REAL OR FAKE NEWS?

Increasingly, the audience determines newsworthiness. The rise of commenting, most-shared status, website algorithms and real-time analytics drive story selection and play online. In other words, oftentimes, fake news spreads faster than real news.

Sites and Tools for Fact-Checking What You Read

Tricks to spot fake news:

  • Check the URL / do you know about domain manipulation? Unusual URLs, including those that end with "lo" or ".com.co" are often trying to appear like legitimate news sites, but they aren't. For example, ABC News, the television network, has a website at abcnews.go.com. And ABC News, the fake news site, can be found at abcnews.com.co. If you're not sure, do a little investigating. Typically, a real company site will have its name in the domain. Variations such as www.nikesuperdiscounts might be fake. Domain lookup to see who owns a domain.
  • Look for signs of low quality, such as words in all caps, headlines with glaring grammatical errors, bold claims with no sources, exaggerated and provocative headlines or emotional language and sensationalist images.
  • Check your emotions. "Clickbait" and fake news strive for extreme reactions. If the news you're reading makes you really angry or super smug, it could be a sign that you're being played. Check multiple sources before trusting.
  • Check a site's "About Us" section. Find out who supports the site or who is associated with it. If this information doesn't exist -- and if the site requires that you register before you can learn anything about its backers -- you have to wonder why they aren't being transparent.
  • Follow the “rule of 3”/triangulate: compare 3 sources of information, including traditional media and library databases. Remember to include one source with an opposing viewpoint.
  • Rule out the hoaxes by checking the nonprofit, nonpartisan FactCheck.org, or popular sites like Snopes or Hoax-Slayer before trusting or sharing news that seems too good (or bad) to be true.
  • Consider whether other credible, mainstream news outlets are reporting the same news. If they're not, it doesn't mean it's not true, but it does mean you should dig deeper.
  • Check for multiple, informed and named sources, and for claims backed by evidence that you can independently verify.
  • Go back to the source: When an article mentions a study, if you can, go directly to the source and check it out.
  • Beware of "anonymous sources"
  • Check the publication dates. Dead links or old updates might mean you need to move on.
  • Do the articles or images seem biased, or encouraging a specific point of view?
  • What exactly are you reading?: Even when you find yourself in a traditional news site, identify what type of writing you are reading. Is it news reporting, or a feature story, or an editorial, or work by a guest blogger, or a review, or an op-ed or a disguised ad, or a comment?
  • Stop before you forward (or use): When you see a widely shared or forwarded link, be suspicious of a hoax or a fake story. Can you verify the information outside of the social media platform on which you discovered it?

Fake news itself comes in a variety of flavors:

  • Pure fake news sites use fabricated stories to lure traffic, encourage clicks (click bait), influence or profit using intentionally deceptive, but highly intriguing, often sensational information. More 'clicks' means more revenue.
  • Hoax sites also share false information with the intention to trick readers/viewers
  • Satirical sites present news with a comical, often exaggerated spin
  • Born digital images and edited images alter and often misrepresent visual reality

In addition, sometimes journalists just get things wrong.