Activity 11

Search for the guidelines used in identifying fake news.

https://www.freedomforuminstitute.org/first-amendment-center/primers/fake-news-primer/

CHECK THE SOURCE

If you’re reading an article on a website you’ve never heard of before, take a look at the
website’s “Contact” and “About Us” pages. If the site is meant to be satirical, these pages will
typically have a disclaimer.

DON’T JUDGE A BOOK (OR A NEWS ARTICLE IN THIS CASE), BY IT’S COVER
Unreliable sites will often use misleading headlines to lure in readers and clicks. Before sharing a
story with an outrageous claim, keep reading – what’s the whole story? Did the author bury the
lead in efforts to make the story more attractive? Were credible and trustworthy sources used to
back up the claim made in the headline?

Typically if a story is shared on social media with a misleading headline, readers will voice their
frustration in the comments, either on the site itself or on the social media post. If you read a
headline that sounds too outrageous to be true, oftentimes that’s because it is.

Looks can be deceiving

and you may not know that you have fallen into a click-bait trap on the

internet. Before concluding something by just reading its cover and

headline, make sure to check the whole story of the article and

somehow identify whether the written context is a fact or full of

opinionated claims that isn't true. If you'll let yourself fooled by the

cover itself, you can see yourself commenting on the post itself with

opinions that are mislead because of the quick conclusion made just by

the cover of the article itself.

TAKE A LOOK AT THE URL

Does the URL look off in some way? This is often a tell-tale sign of a website that shares fake
news, as some fake news websites try to mimic the URL, logo, and design of legitimate news
websites, in order to trick readers.
CHECKING THE UNIFORM RESOURCE LOCATORS

(URL) OR THE WEB ADDRESS.

Keep an eye out for the URLs or links on the website

you're visiting. Some of them imitate and make use

of reliable and well-known platforms and

organizations' logos and monikers to deceive the

readers. Hence, being cognizant of it will alleviate

you identify if the information is counterfeit or not.

ARE OTHER NEWS SITES REPORTING ON THE STORY?

Chances are, if the majority of other news sites are reporting on the same story, it’s at least
partially true. Read multiple stories on the same subject to see what sources are being used and
where the differences lie.

UTILIZE MEDIA LITERACY SITES

Before you share an article claiming Lil Wayne has one month to live, take a look at
what Snopes.com and Factcheck.org have to say. When fake news stories start to go viral, these
sites typically pick up what’s real and what’s not.

Know that using just one of the above methods alone is not a valid way of identifying fake news
– the methods are meant to be used together.

While a credible news source has a duty to report facts without bias and rely on trustworthy
sources, this doesn’t mean media consumers are off the hook. As a reader, it’s also your job to
verify the information you are reading.

If you’re looking to sharpen your media literacy skills, try out the Tinder-style
game Factitious. Developed by American University, the game presents you with actual stories
and asks you to identify whether or not they can legitimately called news.

If you’re an educator looking to impart media literacy skills to your students, feel free to draw
upon Newseum Ed’s resources:
https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library/fakenews/idfakenews
Types of fake news

Fake
Websites have made up stories or hoaxes that are delivered under the pretext
of being factual news.

Satirical
News sites parody actual events and news and are for entertainment purposes only.
They often mimic reputable news sites, using exaggerated information out of
context.

Biased
News is delivered from a particular point of view that may rely on propaganda and
opinions rather than facts.

Clickbait
Links use sensationalized, misleading, or exaggerated headlines and images to get
individuals to visit their website. The articles then deliver information that is not
related to the original eye-catching piece.

Astroturfing
Organizations or sponsors (political, religious, etc) make the message they are
sharing look like it is from a grassroots organization and supported by people in the
community where they are targeting the messages.
the deceptive practice of presenting an orchestrated marketing or public relations
campaign in the guise of unsolicited comments from members of the public.
A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or
community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements
and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at the
local, regional, national or international level.
Astroturfing is the attempt to create an impression of widespread grassroots
support for a policy, individual, or product, where little such support exists.
Multiple online identities and fake pressure groups are used to mislead the
publi

Native advertising
Native advertisements are designed to look like additional stories but are
advertisements for sponsors. Readers mistake their links as legitimate news to get
more traffic to their site.
Incomplete
News stories share quotes or information without providing proper background or
context, which can often completely reverse the intended message.

