By: Bill Sorem, UpTake Reporter

About two-in-three U.S. adults (64%) say fabricated news stories cause a great deal of confusion about the basic facts of current issues and events, and 23% say they have shared a made-up news story – either knowingly or not (Pew Research Center, December 2016).

As an indicator of how media companies are responding, as NBC News reports, “Pages that post hoax stories on Facebook will now be banned from advertising on the social network.”

What other steps are media companies, politicians, and news consumers themselves taking in light of this current “fake news” phenomenon, and is it enough? Or does it go too far?

The Citizens League has gathered a panel of media experts this week to tackle questions like these in their Mind The Gap series with, News: Is it Real? Watch The UpTake’s video of their lively discussion.

The Panel:

Scott Libin – senior fellow at the University of Minnesota Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, former news director at WCCO-TV and KSTP-TV, and incoming chair of the Radio Television Digital News Association.

Maria Reeve – assistant managing editor for news at the Star Tribune and president of the Twin Cities Black Journalists Association.

Tom Steward – investigative reporter and communications strategist, Center of the American Experiment and former award winning television journalist specializing in public affairs special reports and investigations.

Moderator is Rick Kupchella, founder/CEO of i.e.network, a strategic marketing/communications firm. Rick is a former award-winning news anchor and investigative reporter at KARE11.