The concept of traditional citizenship, by its very nature, depends on the place where people are born. It acts as a central force that directs individuals to the needs and responsibilities of the society they are in. The sustainability and stability of a society depend on the role (s) that are ascribed to its citizens in the continuing and productive activities they perform. The Internet represents the driving role of technology as a fundamental factor in the change and transformation of societies. The Internet's active role in the social processes in many areas of personal, commercial, economic, social and cultural life necessitates individuals to become responsible digital citizens in order to contribute to the sustainability and stability of the society in the online environment. In order to be aware of what is going on in the world, the socially responsible digital citizens are expected to search for information in the online environment with a critical perspective, to analyze the information, to act responsibly in doing so, to observe ethical rules and to use online environments in a safe and ethical manner. One of the biggest challenges in today's world is to find “accurate” information on the Internet. Although access to information through the Internet is so easy, it is not easy to find “true and accurate” information.

By virtue of Web 2.0 technologies, the Internet is not only a source of access to information for individuals but also a medium for producing and disseminating information. In this way, anyone can easily publish on the internet a video, post, presentation, a picture, etc. he himself created or found, on any subject. Social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube enable individuals to participate in the production of direct information on the Internet. For example, when a person publishes a video he/she has created on YouTube, this video can be propagated in a short time via social networks if it is of interest. Thanks to internet resources such as social networks, blogs, content communities, and websites, everyone can easily access unlimited information. At this point, it is the accuracy and confirmability of the information that is often overlooked. In this respect, social networking platforms are also involved in initiatives supporting the dissemination of correct information. For example, Facebook presents an informational article titled  “Asılsız Haberleri Tespit Etmek İçin İpuçları (Tips for Detecting Untrue News)", under the Help Center tab of its website, which provides practical information that allows its users to evaluate the accuracy of the information they are exposed to in their language. In addition, through their corporate news blogs, they share updates to prevent the spread of mis-information or fake news. Similarly, the instant messaging environment in Whatsapp provides informative articles on their corporate page with the title "Tips to help prevent the spread of rumors and false news" to let its users evaluate the accuracy of the information they are exposed to, in their own languages.

On the other hand, when we think that “digital” citizens use the internet as a news source to be aware of what is happening especially in the world, the importance of accessing the “right” information/news is increasing in terms of “digital” citizenship skills. Today, the Internet has become a major media organ worldwide, and many of us use social networks and news sites as a local/national/international news source. However, we cannot be sure that the news we have reached in these sources is “true or real” news.

Meanwhile, media researchers draw attention to the point that the internet is accelerating the spread of false/fake news. In an article titled “Yalan Haberle Mücadele ve İnternet Teyit/Doğrulama Platformları (Dealing with Fake News and Internet Fact-Checking Platforms)”, issued in Turkey, it is posited that there is a strong link between the growing influence of fake news and the entry of Internet and social network into our lives. In the mentioned study, the concept of “citizen journalism”, which is defined as a journalism practice in which the people who are not professionally interested in the media field are involved in the news production process, is mentioned and it is emphasized that the citizens can now easily produce news by means of smartphones that facilitate the production and sharing of social networks and digital videos/visual content. It is stated that this situation has caused many false/fake news to be published on the internet. Though the concept of fake/false news predates the Internet usage, another Internet article saying that it is spreading with the use of internet points to how traditional media reporting is shaped in the context of fake/false news production via internet (see Uydurma Haberler ve Medyada Sazan Avı “Fake News and Hunting the Gullibles”).

There is a huge amount of information pollution, be it unverified information or news that is spreading through social networks or false/fake news which spread through media-based news sites. An article, titled “Information Disorder: Toward an Interdisciplinary Framework for Research and Policy Making”, focusing on information types in the context of information pollution, was presented by the Council of Europe in September 2017. In this analytical work, information pollution is addressed in terms of the dimensions of the targeted loss intended with fake information. In the article, three information types and their examples are analyzed under dis-information, mis-information, and mal-information. An another internet article titled “Concepts for Understanding Information Disorder “Bilgi Bozukluğunu Anlamak İçin Kavramlar” which was written as a response to and with a personal analysis of the article “Information Disorder: Toward an Interdisciplinary Framework for Research and Policy Making”, presents a critical insight into the types of information related to information pollution.

