News:

Fact or Fiction

1. Why is news important?

2. What are the consequences for fake news going viral?

3. Where do you get your news from?


There is growing evidence that fake news has the power to shape public opinion and even sway elections. As more Americans get their news online, it is increasingly vital that people know how to verify sources and spot fake news or images, which often appear indistinguishable from a reliable source.

History of Fake News

Fake News is not new.

In the mid-1890s Yellow Journalism began in the newspaper publishing industry as way to sell more papers. Yellow journalism presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers. Techniques may include exaggerations of news events, or sensationalism. (wikipedia.com)

Later with the outbreak of several wars, propaganda, which is information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view (dictionary.com), was seen throughout the media.

Twitter

Social Media and Fake News

Headline 1:

Headline 2:



Confirmation Bias--

What is it and why is it important?












Blue Feed vs. Red Feed

Social media will put news stories on your feed based on your preferences and likes. If you lean more liberal, then you will get stories that favor the Democrats' stance on issues, called the Blue Feed. If you lean more conservative, you will get stories that favor the Republicans' stance on issues, called the Red Feed.





See EXAMPLE below:


Fact Checking for Fake News

Google’s Fact Check for News. Google’s Fact Check tag. A “fact check” only comes up if the story is controversial, which Google determines in various ways. Google doesn’t label the story true or false, but it encourages users to do more digging.

Facebook’s Disputed Tag. When stories have been flagged as iffy by users or Facebook’s algorithm, Facebook checks with online fact-checkers Snopes and PolitiFact. If the stories are questionable, Facebook puts a “Disputed” note on them. Like, Google, Facebook doesn’t label the story true or false, but adding the Disputed tag should prompt kids to investigate further.

Twitter’s Verified Accounts. Since so many people get their news from Twitter, it’s important to know whether tweets are legit or from a hacker, a fly-by-nighter, or another bad actor. Twitter’s Verified Accounts add more stability and accountability in an effort to thwart false information, bullying, and audience manipulation. The company uses a thorough process to determine whether a user is who they say they are and displays a blue check mark next to a verified user’s name.


Analyzing News


Native Advertising:

Many news organizations have turned to native advertising as a source of revenue. By definition, native advertising tries to sell or promote a product in the guise of a news story. Native advertising makes it difficult for unsuspecting readers to know if and when there is an ulterior motive behind the information they encounter.





Tips for analyzing news sources:

  • Avoid websites that end in “lo” ex: Newslo. These sites take pieces of accurate info and then package the info with other false or misleading "facts" (sometimes for the purposes of satire or comedy).
  • Watch out for common news websites that end in “.com.co” as they are often fake versions of real news sources (remember: this is also the domain for Colombia!)
  • Watch out if known/reputable news sites are not also reporting on the story. Sometimes lack of coverage is the result of corporate media bias and other factors, but there should typically be more than one source reporting on a topic or event.
  • Odd domain names generally equal odd and rarely truthful news.
  • Lack of author attribution may, but not always, signify that the news story is suspect and requires verification.
  • Some news organizations are also letting bloggers post under the banner of particular news brands; however, many of these posts do not go through the same editing process (ex: BuzzFeed Community Posts, Kinja blogs, Forbes blogs).
  • Check the “About Us” tab on websites or look up the website on Snopes or Wikipedia for more information about the source.
  • Bad web design and use of ALL CAPS can also be a sign that the source you’re looking at should be verified and/or read in conjunction with other sources.
  • If the story makes you REALLY ANGRY it’s probably a good idea to keep reading about the topic via other sources to make sure the story you read wasn’t purposefully trying to make you angry (with potentially misleading or false information) in order to generate shares and ad revenue.
  • It’s always best to read multiple sources of information to get a variety of viewpoints.

Analyzing Web Sites

C--Currency of the web site. Is the info old or outdated?

R--Is the web site relevant (useful for your purpose)?

A--Who is the author? Is this person and expert about this subject? Is the company or organization trustworthy? Check the web site address or URL for words like wordpress or blogger this signifies it is a personal blog and not the best source for academic work. Look at the About Us page. This will usually give you info about who or what organization is behind the content on the page.

A--Aesthetics. Aesthetics refer to how a web site looks. Is it professional looking? Can you read it easily? Do the links on it work or are they dead? Are there a lot of ads or native advertisements? Remember advertisers can sometimes influence information on a web page.

A--Accuracy. Are the facts correct? Is everything spelled correctly?

P--Purpose. What is the purpose of this web site? Is it to inform? To sell? To persuade? To educate? To entertain?

Recap...