Fake news stories attempt to pass off as real false claims that are not supported by any credible
evidence.
Some people and companies profit financially from the creation and sharing of fake news stories.
So there is a clear profit motive. There’s also a political motive since fake news can also be
designed to influence and persuade.

Knowing what to look for and what questions to ask can help when trying to identify fake news. The
following "checklists" provide lists of criteria and questions to consider when assessing a news story:

 The CRAAP Test (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose)

A list of questions designed to help evaluate information. The U. of Toronto at Mississauga
Library has a handy graphic, along with a link to the original CRAAP Test.

QUOTES – OR LACK THEREOF

A sure sign of credible journalism is the presence of quotes. This adds an additional layer of
integrity, allowing readers to do some research on the individual quoted and decide if they are a
reliable source of information.

Absence of quotes is usually a sign of an opinion piece, either published as a blog post or a
column, or of fake news.

Currency: The timeliness of the information.

• When was the information published or posted?

• Has the information been revised or updated?

• Does your topic require current information, or will older sources work as well?

Are the links functional?

Relevance: The importance of the information for your needs.

• Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question?

• Who is the intended audience?

• Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e. not too elementary or advanced for your needs)?

• Have you looked at a variety of sources before determining this is one you will use?

• Would you be comfortable citing this source in your research paper?

Authority: The source of the information.

• Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?

• What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations?

• Is the author qualified to write on the topic?

• Is there contact information, such as a publisher or email address?

Does the URL reveal anything about the author or source?

examples: .com .edu .gov .org .net

Accuracy: The reliability, truthfulness and correctness of the content.

BE WARY OF SLOPPY WRITING

If you are reading an article and the author uses five exclamation points at the end of a sentence,
it is often fake news of some sort. Also be skeptical of an abundance of spelling or grammatical
errors, or if the writer uses caps lock.

Most credible news sources have copy editors that will check for these mistakes before
publication, and will also have rules restricting writers from using features like caps lock for the
sake of professionalism.

• Where does the information come from?

• Is the information supported by evidence?

• Has the information been reviewed or refereed?

• Can you verify any of the information in another source or from personal knowledge?

• Does the language or tone seem unbiased and free of emotion?

• Are there spelling, grammar or typographical errors?

Purpose: The reason the information exists.

• What is the purpose of the information? Is it to inform, teach, sell, entertain or persuade?

• Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?

• Is the information fact, opinion or propaganda?

• Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?

• Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional or personal biases?

news article doesn't have any grammatical error and they all use

formal language in showing people the news for the day. If you see a

sentence that has a lot of punctuation marks, question marks, or any

unnecessary marks, it can be a sign that the article is fake. Most writer

have an editor to check if their work has any grammatical errors before

they publish it into their website. Be wary and carefully identify if the

news article is written in a professional way or just by reading a book.

Source reliability is one of the utmost substantial

things to ponder every time we gather and browse

information. Always look for the "About" section of

the website and see if there are enough details

about the source itself. Look for the source's contact

information as well, to see if it acknowledges

inquiries.

A reliable source is one that provides a thorough, well-reasoned theory, argument, discussion, etc.
based on strong evidence. Scholarly, peer-reviewed articles or books -written by researchers for
students and researchers. Original research, extensive bibliography

If you’re reading an article on a website you’ve never heard of before, take a look at the
website’s “Contact” and “About Us” pages. If the site is meant to be satirical, these pages will
typically have a disclaimer.

It should be a habit of everyone looking at various news on the internet

to check the source of what you are reading before sending it to your

loved ones or even sharing it on your social media. Perhaps in an

article, you should seek their contact info and biography somewhere on

the page article itself. Check if it is legitimate by searching more about

the creator of the website or the article. Make sure to see if the article

written itself is not satire, sometimes, articles that were even written

by professionals have context that ridicules other people instead of

informing them about what is the situation and staying neutral.

The quick guide to spotting fake news. (2017). Freedom Forum Institute.

https://www.freedomforuminstitute.org/first-amendment-center/primers/fake-news-

primer/

European Association for Viewers Interests. (2017). Beyond 'fake news': 10 types of misleading news.
https://eavi.eu/beyond-fake-news-10-types-misleading-info/