Abstract
This research article attempts to understand the current situation of fake news on social media in India. The study focused on four characteristics of fake news based on four research questions: subject matter, presentation elements of fake news, debunking tool(s) or technique(s) used, and the social media site on which the fake news story was shared. A systematic sampling method was used to select a sample of 90 debunked fake news stories from two Indian fact-checking websites, Alt News and Factly, from December 2019 to February 2020. A content analysis of the four characteristics of fake news stories was carefully analyzed, classified, coded, and presented. The results show that most of the fake news stories were related to politics in India. The majority of the fake news was shared via a video with text in which narrative was changed to mislead users. For the largest number of debunked fake news stories, information from official or primary sources, such as reports, data, statements, announcements, or updates were used to debunk false claims.
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