And it\u2019s not just flat-earthers, moon landing hoax believers, and tinfoil JFK conspiracy theorists.<\/p>\n
There is a lot of seemingly credible information out there that, upon further inspection, turns out to be inaccurate, out of context, or flat-out false information.<\/p>\n
The amount of fake news has grown at an incredible rate.<\/p>\n
And as the purveyors of these fabrications and half-truths have grown increasingly media-savvy, it\u2019s becoming harder to determine what\u2019s real and what\u2019s \u201cfake news.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is a significant problem. Globally, 76% of people<\/a> acknowledged worries about weaponizing false information or fake news \u2013 an all-time high.<\/p>\n Social media platforms have contributed to this, often serving as echo chambers in which these stories get much more exposure than they would ever have received in the pre-internet world.<\/p>\n And this, in turn, offers them a false sense of credibility.<\/p>\n While even the most intelligent people can be mistaken occasionally, maintaining a healthy degree of skepticism and evaluating the source of information can combat your vulnerability to misinformation.<\/p>\n In its research guide, the University of Michigan Library<\/a> describes fake news as \u201cthose news stories that are false: the story itself is fabricated, with no verifiable facts, sources or quotes.<\/p>\n Sometimes these stories may be propaganda designed to mislead the reader or positioned as \u2018clickbait<\/a>\u2018 written for economic incentives (the writer profits on the number of people who click on the story).\u201d<\/p>\n This separates fake news from misinformation, which is inaccurate information created or shared by mistake without the intention to deceive.<\/p>\n An example is the famous \u201cDewey Defeats Truman<\/a>\u201d headline from the Chicago Tribune.<\/p>\n Based on indications that Thomas E. Dewey would win the 1948 presidential election by a landslide, the newspaper\u2019s publishers legitimately thought Truman had lost. Of course, we all know how that turned out.<\/p>\n On the other side is fake news or disinformation, which is intentionally false or misleading.<\/p>\n First Draft News, a nonprofit coalition created to fight false information online, identifies seven different types of mis- and dis-information<\/a>:<\/p>\n These stories are increasingly dangerous in the digital age. Many people consume stories on social media without fact-checking or confirming that such headlines exist for a \u201cshock\u201d factor. <\/span><\/p>\n Once these stories are shared and popularized, people begin to believe them and accept them as the truth.<\/p>\n Often, this can happen subconsciously. This is a particularly vicious cycle on social media, where stories that make it to the top of the news feed are all too often untruthful clickbait<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to mention that satire sites like The Onion<\/a> and Clickhole<\/a>, which feature funny stories based on relevant current events, are not \u201cfake news.\u201d<\/p>\n They are intelligent satire pieces intended to be humorous \u2013 not real \u2013 and their entire sites are based around their readers being knowledgeable about this strategy and theme.<\/p>\n With branding like Clickhole\u2019s own \u201cBecause Everything Deserves to Go Viral\u201d or The Onion\u2019s \u201cAmerica\u2019s Finest News Source,\u201d their articles\u2019 joking nature is intended to be common knowledge.<\/p>\n According to the 2022 Trust Barometer<\/a>, an annual survey of global trust and credibility by Edelman Data & Intelligence, 50% of people distrust the media, and 46% view it as a divisive force in society.<\/p>\n A 2021 Gallup poll<\/a> found Americans\u2019 trust is even lower than the international average, with only 36% expressing a fair amount of confidence in mainstream media.<\/p>\n This varies by political affiliation, with 68% of Democrats trusting major news sources, as compared to 31% of independents and just 11% of Republicans.<\/p>\n However, most mainstream news sources have to undergo editorial reviews. Readers recognize them as being prestigious forms of journalism.<\/p>\n The Weather Channel, PBS, the BBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, and the Wall Street Journal<\/i> were among the most trusted<\/a> across ideological groups.<\/p>\n However, of these, only the Weather Channel was viewed favorably by conservatives, who trust Fox News and Newsmax as reliable sources of information.<\/p>\n While it\u2019s not easy, there are some things you can do to help determine whether a story is real or fake.<\/p>\n Here are some tips to help you differentiate between fake news and real news stories:<\/p>\n As discussed above, while people fall all over the board ideologically in deciding whether they trust a mainstream news source, the truth is that most major recognized sources for news journalism are not going to produce clickbait fake news.