Indentifying and Tackling Fake News

Fake news is not news you disagree with.

"Fake news" is "fabricated information that mimics news media content in form but not in organizational process or intent. Fake-news outlets, in turn, lack the news media's editorial norms and processes for ensuring the accuracy and credibility of information. Fake news overlaps with other information disorders, such as misinformation (false or misleading information) and disinformation (false information that is purposely spread to deceive people)." [David M. J. Lazer, et al., "The Science of Fake News," Science 09 Mar 2018: Vol. 359, Issue 6380, pp. 1094-1096.].

General Tips (identified in the above video)

• Look for unusual URLS. If they end with l-o or .com.co, chances are they aren’t legitimate news sites. 

• Dissect the Layout. Look for grammatical errors, incorrect dates, bold claims with no sources, and sensationalist images. These are all red flags. 

• Dig Deeper. Find out who wrote the article and who supports the site. If this information doesn’t exist or you need to register to get it, then question why. 

• Cross Check. Use fact checking sites to confirm information and see whether other credible news outlets are reporting similar news. 

• Try a reverse Image search. If the same picture appears in unrelated stories,  you may have a reason to be suspicious. 

Websites that Mimic News Sites

• Look for contact information with a verifiable address and affiliation.

• Look for an About page, often in the header or footer of the home page. Read the About page closely for evidence of partisanship or bias.  If there's no About page and no Contact page, be very skeptical.

• In staff listings (or on the About page), look critically at the list of executives. Are they real people or stock photos? Open a new tab and look for another profile of the individual (e.g. LinkedIn).

• Perform an independent search for the news source. Compare and verify URLs.
  Example: http://abcnews.com.co/ (fake site) is not the ABC Network News http://abcnews.go.com, but the logo and the URL are almost identical.

Advertisements as News

• Look for labels: a corporate logo. Or a tiny statement indicating Paid Post, Advertisement, or Sponsored by. Or the tiny Ad Choices triangle at the upper right corner of an image.

Infographic Source:  https://blogs.ifla.org/lpa/files/2017/01/How-to-Spot-Fake-News.pdf

Be curious.

• Independently verify the source (by performing a separate search) and independently verify the information (through mainstream news sources and fact-checking sites).

Be reflective.

• If you have an immediate emotional reaction to a news article or source: pause, reflect, investigate. Exciting an emotional reaction is a primary goal of fake news producers. Do not be part of a viral fake news spiral!

Actively investigate your news sources.

• Select news sources known for high-quality, investigative reporting. Search these sources directly. Don't settle for web search results or social media news feeds. Social media algorithms are designed to present the news that reinforces your current views, not a balanced view.

Look for in-depth coverage.

• Look for lengthy articles--long-form reporting--that better capture the complexity of topics and events. One or two paragraphs is not sufficient. Take a look at this article from Slate as an example.

Pause before you share.

• When you feel strong emotion — happiness, anger, pride, vindication — and that emotion pushes you to share a "fact" with others, STOP. Above all, it’s these things that you must fact-check. Why? Because you’re already likely to check things you know are important to get right, and you’re predisposed to analyze things that put you an intellectual frame of mind. But things that make you angry or overjoyed, well… our record as humans are not good with these things.