Just like there are attempts to promote the accuracy of the information on social networking platforms, there are also some media-based organizations that are presented through media channels, which are used to determine the accuracy of information/news disseminated through the media or social networks. The article titled “Dealing with Fake News and Internet Fact-Checking Platforms" compares the worldwide check organizations with the similar platforms established for message authentication in Turkey such as (https://www.dogrulukpayi.com/, http://www.malumatfurus.org/, https://teyit. org/, vb.) and evaluate the positive and negative aspects of these platforms. It may be useful to examine these sources in order to analyze information/news from a different and critical point of view.

The facilities offered by the internet in producing and disseminating information can as well be an obstacle to citizens in searching and reaching information. Although there are social networking platforms, media-based information validation initiatives and the work of researchers and developers about how to ensure the accuracy of information; “knowledge” is ultimately a subjective concept for the person. It is the individual who is primarily responsible for verifying the accuracy of the information he(she) produces, searches or finds. Therefore, it is important that every citizen in a community develop their "digital" citizenship skills. In particular, efforts should be exerted to increase the skills of media and information literacy, which forms the basis of digital citizenship, and to transform these skills into habits in the context of implementation. Within this framework, the resources referred to in this article can be informative and guiding for the "digital" citizens who wish to develop their skills in media literacy, and who want to look at the information reached through the Internet critically and from different perspectives.

Resources:

Basegmez, S. (April 05, 2017). Uydurma Haberler ve Medyada Sazan Avı [Fake News and Hunting the Gullibles]. Date of access: 15.04.2019. https://yalansavar.org/2017/04/05/uydurma-haberler-ve-medyada-sazan-avi…

Facebook Help Center. Asılsız Haberleri Tespit Etmek İçin İpuçları [Tips for Detecting Untrue News]. Date of access: 01.04.2019. https://tr-tr.facebook.com/help/188118808357379?helpref=search&sr=1&que…

Kavaklı, N. (2019). Yalan Haberle Mücadele ve İnternet Teyit/Doğrulama Platformları [Dealing with Fake News and Internet Fact-Checking Platforms]. Erciyes İletişim Dergisi, 6(1), 663-682. http://dergipark.gov.tr/download/article-file/630656

Mosseri, A. (April 06, 2017). Working to Stop Misinformation and False News. Date of access: 01.04.2019. https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2017/04/working-to-stop-misinformation-and…

Silsupur, S. (December 14, 2018). Bilgi bozukluğunu anlamak için kavramlar [Understanding information disorder: three pillars for a new framework]. Date of access: 15.04.2019. https://teyit.org/bilgi-bozuklugunu-anlamak-icin-kavramlar/ (tr), https://teyit.org/en/understanding-information-disorder-three-pillars-f… (en)

Wardle, C., & Derakhshan, H. (2017). Information Disorder: Toward an interdisciplinary framework for research and policy making. Council of Europe report, DGI (2017), 9. Date of access: 10.04.2019. https://rm.coe.int/information-disorder-toward-an-interdisciplinary-fra…

Whatsapp Help Center. Söylentilerin ve sahte haberlerin yayılmasını engellemeye yardımcı olacak ipuçları [Tips to help prevent the spread of rumors and false news]. Date of access: 01.04.2019. https://faq.whatsapp.com/en/android/26000216/?category=5245250&lang=tr

(Date of access: 15.04.2019) https://www.dogrulukpayi.com/

(Date of access: 15.04.2019)  http://www.malumatfurus.org/

(Date of access: 15.04.2019)  https://teyit. org/