Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Abstract
Objectives: The objective of this study is to identify the news literacy skills of law students, their ability to encounter fake news, as well as their news sharing behavior.
Research Methodology: A survey was conducted in two public sector universities of South Punjab i.e. The Islamia University of Bahawalpur and the Bahauddin Zakariya University of Multan. The population of the study comprised of undergraduate law students of the participating universities. The three-part questionnaire was used to collect the data on demographic information, perceived news literacy skills, and news sharing behavior. The collected data were analyzed using a statistical package for social sciences (SPSS version 24). The data was presented in frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation.
Findings: The findings of the study showed that the majority of the respondents often get information from social media. They never consulted a librarian as a source for information seeking relating to news. The majority of the respondents sometimes encountered a fake news story on social media. They check the authenticity of a news story sometimes. Their ability to recognize the fake news was quite low. The major motives behind sharing the news include changing the views of their friends/followers, being the first to share the news with others, and just for a fun or as a prank.
Conclusion: The findings of the study concluded low perceived news literacy skills among undergraduate law students. The study recommends organizing news literacy instructions programs for undergraduate students
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