Fighting the fake

In the last decade, the number of smartphone users in the United States has grown to a quarter of a billion people. Worldwide smartphone usage has grown to an astonishing 3.5 billion people -- almost half the human population. Even more astonishing, that figure jumped by 40% in only the last four years.

All over the globe, people are getting palm-sized wireless access to astoundingly vast amounts of information. But sheer access to information isn't the only thing going on here. It's not like we're just dumping a complete set of encyclopedias into everyone's lap - though we are - we're also enabling people and groups of people to become sources for information, as well as consumers of it. People using smartphones can broadcast as well as receive, and that is what's truly new, and it has created a strong need for a new level of skepticism.

( People are not catching on as fast as we - jaded long-time users of the internet or smartphones - would like. ... )