, Columnist
False Stories Spread Fast. So Do Some True Ones.
The falsehood problem is measurably alarming. Beware of ready solutions.
Lies spread six times faster.
Photographer: Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty ImagesDid you hear? Taylor Swift is doing a new album, consisting of her favorite Katy Perry songs — and despite their lengthy feud, Perry herself will be performing on the album!
OK, that’s not true. But a new study finds that by every measure, false rumors are more likely to spread than true ones. For those who believe in the marketplace of ideas and democratic self-government, that’s a big problem, raising an obvious question: What, if anything, are we going to do about it?