<\/p>\n Most of the fake news sources that go for \u201cshock\u201d value and produce fake stories are not as recognized. Look into the source itself and see whether it is a website that you can trust.<\/p>\n Many fake news stories use URLs and domain names<\/a> similar to reputable news sources to mimic them.<\/p>\n One of the best ways to determine whether a site is legitimate is to examine the ending of the URL, as these fake sites will often use something like \u201c.com.co,\u201d as opposed to the \u201c.com\u201d of the actual site.<\/p>\n Just like you should never enter personal information into your bank\u2019s website without first verifying it\u2019s not a phishing site, you should double-check the URL of the news sites in social media posts.<\/p>\n Good news stories contain links to other reputable reporting by respected organizations.<\/p>\n They contain interviews with individuals who can confirm or deny they made a claim. They are supported by evidence, dates, and other data that can be fact-checked.<\/p>\n Be wary of sources that cannot substantiate their claims.<\/p>\n Sometimes a source may sound reputable in a piece, only for you to later find out no such person exists.<\/p>\n For example, the satire site Snickersee<\/em> published an article about the return of bottlenose dolphins to Lake Michigan<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you were not familiar with the site, at first glance seemed legitimate, even going so far as to quote a scientist with the Great Lakes Fish and Water Quality Society.<\/p>\n However, no such scientist or organization exists, and dolphins have never lived in the Great Lakes.<\/p>\n When in doubt, fact-check the information that you read. You can start with a simple search using the keywords or the event that is being reported.<\/p>\n You can also use sites like PolitiFact<\/a>, FactCheck<\/a>, and Snopes<\/a> \u2013 which are incredibly reputable fact-checking sites for various issues and topics (not just politics).<\/p>\n It is essential not to look at one story alone but the full spectrum of details on the site.<\/p>\n Is there another fake-looking or shocking headline? What does the overall website look like? How is the user experience<\/a>?<\/p>\n Sometimes doing a little further digging will make it evident if a news story is fake.<\/p>\n However, this can be tricky as many fake news sites intentionally mislead visitors. They may look like the real deal, all the way down to the logo in the masthead.<\/p>\n Just remember sites like BBC.com or NYTimes.com have teams of web professionals on staff, including UX and UI specialists.<\/p>\n A reputable site is unlikely to be slow-loading, clunky, and cumbersome to use.<\/p>\n Likewise, glaring spelling or grammar mistakes, while not impossible, do not usually make it through the proofing and editing process.<\/p>\n This may be surprising, but Wikipedia is an excellent source for identifying fake news sites.<\/p>\n It maintains an ever-growing list of fake news sites<\/a>. This list includes sites like American News, which have created disinformation shared via social media, as well as satire sites and those used to spread malware.<\/p>\n To combat false information and aid fact-checkers, journalists, and researchers in their work, Google added Fact Check Tools<\/a> to its toolbox in 2022.<\/p>\n This collection of more than 150,000 fact checks allows users to access information from \u201creputable publishers\u201d around the world to ensure integrity.<\/p>\n To use this tool, enter a topic or person into the search bar.<\/p>\n Google will then pull information from its network of trusted publishers to give you at-a-glance fact-checking.<\/p>\n For example, despite rumors that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has invented a new digital currency, Google Fact Check is easily able to squash this.<\/p>\n There are several digital tools you can employ to combat fake news.<\/p>\n A list compiled by the RAND Corporation, an American global policy think tank, includes several digital tools for fighting online disinformation.<\/p>\n These include everything from browser extensions like BotSlayer,<\/a> which helps track and detect information manipulated on Twitter, to verification and bias checking tools like NewsCheck Trust Index<\/a>, to collections of resources that promote media literacy skills like NewseumED<\/a>.<\/p>\n In a world of minute attention spans and increasing competition for viewers\u2019 eyes, clickbait<\/a> is everywhere.<\/p>\n These sensationalized headlines attempt to draw as many clicks as possible by appealing to emotion and curiosity. They often take pieces of quotes out of context or are intentionally vague in a way that infers something scandalous.