A Literature Review of Notification Systems: Challenges and Opportunities for Fake News Alerts

Accurate information is vital for countering misinformation, enabling informed decisions, and shaping societal outcomes. Many studies explore various methods of fake news detection. Yet, no effort has been made to systematically review existing notification systems that alert users to fake news in the advocacy of accurate information. This advocacy empowers individuals to discern truth, fosters accountability, and safeguards democratic values. This paper presents our synthesis review study, conducted through the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) methodology, to assess the existing notification systems employed in various use cases, addressing this gap, and identifying research opportunities in alerting users to fake news. This study focuses on four primary technologies: cell broadcast, short message system, mobile notification, and email notification. Our study found that content challenges, frequency, communication, security, and reliability provided opportunities for content sufficiency, personalization with privacy considerations, and enhanced safety. The results of this study present a consolidated view of current notification systems for future interventions in employing methods of alerting users to fake news and identifying potential research opportunities.