Mitigating the Risk of Fake User-Generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) dominates the internet. Tech-companies and social-media platforms are used to moderate UGC and drive their business models with it. However, startups and traditional firms might lack knowledge in that area. Based on a literature review, we identified 74 risks and 111 corresponding safeguards and concatenated them into a ‘fake information risk mitigation’ catalog. A potential overreliance on detection and underutilization of preventative and recovery measures were discovered. A high reliance on algorithmic detection became apparent, while education was underrepresented. Thus, this study argues for an increased focus on education and training. The large amount and variety of discovered risks and measures suggests the need for an interdisciplinary, collaborative approach of companies and authorities to fight fake UGC, as previous studies discussed smaller sets of risks and measures.