HOW TO IDENTIFY FAKE NEWS

In todays world, it is so important to be aware of what is real and what it is not. Many articles and news sites pose to be real, but a filled with lies a bias to manipulate readers. Here is a step by step guide to navigating news sites, and making sure the information you consume is real.

Step One: Consider the source.

Just like we learn in school, the source of our research is very important. When writing an essay or research paper, most teachers require your sources to be scholarly articles, or reputable authors. Wikipedia, for example, is usually not allowed to be used as a source because anyone can write it. Does that mean that it can never contain good information? No, but this is a precaution to make sure there is no chance that the information is false. Researching is hard enough, so trying to sort through real and fake facts may be too time consuming. It is easier to get the facts from a site or author that you trust, and know is credible, than doubting and fact checking everything you read. Fact checking is not bad though, and many tools later mentioned will do it for you in this age of fake news.

So, first off, this is the most important question to ask: “Who created (or wrote or published) it?” What is the source? Always check who the information is coming from. Some red flags include difficulty finding the origin or creator. It should not be very difficult to assess the quality of the information, and if it is, this may be a warning of a shady author. Reputable sources often identify themselves, such as the New York Times, or the Washington Post. .

Facebook and social media can spread a lot of fake information, especially as that information gets transferred between news sites, then to their audience, and then to social media, and then liked and shared by followers. This massive game of telephone can twist and exaggerate formerly true statements.

"Ask a friend where he or she gets his or her news. If that friend responds with, “Facebook,” you have learned nothing about the credibility of that friend’s sources for news, or even about the actual sources.... Press that friend on where he or she thinks the information in fact originated and you are likely to be met with confusion, perhaps even agitation, because most people simply aren’t that interested in doing even a reasonable degree of vetting of their information sources. " (Carroll, Brian)

News sites directly can be more direct to gather information than social media. However, most news sites are somewhat biased, based on a political agenda. Therefore even if the author is well represented and clear, here is another step to evaluate the credibility of your information.

Step Two: When was the article published?

A red flag to be aware of is the absence of a real publication date. Even if there is an automatic “last date published date” at the bottom of the screen, this does not prove reputability. These are automatically generated and are not inputed by humans. Usually, fake news is built on a minor foundation of truth, from a real report that was made in the past. This piece of truth gets misrepresented in a pool of disingenuous allegations produced to serve a different motive.

"Reports that food giant Procter & Gamble has a satanic corporate logo, that Ford Motor Co. has shifted manufacturing to the United States in response to Trump administration initiatives, or that former president Barack Obama was born in Kenya all are products of a social media–driven echo chamber that includes somewhere in their swirls a factual if partial report from mainstream news." (Carroll, Brian)

Step Three: Ask about agenda.

One of the most important questions to ask while reading articles, is, "Why was the information created?" (Carroll, Brian) In this world we know that oftentimes, money and profit is the real motive behind big organizations. There is nothing wrong with money, or profit, but when it only serves their good at the expense of others, it leads to scandalous relationships. Fake news and many regular new organizations sell sponsored content, that was pad for by a third party. This means it is not credible, and the linked partners or affiliates should be questioned. What are the sources sources? (Carroll, Brian)

2Big organizations can easily become corrupt when there is a lot of money involved. Just like how major medical insitustions and cancer sites such as American heart foundation and others are sponsored and partnered with billion dollar fast food industries like McDonalds, who are also partnered and sponsored by the major pharmaceutical companies. (WhatTheHealth) Everything is connected, no matter how they present it to the public. There is usually an ulterior motive.

"Here are some questions to help you determine agenda: (Carroll, Brian)

• What is the track record for this particular source or publication or app?

• Who are its “friends,” or affiliates or linked partners? (Do the links actually work? Do they take you where they promise, or to murky, difficult-todiscern third parties?)

• Is the information easily corroborated by finding it from other sources? The more fantastical the reporting, the more counter-intuitive its claims, the more that reporting should be questioned.

• Does it express only one point of view?

• Is the information fantastical in any way?

• What are the source’s sources?

• Is there transparency in the reporting? Or is it difficult to identify the raw materials of the story and the expertise of those included in the reporting? If there is no attribution or crediting in the story, this also is a red flag.

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Step Four: What is the context?

Without context, no statement can be considered true. What color is the sky? Well, what time of day are you asking about? Or, are you asking as a general question? Or are you looking for a scientific answer, because a scientist will tell you that the sky is not blue, but rather a reflection of every other color besides blue. Sometimes the sky is pink, or purple, or orange. The night sky is black. "Truth is provisional, changing depending on the context and over time...Context matters in influencing how individual facts add up or don’t add up to some larger truth." (Carroll, Brian)

There are some organizations that have gathered and created resources to guide viewers as they watch and read news, such as fact checkers and URLs. These organizations include the Center for Media Literacy, the Poynter Institute, the News Literacy Project, the National Association for Media Literacy Education, FactCheck.org, and the Washington Post. A fact checker website is provided at the end of the chapter in a separate category.

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What can you do ?

• Install NewsGuard and TrustedNews on your browser

• Two of the best tools that can be part of your browsers.

• NewsGuard does the work for you, by researching news organizations, sources, and brands so you can know who to trust! Actual people, not robots, study and analyze over 2,000 sites and rate them based on the following criteria.

(Carroll, Brian)

Does a site:

• repeatedly publish false content?

• responsibly gather and present information?

• regularly correct or clarify errors?

• responsibly discern and otherwise separate news from opinion?

• avoid deceptive headlines?

• disclose ownership and financing about itself?

• clearly label advertising?

• reveal who is responsible, including possible conflicts of interest?

• disclose information about its content creators?

"Each criterion is given a certain weight, or number of points, to determine the source’s overall rating. A green rating indicates that a site meets basic standards of accuracy and accountability; a red rating is a warning to users of the site that these basic standards are not being met. " (Carroll, Brian)

There are many more tools to help filter through fake news, and I recommend checking out more about this on NewsGuard.

References:

Carroll, Brian. Writing and Editing for Digital Media (p. 303). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition.