Source: Lausanne Movement, November 3, 2021
A disturbing analysis of 4.5 million tweets shows that falsehoods are 70 percent more likely to get shared. This shows it’s not only an inability to decipher what is true that makes fake news so prolific—we also find it alluring, sensational.
Despite being the bearers of good news, Christians are not immune to fake news. For example, in the days leading up to the 2020 election in the U.S., the most popular Christian pages on Facebook were being run by troll farms in Eastern Europe. These groups, which work cooperatively to produce and publish provocative and often angering content to social networks, reached nearly half of all Americans.
Our propensity for fake news reflects our propensity for fake forms of the gospel. A 2020 survey by Ligonier Ministries showed that a significant number of evangelicals have a profound misunderstanding about God. “Overall, U.S. adults appear to have a superficial attachment to well-known Christian beliefs,” stated the ministry.
Read more. The complete article includes other links and resources. You might want to watch their recent webinar featuring a panel of international ministry leaders talking about The Good News in a Fake World.
Also read The Five False Worldviews That Ensnare Your Church (Mission Frontiers) and Challenges for Mission in the Future (Kouyanet).