Evaluating political and current events news on social media
Evaluating political and current events news on social media
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What did you see?
What did you see?
Is it a meme shared on Facebook? These can be very entertaining, but they aren’t typically based on fact.
Try Googling the information on the meme to see what websites come out to support or refute it.
Is it a satire site such as The Onion? Satire is a legitimate form of political commentary, but it isn’t meant to express the literal facts.
Is it a nonpartisan site such as politifact.com or snopes.com? You can usually trust these. Is it from a major newspaper such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, or the Washington Post? These are usually fact-based.
Is more than one news source reporting on the event or issue, or just one? Can you find peer-reviewed journal articles or library books about the general topic? Even though these may not contain information on specific very recent news items, you can get a good factual background from them.
What should you look for?
What should you look for?
Verifiable facts and statistics, not rumors or wild claims. Just because it “sounds right” or seems to confirm something you already believe doesn’t mean it is actually true.
Citing sources – just as you cite sources in your research papers, Internet news should do the same. If they don’t clearly state where they got their information, there is no evidence for it being correct.
Who paid for or sponsored the content? If you can find out who supports it, you can see what viewpoint it is coming from.
Does the website URL end in “io” or “com.co”? These are usually not legitimate news sources.
The website should have an “About Us” or similar tab to let you learn more about them.
Who is the author? Is he or she a subject expert or a professional journalist? If not, or if you can’t find out who the author is, be careful about trusting the material.
Fake Tweets?
Fake Tweets?
Check the account history of the source. Some red flags to look for:
The number of posts
How long the account has been active
If it claims to be a well-know source (like CNN or CBS) and only has a few posts in its history that is a clue. If it's a well-know source and the account has only been active a short time that is another red flag. Also look to see if the account is verified by Twitter. Verified accounts are denoted by a blue checkmark badge.
Resources
Resources
How Fake News Goes Viral: A Case Study
From the New York Times, 2016. A look into the birth and proliferation of a fake news story.
Facebook is starting its own journalism project
Facebook is launching its own journalism project, continuing its efforts to change the way media organizations work with the social network. The move could be seen as an extension of its vow earlier this year to crack down on fake news.
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