How to Spot Fake News - FactCheck.org

http://www.flackcheck.org - Read more at: https://www.factcheck.org/2016/11/how-to-spot-fake-news/

Fake news is nothing new.

But bogus stories can reach more people
more quickly via social media

than what good old-fashioned viral emails
could accomplish in years past.

A lot of these viral claims
aren't "news" at all,

but fiction, satire,

and efforts to fool readers
into thinking they're for real.

Here are some strategies
to shield yourself from fake news.

Are you familiar with the source?

Is it legitimate?

Has it been reliable in the past?

If not, you may not want to trust it.

If a provocative headline
drew your attention,

read a little further before you decide
to pass along the shocking information.

Even in legitimate news stories,

the headline doesn't always tell
the whole story.

But fake news,

particularly efforts to be satirical,

can include several
revealing signs in the text.

One fake story even attributed
a quote to a dolphin.

If that had been real,
you could argue they buried the lede.

Another telltale sign of a fake story
is often the byline,

if there even is one.

And in some cases,
the authors are not even real.

One story was credited to a "doctor"

who won "fourteen Peabody awards
and a handful of Pulitzer Prizes,"

which would be very impressive
if it wasn't also totally made up.

Many times these bogus stories will cite
official or official-sounding sources,

but once you look into it,
the source doesn't back up the claim.

Some false stories aren't completely fake,

but rather distortions of real events.

These mendacious claims
can take a legitimate news story

and twist what it says,

or even claim that something
that happened long ago

is related to current events.

One deceptive website took a story
that was over a year old from CNN

and slapped on a new,
misleading headline and publication date.

So, on top of the deception,
there is copyright infringement.

Remember, there is such a thing as satire.

Normally, it's clearly labeled as such,
and sometimes it's even funny.

But it isn't the news.

And then there's
the more debatable forms of satire,

designed to pull one over on the reader.

These posts are also designed
to encourage clicks,

and generate money for the creator
through ad revenue.

But they aren't news.

We know this is difficult.

Confirmation bias leads people

to put more stock in information
that confirms their beliefs

and discount information that doesn't.

But the next time
you're automatically appalled

at some social media post concerning,
say, a politician you oppose,

take a moment to check it out.

Try this simple test:

What other stories have been posted
to the "news" website

that is the source of the story

that just popped up
in your social media feed?

You may be predisposed to believe
a story about a politician you don't like,

but if the alleged "news" site
also features a story

about "guardians from Antarctica
retaliating against America

by hitting New Zealand
with an earthquake,"

maybe you should think twice
before sharing.

And yes, that earthquake story

is a real example
of a fake story that popped up.

We know you're busy,
and some of this debunking takes time.

But fact checkers get paid
to do this kind of work.

Between FactCheck.org,

Snopes.com,

the Washington Post Fact Checker,

and PolitiFact.com,

it's likely at least one
has already fact-checked

the latest viral claim to pop up
in your social media news feed.

And remember:

News readers themselves

remain the first line of defense
against fake news.

To see more, go to FactCheck.org.

Subtitles by Maurício Kakuei Tanaka
Review by Mirjam van Dijk