<\/p>\n This practice is particularly problematic on social media platforms, where studies have shown up to 59% of people<\/a> will share articles without reading past the headline.<\/p>\n In response, both Facebook and Twitter have implemented features that push users to read articles before sharing them in their feeds.<\/p>\n Everyone likes to feel smart. And everyone wants to have their opinions confirmed. That\u2019s why some people will doggedly stick to their version of reality even in the face of overwhelming evidence that they\u2019re wrong.<\/p>\n While you may not be that stubborn, everyone has implicit biases. And that\u2019s why it\u2019s imperative not to let what you want to believe override the facts.<\/p>\n Confirmation bias occurs when you put more stock into something that confirms what you already believe while minimizing information it doesn\u2019t. Conservative-minded people trust right-leaning news sources, and liberals rely on liberal-minded platforms.<\/p>\n As long as there has been news, there have been bogus stories.<\/p>\n But whereas a malicious actor spreading false information about Alexander the Great during the Siege of Tyre would only be able to influence a few thousand people, social media<\/a> has created an environment in which anyone can spread disinformation globally, potentially to millions of people.<\/p>\n According to Avaaz\u2019s global activism nonprofit<\/a> study, the top 100 most popular false or misleading stories about the 2020 U.S. presidential election had 162 million views.<\/p>\n By contrast, there are only 168 million registered voters<\/a> in the country. <\/span><\/p>\n The same Avaaz report stated that an October 2020 poll found roughly 91 million registered voters saw misinformation about mail-in voter fraud on Facebook. And 35% of registered voters believed this. <\/span><\/p>\n Fake news is a significant problem in the cyber age. And at the end of the day, it doesn\u2019t boil down to beliefs or opinions. Facts don\u2019t change, no matter what your views are. Water is still wet, and ice cream is still cold, even if it that inconvenient for some people.<\/p>\n And while social media platforms are attempting to uncover solutions to this issue, much of the burden will ultimately fall on you, the user.<\/p>\n But this makes it essential that each person does their part to combat the spread of fake news.<\/p>\n You should approach every news article, video, or social media post skeptically. Even if the originator is a reliable source of information, at the end of the day, they\u2019re only human.<\/p>\n And that means, just like everyone else, they can fall victim to incorrect information, inaccurate statistics, or quotes taken out of context.<\/p>\n Do not share fake news on your social channels. Even if you\u2019re only sharing it for its sheer outlandishness, you\u2019re increasing its visibility, so don\u2019t make this mistake.<\/p>\n If your friends or family members are sharing disinformation, message them and let them know. And be sure to mention how you identified it as fake.<\/p>\n And if you come across a fake news article with a comments section, make sure you leave a message detailing why it\u2019s wrong and how you arrived at that conclusion.<\/p>\n Hopefully, this will help others identify it as false news and avoid sharing it further.<\/p>\n Everyone has to do their part, but if we all do our part, we can at least stem the tide of this unfortunate phenomenon.<\/p>\n More Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n Featured Image: Rawpixel.com<\/a>\/Shutterstock<\/em><\/p>\nWhat Is Fake News?<\/h2>\n
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Jokes And Satire Are Not<\/i> Fake News<\/h2>\n
A Word On Mainstream News<\/h2>\n
![\"Trusted](\"https:\/\/marketingnewsbox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/how-to-identify-fake-news-from-real-news-online-via-sejournal-adisilvestro.png\")
Screenshot from today.yougov.com, August 2022<\/em><\/span><\/div>\nHow To Differentiate Between Fake News And Real News<\/h2>\n
What Is The Site?<\/h3>\n
Check The Domain<\/h3>\n
What Are The Authors\u2019 Sources?<\/h3>\n
Fact Check!<\/h3>\n
![\"When](\"https:\/\/marketingnewsbox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/how-to-identify-fake-news-from-real-news-online-via-sejournal-adisilvestro-1.png\")
Screenshot from snopes.com, August 2022<\/em><\/span><\/div>\nExamine The Website Closely<\/h3>\n
Check Wikipedia<\/h3>\n
Fact Check With Google<\/h3>\n
![\"Google](\"https:\/\/marketingnewsbox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/how-to-identify-fake-news-from-real-news-online-via-sejournal-adisilvestro-2.png\")
Screenshot from Google Fact Check tool, August 2022<\/em><\/span><\/div>\nPut Technology To Work<\/h3>\n
Read Past The Headline<\/h3>\n
Be Aware Of Your Own Biases<\/h3>\n
Help Combat The Spread Of False News<\/h2>\n
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