are prominent factors within the general framework of people’s IB. The model emphasises knowledge generation as the outcome of IB, applied in solving problems within specific contexts.
Information is a significant factor of production in the 21st century, and the effectiveness of other factors of production is contingent on the quality of information available. Production of goods and services will be inoperable if not adequately coordinated with current and time-tested knowledge. Hence, application of knowledge is key to increased and optimal utilisation of other factors of production. Available records put the contribution of Africa to global knowledge production at an insignificant rate of 1.1%. Therefore, the drive of this research is to evaluate the limiting factors to Africa's contribution to scientific research by appraising the research environment, publication outlets, policy renewal, academic funding, availability of academic databases, speed and reliability of the internet, and other incentives. The literature reviewed indicates that African academics and researchers are caught in wide-ranging limitations, to the extent that striking a balance between local and international research outlets has become an uphill task. In some cases, the context under which African scholars operate makes their intellectual contribution unattractive to global audiences. According to the UNESCO science report 2015, it was established that between 2008 to 2014, the global knowledge production improved by 23.4%.In disparity, all the 42 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa put together account for 1.4% of the worldwide share of scientific publications in 2014, a modest improvement from 1.2% in 2008.During the same period, China doubled its stake from 9.9% to 20.2% in 2014.In the light of this glaring paucity of the African contribution to scientific research, discovery and literature, this chapter discusses plausible solutions to the problem.
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