Edinburgh Napier University

  Fake news (inaccurate information) peaked during the pandemic with around 46 000 daily Twitter posts containing false information (Lupi, 2020). In Europe over 70% people regularly encounter fake news (UNESCO, 2021). The Scottish government has recently published strategy papers addressing the spread of fake news (e.g., “flagging fake news, mis/disinformation” to protect online users from harm (National Digital Ethics Public Panel Insight Report, 2021); importance of media literacy initiatives to tackle mis-/disinformation (Public Interest Journalism Working Group: recommendations: Scottish Government, 2022). Scientific findings are partially at odds with these recommendations: identifying fake news is difficult for people, fake news detection algorithms are currently not fully accurate, fact checking is moderately efficient in reducing fake news, however, an effective fact check system can reduce the belief in misinformation. This network addresses spreading false information by uniting scientific findings with policy makers to implement targeted and evidence-based measures combatting the misinformation pandemic