HOW TO SPOT FAKE NEWS

The internet is swimming in fake news. It is easy to be taken in by information that seems true but is far from it. Some of it is created by deluded people who see conspiracies everywhere. A lot of it is shaped by dishonest people who want to influence their readers. Several foreign countries try to influence events in the United States, such as elections. We need to be careful not to play their games. Some web sites want to get readers to click onto them because they get paid for every click. Readers are more likely to click onto sensational “news,” so it is profitable to report astonishing “information.” Some fake news was never intended to be believed. It is satire. Some readers lack the sense of humor to recognize the satire and take it seriously.

Readers who are looking for conspiracy theories find them in the web sites they follow and repeat them on social media. Since conspiracy seekers read each other’s social media, they create an echo chamber that carry the same stories. Mind Tools offered Six Ways to Spot Fake News.

1.Develop a critical mindset There are people out there who conspire to get us to believe stuff that isn’t so. Be suspicious. If it sounds extreme, check it out. Don’t believe everything you read.

2. Check the sources Really check them. ABCNewscom.co is not what it appears. ABCNews.com is a real news source. ABCNewcom.co is able to copy the logo of the real news site but it publishes fake news. If you aren’t familiar with the author, check him or her out. You might find that the author of sensational news does not have a very good reputation.

3. See who else is reporting the story Can you find the story in any mainstream media? Some people have attacked what Sarah Palin called the “lamestream media.” But the media have editorial standards and trained reporters. Most professional news sources have bias, and they all make mistakes once in a while, but professional publications are not going to publish outright lies or stories that they haven’t checked for accuracy. A year or so ago I saw a report of a celebrity’s death on the Facebook newsfeed. When I went to check it on other sources, I couldn’t find other reference because it was fake news. Don’t believe stuff that is reported only on the social media.

4. Examine the evidence Does the story offer facts to back itself up? Don’t be too quick to believe it if it offers no facts. If it offers facts, check them out.

5. Don’t take images at face value Don’t believe everything you see. With modern technology those who spread false information can put people into a photograph or take them out. The doctored photo may look genuine, but the picture it presents never happened. 6. Check that it sounds right

If the news sounds unbelievable, it may be because it isn’t true. Check the story on a reliable fact checker like Snopes. Snopes will examine the facts of the story and let you know if it true, false, partly true, or out of date. I have received false stories that invited me to verify them on Snopes. When I did that, I found that Snopes had labeled them as false. I have also received messages that told me I couldn’t believe what I read on Snopes. Conspiracy theorists hate Snopes because it exposes how they play fast and loose with the truth, but Snopes has no agenda except to check the veracity of information flying around the internet.

If you want to find the truth, get your information from reliable sources, mainstream media. Use Facebook if you want, to keep in touch with your friends and family, but don’t use it as a source of information about what’s going on in the world.