Political Leaders on both sides of the isle are expressing serious concerns about the proliferation of “active misinformation”or fake news as we have come to know it.

From August to November 2016, fake stories earned more shares, reactions, and comments on Facebook than real news stories. Fake stories claimed that the FBI Director put a pro-Trump sign on his front lawn. Another fanciful headline declared, “FBI Agent Suspected in Hillary Email Leaks Found Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide.” Fake stories even inspired one crazed gunman to open fire at a Washington, DC pizzeria where he believed Hillary Clinton ran a child sex ring. In a recent survey, only one-in-four Americans said they hardly or never see fake stories online.

The Ipsos poll also suggests that Republicans have a harder time distinguishing fake from real news. Three-quarters of Trump supporters believed the (totally false) story that Pope Francis endorsed Donald Trump. Meanwhile, less than half of Clinton supporters believed the story. On average, Clinton voters thought 58% of fake news headlines were accurate, compared to 86% of Trump voters. To be fair, Democrats’ added skepticism may stem from the fact that most fake news stories were decidedly pro-Trump.

A Stanford University study similarly found that Americans rarely recognize false stories or biased sources. In the study, college students were given two articles, one from the distinguished American Academy of Pediatrics and one from the similarly-named hate group The American College of Pediatricians. Over half the students identified the hate group’s article as more “reliable.” Similarly, when high school students were shown a real news story and a “sponsored content” story, over 80% believed the sponsored article was real news.

“Active misinformation” is a threat to democratic systems. Social media companies have a responsibility to slow its spread. Facebook has taken the first steps. Google News, Twitter and others should follow suit. Individuals have a responsibility as well—to inform themselves and to admit that identifying made-up news is harder than we might have imagined.

By: Kenneth Buckley JR.