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Fake news vs fact in online battle for truth

Researchers found that false reports influenced the perception of several social movements, including a truckers strike in Brazil last year. [Photo: AFP]

Since US President Donald Trump weaponised the term "fake news" during the 2016 presidential election campaign, the phrase has gone viral.

Increasingly it is used by politicians around the world to denounce or dismiss news reports that do not fit their version of the truth.

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