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The Internet is full of information. However, with so much information out there, you need to be able to sort the fact from the fiction, as well as check for bias. We have come to call disinformation "Fake News". "Fake News" is a provable inaccuracy, be it an article, photo, video, or audio, that is presented as factually accurate. This doesn't include opinion pieces or satirical websites, however, even opinion pieces need to be checked for bias.

So who can you trust?

Mediasmarts.ca is a Canadian not-for-profit charitable organization for digital and media literacy and this site is filled with useful resources. Be sure to review their page on Authenticating Information.

There are lots of websites that fact check. The following 3 deal with the news and social media:

• Snopes (News and social media posts),

• FactsCan (Canadian Federal politics)

• AFP (International news)

What can you do when evaluating your sources?

Here is a list of things you can do as you are assessing the information you come across whether news articles or information for your school work:

• Check the URL. Does it look legitimate. Sometimes spoof websites will change the name slightly to make you think it's a genuine site. Search for the website name and see if the URL is the same.

• Review the About Us section. Does it tell you the name of the company/person/group who have created the website? If it is part of a bigger organization, have they included links to the parent company?

• What else has the author written? Are they experts in the field they are writing about?

• Check the rest of the website to see what other stories are on there.

• Are there sources linked in the article or on the website? If so, follow them and check that they are reputable too. For even more accuracy, search for the sources yourself!

• When checking for bias, think about what information is missing.

Here is a worksheet you can use when you are evaluating your sources

There are a number of games you can play to practice your fact checking.

• Reality Check: The Game These fast, fun and engaging activities provide teens and adults with the opportunity to test their skills and learn new authentication techniques.

• BBC iReporter Become a reporter for the BBC Live site! A fun and informative way to make sure you check your facts before reposting those social media links!

• Bad News Become a fake news writer, but don't tell obvious lies or disappoint your supports! (A recent study from the University of Cambridge found that playing Bad News increases “psychological resistance” to misinformation)

• Newsfeed Defenders A media literacy game to learn how to detect disimormation from Factcheck.org